Sharing & collaboration
Viewer mode
Viewer mode is what someone sees when they open a Can view link or a view-only invite. It's read-only by design: they get the finished design to look at and download, without any of the tools to change it.
The View only state
The design opens with a View only badge in the top bar. That badge is the visitor's cue that they're looking, not editing — nothing on the canvas can be moved, resized or changed. Clicks select nothing, and there's no way to accidentally nudge a layout you sent for review.
This is the same design you'd see in the editor, rendered exactly as you built it — including every Canvas in the document.
What's hidden
To keep the view clean, Popcorn Editor hides the editing chrome a viewer doesn't need:
- No editing toolbars above the canvas.
- No Properties panel on the right.
- No Assistant panel on the left.
The result is the design front and center, not the workspace around it. A client or stakeholder sees your work the way it's meant to be seen, with no controls to distract from it.
What a viewer can do
Read-only doesn't mean passive. A viewer can still:
| Action | Available in viewer mode? |
|---|---|
| Look at every Canvas in the design | Yes |
| Zoom and pan around the artwork | Yes |
| Download the design | Yes, when the owner allows it |
| Move, resize or edit objects | No |
| Run the Assistant or other AI tools | No |
Download availability follows the owner's setup, so a viewer can grab a copy when you've enabled it. That download opens the same Export dialog editors use — see The Export dialog for the formats it produces.
Tip: viewer mode is the right choice for client sign-off and anyone who just needs to see the design. If they need to make changes, send an edit invite instead.
Becoming an editor
A view-only visitor isn't stuck. If you actually invited them to edit, the design opens with the prompt "You're invited to edit. Sign in to start editing." Signing in switches them out of viewer mode and into the full editor, with their changes attributed to their account.
Editing always requires signing in — that's how live collaboration keeps track of who did what. Walk through the invite flow in Inviting people by email.
When a link stops working
If the owner reset the link or turned sharing off, viewer mode won't open at all. Instead the visitor sees "This link is no longer available." with the hint that it may have been turned off or expired, and to ask the owner for a new one.
That's expected — resetting or stopping a link is how you cut off access after the fact. See Managing a shared link for expiry, resetting a leaked link, and stopping sharing entirely.
Where to go next
Now that you know what a viewer experiences, set up the link that gets them there in Share by link, or give named people their own access with Inviting people by email.