> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://sofiedocs.usetransfer.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Share a Surface

> Share a Surface with teammates or external guests using role, record, expiry, renewal, and download controls.

Surface sharing separates internal collaboration from external guest access. Share with teammates when they use Sofie. Invite an external guest when they should open only the Surface through a time-limited link.

<img src="https://mintcdn.com/transfertechnologiesinc/EyzljDo9yZ1av-pm/images/sofie/whats-new/1.8.24/carousel-5.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=EyzljDo9yZ1av-pm&q=85&s=d3f4d0dadcc69a030247b7d65e55fd58" alt="Surface sharing dialog showing external guest access controls" width="720" height="1024" data-path="images/sofie/whats-new/1.8.24/carousel-5.png" />

## Understand the roles

| Role        | What the person can do                                                                         |
| ----------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Owner       | Manage the Surface, its location, teammates, versions, records, access, and guest invitations. |
| Manager     | Edit the Surface, make changes live, manage records and access, and invite external guests.    |
| Participant | Use the live Surface and add or update information where the collection rules allow it.        |
| Viewer      | Open the live Surface and view the information their access allows.                            |
| Guest       | Use the live Surface through an external invitation with explicit capabilities and limits.     |

Managers can work on a Surface before it has a live version. Participants and Viewers use the current live version, so you must make the first version live before sharing with those roles.

## Share with teammates

Only the owner can add or change teammate access.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open sharing">
    Open the Surface and click **Share**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose Teammates">
    Select the **Teammates** tab.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add people">
    Search by name or email and select one or more teammates.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose access">
    Select **Can view**, **Can participate**, or **Can manage Surface**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add context">
    Optionally add a note for the recipients, then click **Share**.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Use **People with Access** to change a teammate's role or remove their access later.

<Note>
  A Surface in a Workspace also gives every Workspace member inherited Viewer access to the current live version. A direct Participant or Manager role takes precedence. Removing a direct share does not remove inherited Workspace access.
</Note>

## Set the Surface-wide guest policy

Before you invite a guest to the live Surface, decide what all live guests can do in each collection. Open **Share** > **External guests** and use **What guests can see**. Draft-review invitations are explained separately below.

| Level                        | Applies to every live guest invitation                                                                         |
| ---------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Hidden**                   | Guests cannot access the collection.                                                                           |
| **Can view**                 | Guests can read all records in the collection, subject to any preserved field limits.                          |
| **Can add & edit their own** | Guests can read all records, add records, and update records they created, subject to field limits.            |
| **Custom — set in chat**     | Sofie has configured narrower record rules, field limits, or other behavior that the presets do not represent. |

Click **Save and update live surface** after changing a level. The current live Surface changes immediately for existing and future live guest invitations. Sofie also carries the change into open drafts so a later **Make live** does not silently restore the old guest policy.

**Make everything viewable** changes each currently Hidden collection to **Can view**. It makes all records in those collections readable to live guests. Existing custom collections remain custom.

<Warning>
  These controls are Surface-wide, not per invitation. Changing a collection level can change what every existing live guest can reach. Preview an existing invitation again after saving.
</Warning>

If you need selected-record access or field-specific limits, ask Sofie before creating the invitation:

```text theme={null}
For external guests, show only action records explicitly included in each invitation. Hide Internal notes and QA disposition. Let participating guests update Response and Evidence attachment on their invited actions, but do not let them remove records. Show me the proposed guest rules before changing anything.
```

Choosing **Can view** or **Can add & edit their own** later replaces custom record-level behavior for that collection. Existing field limits are preserved.

## Invite an external guest

Managers can invite people outside Sofie from the **External guests** tab after the Surface-wide guest policy is ready.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Confirm the live version and guest policy">
    Live guests use the current live version. Review **What guests can see** and save any Surface-wide changes before configuring this invitation.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose specific records when required">
    If the Surface uses invited-record access, select the records this guest should see. Linked items that the Surface allows can appear with them.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose the access level">
    Select **Can view** or **Can participate**. Guests cannot manage the Surface or change who has access.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set invitation limits">
    Enter the email address. Choose an expiry from 1 to 365 days and a limit of 1, 3, 5, or 10 browsers or devices.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose renewal and downloads">
    Decide whether the guest can renew an expired link themselves and whether they can download the Surface. Optionally add a note.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Preview and send">
    Click **Preview as this guest** to check the live experience, then click **Send Invitation**.
  </Step>
</Steps>

The invitation opens only the Surface. It does not give the guest access to the surrounding Sofie app, Workspace, chats, or other artifacts.

## Control guest data

Guest access is the intersection of several layers. A later layer can narrow an earlier one, but an invitation cannot broaden the Surface-wide policy.

| Layer                     | What it controls                                                                    |
| ------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Surface-wide guest policy | Which collections and record operations are available to live guests.               |
| Invitation access level   | Whether this guest is view-only or can participate.                                 |
| Invitation record scope   | Which records this guest can reach when custom invited-record rules are configured. |
| Field limits              | Which values this guest receives, adds, or edits.                                   |

<Warning>
  Preview the guest experience before sending an invitation. Check both what appears and what does not appear, including linked records, attachments, hidden fields, exports, and empty states.
</Warning>

## Invite a draft reviewer

Use **Invite as draft reviewer** when an external person should test an unpublished draft.

A draft reviewer:

* Uses isolated test data.
* Cannot affect the live Surface or live records.
* Reviews only that draft.
* Loses review access when the draft is made live or discarded.

Use this for usability and workflow review. It is not a substitute for your required content or process approval.

## Control downloads

When **Allow downloads** is on:

* A Slides guest can download PDF or editable PPTX.
* A Pages guest can download PDF.
* An Interactive guest can download a paginated PDF.

Turn downloads off when the guest should use only the shared browser view. You can change download access for an existing invitation later.

## Manage existing invitations

The **External guests** list shows whether an invitation is pending, active, expired, or ended. It can also show the last open time, records added, reviewer status, and download access.

You can:

* Extend access by 7, 14, 30, 60, or 90 days.
* Turn self-renewal on or off.
* Change download access.
* Send a new invitation.
* End access.

When self-renewal is enabled, an expired guest can request a fresh link at the same email address. The renewed link keeps the same access instead of creating a broader invitation.

## Open a Surface as a guest

If you receive a Surface invitation:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the newest invitation email">
    The invitation page shows the Surface title, the email it was shared with, your access summary, available downloads, expiry, and remaining browser or device limit.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click Open Surface">
    The link opens only the shared Surface. It does not open the surrounding Workspace, chats, or other Sofie artifacts.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Use the intended browser or device">
    Each different browser or device counts once toward the invitation limit. Ask the sender for a new invitation if you need a different limit.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Renew when offered">
    If the link expired or reached its limit and self-renewal is enabled, click **Email me a new link**. Sofie sends it to the original invitation email. Open the newest email because the old link no longer works.
  </Step>
</Steps>

If the page says the invitation is unavailable, the access may have expired, reached its limit, or been withdrawn. Ask the sender for a new invitation. Downloads appear only when the sender enabled them.

## Brand the guest experience

External guest pages can use your organization's name, logo, and colors when organization branding is configured. Guests see the Surface title, their access level, the email address it was shared with, and the invitation expiry.

## Share a snapshot

Surface access normally follows the live version, current records, and current feeds. If a teammate needs a named Surface version with its saved feed state, create and share a snapshot.

A snapshot-only recipient can view the saved version and feeds without receiving access to the full Surface. A snapshot does not freeze collection records or grant separate access to those records. For a record-backed Surface, share the live Surface when the recipient needs record access and retain a separate export when you need point-in-time record evidence.

See [Versions and snapshots](/surfaces/versions-and-snapshots).