Sharing & collaboration
Share by link
The fastest way to get a design in front of a client or teammate is a link. Open the Share this design dialog from the Share button, choose who can open it and what they can do, then copy the link and send it — no attachments, no exports.
Save your design first
Sharing works on a cloud-saved design, so the link always points at the latest version. If the design hasn't been saved yet, the dialog shows Save your design to share it. with a Save now button — one click saves it and unlocks sharing. If you're signed out, you'll see Sign in to save and share your design. with a Sign in button instead.
Once it's saved, everything in the dialog becomes active. For more on accounts and how saving works, see Signing in, saving & My designs.
Who has access
Under the Who has access heading, a scope row sets who is allowed to open the design. The dropdown has two choices:
| Scope | What it means |
|---|---|
| Restricted | Only you and invited people can open this. |
| Anyone with the link | Anyone with the link can open this. |
Restricted (the default)
New designs start Restricted — private to you and anyone you invite by email. No public link works in this mode; access is granted person by person. If you'd rather share with named people than an open link, use email invites instead (covered in the Inviting people by email article).
If you switch a design back to Restricted after sharing it, the dialog warns Switching to Restricted disables the current link. — the link you already sent stops opening the design.
Anyone with the link
Choose Anyone with the link to create a public link. The dialog reveals the link field and a Copy link button, plus a role pill that decides what visitors can do.
Can view vs Can edit
The Can view / Can edit pill controls what someone who opens the link is allowed to do.
- Can view opens the design read-only. Visitors can look at every Canvas, zoom and pan, and download — but nothing on the canvas can be changed. The editing chrome, the Properties panel, and the Assistant panel are all hidden, so they see the design cleanly.
- Can edit lets visitors change the design.
Editing a link never touches your original
This is the part worth understanding before you send an editable link. With Anyone with the link · Can edit, the helper caption reads:
They get their own editable copy — your original stays unchanged.
When someone opens an editable link and starts changing things, Popcorn Editor gives them their own copy to work in. Your original is never overwritten by a stranger who happened to have the link. That makes an editable link safe to hand out for "take this and run with it" situations — a colleague can remix your layout without any risk to the original.
True per-person live co-editing — where several named people work on the same design at once, with live cursors and presence — comes through email invites rather than an open link. That's covered in the Live collaboration & presence article.
Copy the link and send it
Click Copy link (or the Copy button in the dialog header). It confirms with Copied! and the link is on your clipboard, ready to paste into email, chat, or a brief.
If your browser blocks clipboard access, the button shows Press ⌘C to copy with the link already selected — just press ⌘C (Ctrl+C on Windows) to copy it yourself.
What recipients can and can't do
A link lets people view or edit the design, but it doesn't hand out your account. AI and other premium tools — running the Assistant, for example — require the visitor's own paid account. A free or anonymous recipient can open, look at, and (on an editable link) change the design, but they can't run premium features on your dime. See Plans & credits for how that works.
Managing the link later
When the scope is Anyone with the link, an Advanced section (click to expand) holds the controls for the link's lifetime: set when it expires (Never, In 7 days, or In 30 days), Reset link to mint a fresh URL and kill the old one, or Stop sharing to turn the public link off entirely. Reach for these when a link has been shared too widely or a review window has closed. The Managing a shared link article walks through each one.
Closing the dialog
You don't need to hit a save button — sharing changes are applied as you make them, and a Saving… indicator appears in the footer while they persist. When you're done, click Done to close the dialog. The link keeps working exactly as you left it.
Next: learn when to use named invites instead of an open link in the Inviting people by email article, or brush up on how cloud saving keeps your link current in Signing in, saving & My designs.