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Share a read-only snapshot

Send a frozen copy of a desk that anyone can read in a web browser, and let them add it to their own PlexiDesk workspace if you choose.

All plansUpdated

A snapshot is a frozen copy of a desk as it is right now. Anyone with the link can read it in a web browser, with no account and nothing to install. It does not change when you keep working on the desk, so it is a good way to hand over a record: what a plan looked like when it was agreed, or a desk to attach to an email.

You can also let the people you send it to add it to their own PlexiDesk workspace, where they get a copy of their own to work on.

Before you start

  • Every plan. Snapshots are included on Free, Pro and Team.
  • To send the snapshot by email from PlexiDesk, sign in before you create it. See Create an account and sign in Coming soon.
  • Everything on the desk goes in the snapshot. 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.
  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?, click A snapshot they can read.
  5. Choose how long the link lasts from Link expires: Never (the default), 48 hours, 7 days or 30 days.
  6. Leave Let them add it to their own workspace ticked if people may keep a copy, or untick it to make the snapshot read only. It is ticked when the sheet opens.
  7. Click Create a snapshot they can read.
  8. Click Copy beside the link, and paste it wherever you like.

Send the snapshot by email

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

PlexiDesk emails them the link, and the sheet confirms, for example Sent to the address, then It is also in their Shared with me. If they already have a PlexiDesk account with that address, the snapshot also appears on their Shared page and in their Inbox. See Rooms and desks shared with you.

You can send the same link to several people, one address at a time.

What the recipient sees

The link opens a page in their web browser. Nobody needs to sign in to read it.

  • At the top: Shared by and a two-word name, such as gentle-otter, with how long ago it was shared. The page does not show your account name.
  • The number of views, and a label: Can be added to workspace, or View only if you unticked the box.
  • The desk's name and description, then everything on the desk as a set of cards. Notes and pages show their text, tables show their columns and first 20 rows, links show the address they open, and colours and images show as themselves.

For a room, the page shows the room's name and a card for each desk in it.

If the link has expired or you have stopped it, the page says Can't load this share, and asks them to ask the person who shared it for a new one.

Add it to a workspace

When you leave Let them add it to their own workspace ticked, the page shows Want this in your own workspace? under the snapshot. This is what the recipient does:

  1. Click Add to my workspace.
  2. Fill in Email, an optional Display handle, and a Password of at least 8 characters, then click Sign up & add. Someone who already has an account clicks Already have one? Log in instead, then Log in & add.
  3. The page says Added to your workspace. Click Download PlexiDesk, install it, and sign in with the same email address.
  4. In PlexiDesk, open Shared in the side menu and click Add to my workspace on the snapshot's card.

They get their own copy, in a room called Shared with me, and can change it however they like. Their changes do not reach you, and later changes on your desk do not reach them. See Rooms and desks shared with you.

Every snapshot you make of 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 Snapshot, then can be added to a workspace or read only, then the number of views. Beside each row:

  • Copy this link copies the link again.
  • Stop this link working turns the link off, so it no longer opens.
A snapshot they can read A live view they can watch A desk they can use
Changes when you edit the desk No Yes No
People can change it No No Yes, their own copy
Recipients can add it to their own PlexiDesk workspace If you allow it No No
Link can expire Yes No, you stop it Yes

See Publish a live view of a desk and Share a desk anyone can use.

Common questions

Does the snapshot change when I edit the desk? No. It shows the desk exactly as it was when you clicked Create a snapshot they can read. To share a newer version, create a new snapshot and send that link.

Can people edit the snapshot? Not on the page. If you let them add it to their own workspace, they can edit their own copy in PlexiDesk.

Someone cannot find Add to my workspace. Why? You unticked Let them add it to their own workspace when you made the link, so the page shows View only. Create a new snapshot with the box ticked and send them that link.

The sheet says "Sign in to invite people by email." Sign in to PlexiDesk, create the snapshot again, and send the new link.

Can I share a widget, document or file as a snapshot? Yes, from the item itself. See Share a widget, document or file Coming soon.

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