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Share a desk anyone can use

Make a link that opens a working copy of your desk in any web browser, with no account or install, and choose how long the link lasts.

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A desk they can use is a link that opens a working copy of your desk in a web browser. The person who opens it needs no account and installs nothing. They can zoom in, move things, type and try it out, and whatever they change stays theirs and never comes back to you.

Use it to show a desk to someone who does not use PlexiDesk yet: a demo for a prospect, a template for a client, or a worked example for a colleague. To work on the same desk together instead, see Share a desk with specific people.

Before you start

  • You need to be signed in. If you are not, the sheet says Sign in to share a desk. See Create an account and sign in Coming soon.
  • Every plan. Links are included on Free, Pro and Team.
  • Everything on the desk goes in the link, including its files and pictures. Look over the desk before you share it.
  • Anyone who has the link can open it. Send it only to the people you mean to, and stop it when you no longer want it used.
  1. Open the desk.
  2. Click the desk's name in the header, then click Share… under This desk. You can also right-click the desk in All desks and click Create public link.
  3. Under Who can open this desk?, click Anyone with the link.
  4. Under What do they get?, make sure A desk they can use is selected. It is the first choice and is selected already.
  5. Choose how long the link lasts from Link expires: Never (the default), 48 hours, 7 days or 30 days.
  6. Click Create a desk they can use.
  7. Click Copy beside the link. The button says Copied for a moment.

Paste the link into a message, a document or anywhere else you like.

  1. After you create the link, type the person's email address in the box under it.
  2. Click Send, or press Enter.

Your mail app opens a new message to that address, with the subject A Plexii desk: followed by the desk's name, and the link in the body. The sheet says Your mail app has it, ready to send. Check the message and send it from your mail app.

What people see when they open it

  • A page that says A desk has been shared with you, with the desk's name, its size and an Open the desk button. Under the button it says No account needed. For a link with an end date, the page also shows how long is left.
  • Once they open it, the desk itself, in their browser. They can zoom, rearrange things and change anything they like.
  • A bar along the top with the desk's name, and a Get Plexii — free button that takes them to the PlexiDesk download page. For a link with an end date, the bar shows the time left.
  • The first time they change something, a note explains how long their changes are kept.

Visitors cannot share the desk onward from that page.

Their copy lives in their own browser. For a link with an end date, their copy is removed when the link expires. When a link has expired or you have stopped it, the page tells them so and suggests they ask whoever sent it for a fresh link.

A link set to Never keeps working until you stop it, which makes it the right choice for a link you send to many people over time. Visitors' copies of a Never link stay in their browser until they clear their browser data or you stop the link.

Every usable-desk link you have made for a desk is listed in its share sheet, under Links to this desk. To see the list, open the share sheet and click Anyone with the link.

Each row reads Usable desk, then the time left (or Never expires), then how many times the link has been opened. Beside each row:

  • Copy this link copies the link again.
  • Stop this link working turns the link off.

When you improve a desk after sending the link, you can update the link so it shows the desk as it is now. The address stays the same, so there is nothing new to send.

  1. Make your changes to the desk.
  2. Open the share sheet and click Anyone with the link.
  3. Under Links to this desk, click Update link on the row for the link.
  4. Read the note: Everyone with this link will see the desk as it is now. The link stays the same. Anyone who changed their own copy is asked before it is replaced. Click Update link to go ahead, or Cancel.

Under the row, the sheet says Updated with the date and time, then Everyone with this link now gets this version. The row also shows when the link was last updated.

What visitors see next time they open the link:

  • If they have not changed their copy, they get the new version straight away. Moving things around does not count as a change.
  • If they have changed their copy, a banner says The sender has updated this desk. They can click Load the new version, then Replace my copy to confirm, or click Keep my copy to carry on with their own.

Only the account that created a link can update it. A link that has expired or been stopped cannot be updated, so create a new one instead.

  1. Open the share sheet and click Anyone with the link.
  2. Under Links to this desk, click Stop this link working (the broken-link icon) on the row.

The link stops opening the desk straight away. Anyone who opens it afterwards is told it was turned off by the person who sent it.

A link can carry up to 8 MB. If the desk is larger, PlexiDesk packs the smaller files first and leaves out the largest, and names each file it left out under the link, for example Left out because a link can carry at most 8 MB: followed by the file names and sizes. Files that are not on this computer are left out and named too.

If the desk is still too large to send, the sheet says so. Move its largest files to another desk and try again.

Tips

  • For a one-off, choose 48 hours, 7 days or 30 days, so the link ends by itself.
  • To see if anyone has opened it, check the number of opens on the link's row.

Common questions

Do changes people make reach my desk? No. Each visitor works on their own copy in their browser. Nothing they do reaches you or anyone else who has the link.

What is the difference between this and a live view or a snapshot? A desk they can use is a working copy people can change. A live view is a read-only page that follows your changes. A snapshot is a read-only copy of the desk as it was when you made it. See Publish a live view of a desk and Share a read-only snapshot.

Can I share a desk this way with someone who uses PlexiDesk? Yes, but they work on a copy, not on your desk. To work on the same desk together, share it with them as one of the specific people. See Share a desk with specific people.

Still need help? Contact support at [email protected].