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Share and copy a chat

Use this page to share a chat with a colleague, open the chats that were shared with you, and start your own copy of a shared chat. A share is read-only and time-limited, and it opens that one chat only: it never gives access to the Mind or to your other chats.

Share a chat

  1. Open the chat you want to share, click the chevron next to the chat title and choose Share.
  2. Under Add people, search by name or email and pick one or more people. You can share with several people in one dialog; the footer button counts them, for example Share with 3 people.
  3. Under They see, pick Live or Snapshot. A new share is Live by default.
  4. Under Access duration, pick the end date. The presets are 1 day, 3 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, 30 days and 90 days, 1 week is the default, and the field shows the date as Until {date}.
  5. Click the footer button to share.

Manage who has access

The dialog lists everyone with access under People with access, with the note "Read-only for them. Use the dots on a row to change or end access; changes apply right away." Each row shows the Person, the Access type and the Duration. With no one on the list it reads Not shared with anyone yet: "Only you can open this chat".

Open the ⋮ menu on a row to change that person's access:

If you close the dialog with people picked but not shared, it asks Not shared yet: "You picked {names} but did not press Share. If you close now, they will not get access." Share now shares them, Keep editing returns to the form, and Close without sharing drops the picks.

What the person you shared with sees

The chat appears for them under Shared with me in their chat list, with its title, its Mind, who shared it and the end date. It stays there until the share is revoked or its end date passes, and the rest of their chat list works as usual (see Chat commands, shortcuts and privacy).

They open the chat in the same place a chat normally opens, read-only. The message box is locked and shows Read-only: this chat was shared with you, and a badge reads Shared with you · read-only with the details "Shared by {name} until {date}. You can read it, not write in it." A snapshot adds "Showing the chat as of {date}."

The person can read that one chat, but cannot send, edit or continue messages in it; writing is refused with "This conversation was shared with you read-only. You cannot send messages in it."

They also cannot pass the share on: sharing a chat that was shared with you is refused with "A conversation shared with you cannot be shared onward." They can start their own copy instead.

A share covers one chat only: the Mind, its tabs and your other chats stay closed to the person.

Stop a share, or let it end

To stop sharing, remove the person's access from their row. They lose access at once, the chat closes for them if it is open with This chat is no longer shared with you, and it leaves their Shared with me list.

A share also ends on its end date. Access is checked whenever the chat is opened, so an expired share stops working by itself as soon as the end date passes; no cleanup step has to run first. An open chat shows Your access to this chat has expired, closes in place, and shows This chat isn't available to you: "It may have been deleted, or it was shared with you and that access has expired or was removed. Ask the person who shared it to share it again." To give the person access again, share the chat again.

Start a copy of a shared chat

On a chat that was shared with you, use Start new chat from this to make your own copy. The copy lands in your own chat list, on the same Mind, and you can keep chatting in it as usual.

If the original chat used uploaded spreadsheets, the copy cannot run new queries on them. The copy explains why: "This chat was copied from a shared chat. Spreadsheets from the original chat are not loaded here, so I can't run new queries on them. To ask new questions about a spreadsheet, upload it again."

The action appears only on a chat that was shared with you, on a Mind where you can start chats. The chat's owner and users who can read it through a role never get the action. Copying a chat that was not shared with you is refused with "Only a chat that was shared with you can be copied." On a Mind where you cannot start chats, the copy is refused with "You cannot start chats on this mind."

Questions, answered

Can I share a chat with more than one person?

Yes. Add several people under Add people and share once; they all get the same access type and end date, and the footer button counts them, for example Share with 3 people.

How long can a share last?

Up to 90 days, and always a future date. The presets are 1 day, 3 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, 30 days and 90 days, and a new share lasts 1 week by default. You can change an existing share's end date from its row under People with access, with Change end date.

Can the person I shared with send messages in the chat?

No. A share is read-only. The message box is locked and shows Read-only: this chat was shared with you. If they try to write, they are refused with "This conversation was shared with you read-only. You cannot send messages in it."

Can the person I shared with pass the chat on to someone else?

No. A chat shared with you cannot be shared onward, even with the Share Chats permission: "A conversation shared with you cannot be shared onward."

Can I stop sharing a chat?

Yes. Remove the person's access from their row under People with access, or use Remove access…. They lose access at once, the chat closes for them if it is open with This chat is no longer shared with you, and it leaves their Shared with me list.

What happens when a share expires?

The person loses access. The end date is checked whenever the chat is opened, so the share stops working by itself once that date passes. An open chat shows Your access to this chat has expired and then This chat isn't available to you, and the chat leaves their Shared with me list. Share the chat again to give access back.

What is copied into my new chat?

Answered turns, with their attachments copied as new files. An unfinished turn is left out, and a private chat is copied as a private chat. The copy becomes a chat of your own.

Why can't I see Start new chat from this?

It appears only on chats that were shared with you, on a Mind where you can start chats, and it is for the guest only: the chat's owner and users who read it through a role never get it. On other chats, copying is refused with "Only a chat that was shared with you can be copied."

What happens to spreadsheets in a copied chat?

The copy cannot run new queries on spreadsheets that were uploaded in the original chat. The copy includes this note: "This chat was copied from a shared chat. Spreadsheets from the original chat are not loaded here, so I can't run new queries on them. To ask new questions about a spreadsheet, upload it again." Upload the file again to ask new questions; see Attach files and Excel data to a chat.

Can I share or copy a sub-chat?

No. Sharing a sub-chat is refused with "Sub-conversations cannot be shared directly.", and copying is refused with "Only the main chat can be copied, not a sub-chat."

What is the difference between Live and Snapshot?

Live shows the chat as it grows: new messages appear for the person as they arrive. Snapshot freezes the chat at the moment you take it, and you can update it later with Update snapshot to now. A new share is Live by default.

Who can I share a chat with?

Named people only, picked from the directory. You can share any chat you can read, if your role has Share Chats, listed in Who can do what with Minds. A person who cannot open shared Minds chats is refused: they need View Minds and View Chats/Messages.

Where do I find Share?

Open the chat, click the chevron next to its title and choose Share. It sits between Bookmark and Delete, and appears only when you can share the chat. A people icon next to the title, whose tooltip gives the number of people, means the chat is already shared.