# Work together in real time

> Share a desk, an Office file or a Files folder live, so everyone works on the same thing at once and sees each other's changes as they happen.

Source: https://plexiidesk.com/help/real-time-collaboration
Section: People and sharing > Share and collaborate
Plans: All plans
Updated: 2026-10-10

Working together in PlexiDesk means everyone works on the same desk, file or folder at once. Nobody waits for a turn and nobody sends copies back and forth: each person's changes reach the others as they make them.

You can work together on three kinds of thing:

- **A desk or room**, shared with specific people. Everyone works on the same canvas.
- **An Office file**: a document, spreadsheet, presentation, diagram, design or artwork. Sharing it with people makes it a *live document* that everyone edits together.
- **A folder in Files.** As a *live folder*, everyone can organise it together: add files, make folders, rename and delete.

The **Collaborations** page gathers your live documents and live folders in one place.

## Before you start

- **Plans.** Working together is on every plan. Seeing who is on a desk right now, under **Who's here**, is on the Team plan.
- **Signing in.** You and the people you work with need to be signed in to PlexiDesk. See [Create an account and sign in](https://plexiidesk.com/help).
- **Accounts.** The people you add to a live document or a live folder need a PlexiDesk account. To show your work to someone who does not have one, send them a link instead. See [Sharing and invites](https://plexiidesk.com/help/sharing-and-invites).

## Choose how to work together

| You want to | Use | Start from |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Plan and build on a desk with other people | A shared desk | The desk menu > **Share…** > **Specific people** |
| Write or edit a file together | A live document | **Share** in the file's editor |
| Keep a set of files organised together | A live folder | **Files** > right-click a folder > **Collaborate live** |
| Work on a desk or file together during a call | A meeting | **Invite to collaborate** when you start the meeting |

## Work on a desk together

When you share a desk with specific people, they get the desk itself, not a copy. Everyone you add sees each other's changes as they happen: the widgets, the tables and the links between widgets all stay in step.

1. Open the desk.
2. Click the desk's name at the left of the header to open the desk menu, then click **Share…**.
3. Under **Who can open this desk?**, make sure **Specific people** is chosen. It is chosen when the window opens.
4. In the search box, type a name, an @handle or an email address, and click each person to add them. To add someone who is not listed, type their full email address and click **Invite** followed by the address.
5. Choose **Can edit** so they can work on the desk with you, or **View only** for people who should follow along.
6. If the desk is in a room and you want them to have the whole room, tick the box that says **Also share the room**, followed by the room's name, **and everything in it**.
7. Click **Share with 1 person**, or **Share with** and the number of people.

The people you added are listed below, each marked **live**. An email address that does not have a PlexiDesk account yet is marked **granted**: that person sees the desk once they sign in with that address. PlexiDesk does not email anyone from here, so let them know.

For everything the share window offers, including taking someone's access away, see [Share a desk with specific people](https://plexiidesk.com/help/share-desk-with-people).

### Where the desk appears for them

The desk appears in their workspace without them doing anything: in a room called **Shared with me**, and in **All rooms** and **All desks** with a small badge for the person who shared it. See [Rooms and desks shared with you](https://plexiidesk.com/help/shared-with-me#desks-you-work-on-together).

### See who is on the desk

On the Team plan, small coloured dots beside the desk's name show that someone else is on the desk right now. Click the desk's name to see them under **Who's here**, and rest the pointer on a person to see their name and what they are working on, or their status. See [The desk menu](https://plexiidesk.com/help/desk-menu#whos-here).

> **Tip:**
> On a desk, each widget keeps its most recent change, so it helps when people work in different widgets at the same time. To write the same text together, use a live document, where everyone's typing is merged.

## Edit an Office file together

Any Office file can become a live document: a document, spreadsheet, presentation, diagram, design or artwork.

### Share a file from its editor

1. Open the file.
2. In the editor's header, click **Share**.
3. In the **Live sharing** box at the top of the window, search for people by name, @handle or email, and click each person to add them. If you are not in an organisation, type the person's email address and click **Invite** followed by the address. You can add as many people as you like.
4. Leave **Can edit** selected.
5. Click **Share with 1 person**, or **Share with** and the number of people.

PlexiDesk makes a live copy of the file, adds the people to it, and opens it for you. From now on, work in the live copy: it is the one everyone edits. Your original file stays where it was. The people you added find the live copy on their **Collaborations** page.

> **Note:**
> The same window also makes links to the file, such as a **View only** link for someone who only needs to read it. See [Share a widget, document or file](https://plexiidesk.com/help).

### Start from the Documents page

1. On **Home**, in **Continue where you left off**, click **All documents**. See [The Documents page](https://plexiidesk.com/help).
2. Point at a document and click the people icon at the right of its row (**Collaborate (share live)**). The document opens as a live document.
3. To add people, click **Invite someone** (the person icon at the right of the header), type the person's handle, for example @alex, and click **Invite**.
4. If you belong to any teams, they are listed after **or a team:**. Click one to add everyone in it at once.

**Invite someone** is shown to the person who started the live document.

### Documents in an organisation's workspace

When you work in an organisation's workspace, the documents you make there belong to the organisation, and everyone in it can edit them with you. Open one from **Files**, the **Documents** page or **Continue where you left off**, and it opens in the live editor, with the green **Live** strip under the header. To move a file from your Personal workspace into an organisation, see [Share with your team or a group](https://plexiidesk.com/help). To change workspace, see [Organisation settings and switching workspaces](https://plexiidesk.com/help).

### What you see in a live document



- **The Live strip.** A green strip under the header says **Live — everyone here can edit together.**
- **Who has access.** Round badges with initials show the people who have access, up to five, then a count such as **+2**. Rest the pointer on a badge to see the person's name.
- **Cursors.** In a document, you can see where the others are typing: each person's cursor carries their name.
- **The kind of file**, such as **Document**, **Spreadsheet** or **Slides**, at the right of the header.
- **Chat about this document**, the speech-bubbles icon, opens a chat conversation about the file. See [Chat about a desk, room or document](https://plexiidesk.com/help).

There is no Save button: your changes reach everyone as you make them.

### Comment on a live document

You can comment on the text of a live document.

1. Select the text you want to comment on.
2. Click the comment button in the header. Its tooltip says **Comment on the selected text**.
3. Type your comment, then press `Enter` or click **Comment**.

The text is highlighted and the comment is there for everyone. To read and answer comments, click the **Comments** button in the header; the number beside it is how many threads are still open. In the panel:

- Click a comment to jump to its text.
- Type in **Reply…** and press `Enter` to reply.
- Click **Resolve** when a thread is settled, or **Reopen** to bring it back.
- Click **Delete** to remove a comment you wrote.

To name a collaborator in a comment, type @ and their handle. For more on comments, see [Comment on a document](https://plexiidesk.com/help).

## Organise a folder together

A live folder is a shared set of files and folders that everyone can arrange together.

1. Click the **Office** tab at the top of the side menu, then click **Files** under **Apps**.
2. Right-click a folder and click **Collaborate live**.
3. PlexiDesk copies the folder's files and documents into a live folder and opens it. The header says **Live folder**, and a green strip says **Live folder. Everyone here can organise it together, changes sync as you go.** Your folder in Files stays as it is.
4. To add people, click **Invite someone** (the person icon at the right of the header), type the person's handle, for example @alex, and click **Invite**.

Everyone in a live folder can:

- Open a subfolder, and go back up with the path at the top.
- Click **New folder** or **Add files** at the top right.
- Point at an item and click **Rename** or **Delete**. Deleting a folder deletes everything in it, for everyone.

When you open a document from a live folder, you get your own copy of it to read or edit, and your edits stay in your copy. A file is saved to your Files and opens in the app your computer uses for that kind of file. To write a document together, share the document itself, as described under **Edit an Office file together** above.

## Find your live work on the Collaborations page

1. On **Home**, in **Quick actions**, click **Collaborate**. See [Quick actions widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/home-widget-quick-actions).

The **Collaborations** page lists the live documents and live folders you are part of, both the ones you started and the ones shared with you, with the most recently changed first. Each shows its name, its kind and how long ago it last changed. Click one to open it. To check for anything new, click the refresh button at the top right.



Desks shared with you are not listed here: they are in your workspace, in the **Shared with me** room. If you are not signed in, the page asks you to **Sign in**.

## Work together in a meeting

When you start a meeting from a desk or an Office file, the **Start a meeting** window asks who to invite and what access they get. Choose **Invite to collaborate** to work on the desk or file together during the meeting. See [Start a meeting from a desk, document or chat](https://plexiidesk.com/help).

## Common questions

**Do the people I work with need PlexiDesk?**
Yes. Everyone works in the PlexiDesk app, signed in. To show a desk to someone who does not have PlexiDesk, send a link that opens in their browser. See [Share a desk anyone can use](https://plexiidesk.com/help/share-public-desk-link) and [Publish a live view of a desk](https://plexiidesk.com/help/share-live-web-view).

**Can I work with someone outside my organisation?**
Yes. On a desk, add them by their email address; they see the desk when they sign in with that address. For a live document or a live folder, they need a PlexiDesk account.

**Who can change who a desk is shared with?**
The person who shared it. If you need someone added, ask them.

**Someone shared a file or folder with me, but I cannot find it.**
Check that you are signed in with the account they added, open **Collaborations** and click the refresh button. A desk shared with you is in the **Shared with me** room instead. See [Rooms and desks shared with you](https://plexiidesk.com/help/shared-with-me).

**How do I stop sharing a desk with someone?**
Open the desk menu, click **Share…**, and click **×** beside the person (**Remove access**). For an email address marked **granted**, the **×** is **Revoke access**. See [Share a desk with specific people](https://plexiidesk.com/help/share-desk-with-people).

**What is the difference between working together and sending a link?**
When you work together, everyone changes the same desk, file or folder. A link sends a copy or a view, and what the other person does with it stays with them. See [Sharing and invites](https://plexiidesk.com/help/sharing-and-invites).

## Related tasks

- [Sharing and invites](https://plexiidesk.com/help/sharing-and-invites)
- [Share a desk with specific people](https://plexiidesk.com/help/share-desk-with-people)
- [Rooms and desks shared with you](https://plexiidesk.com/help/shared-with-me)
- [Share with your team or a group](https://plexiidesk.com/help)
- [Share a widget, document or file](https://plexiidesk.com/help)
- [Start a meeting from a desk, document or chat](https://plexiidesk.com/help)
- [Chat about a desk, room or document](https://plexiidesk.com/help)