Chat sharing and branches

A chat can be shared with colleagues in your company as a read-only copy that they open, download files from, and continue in their own Oda. Branches are how a chat gains a new version when you edit, rewind or retry, so you can take another path without losing the one you have.

Share a chat

Sharing is available in the DataMind Oda desktop app and the VS Code extension, and needs the Share DataMind Oda Chats permission on your account. The dialog explains it: People you add can open a read-only copy of this conversation and continue it in their own DataMind Oda.

1. Open the chat's menu in the sidebar, or the … menu at the top of the chat, and choose Share….
2. Under Add people or roles, search for the people and roles of your company to include; a role covers its members.
3. Under Include files generated in this conversation, tick the files to send with the chat. Until you tick one, no file goes with it; Add file… adds a file the list misses.
4. Choose Share, then Copy link to send the link, or let the people you added find the chat under Shared with me.

A chat has one share at a time, and it is a copy taken when you share it: The shared copy is stored on your DataMind server. The dialog also warns: Local files are not masked. Personal data in them is shared as is. Check the files before you include them.

In your sidebar, a shared chat carries a small Shared marker; its tooltip reads Shared on your DataMind server.

Update or stop a share

A share does not change by itself. Open Share… again to:

• choose Update share to put the chat's newer messages and files into the shared copy;
• choose Save people after adding or removing people and roles;
• choose Stop sharing to end access for everyone. Afterward the dialog reads This conversation is no longer shared.

If the server no longer holds the share, Oda reports This share no longer exists on your DataMind server. and the old link stops working; share the chat again if you still need one.

What your colleagues see

The people you add find the chat under Shared with me in their sidebar, with who shared it and when. They open a read-only view, marked Read-only, and can:

• read the conversation with its charts, images and pages;
• choose Download on a file to save it;
• choose Open in browser to read the link in their usual browser;
• choose Continue in my Oda to carry the work on.

Continue in my Oda copies the chat with its files into a folder they choose: their current workspace, another workspace, or a folder picked with Choose folder…. The copy is theirs; your chat and files stay as they are. If a file cannot be saved beside the copy, Oda names it: Some files could not be saved: {names}.

Branches: another path through a chat

When you Edit or Rewind to here a message, or Retry the last answer, Oda cuts a new version of the chat that continues from just before that message; /rewind is the command form. The earlier path is kept, and the sidebar still shows one row for the chat: move between versions with the ‹ n/m › switcher on the message, or open the conversation map. The full story is in Conversation branches.

A share carries the version you are on when you share or update it. Whether files come back with a rewind is a choice of its own, explained in Rewind and restore files.

Questions, answered

Can I add a whole role instead of adding people one by one?

Yes. Add people or roles searches the people and roles of your company; a role covers its members, and everyone on the list finds the chat under Shared with me.

Do the people I share with see my later messages?

No. A share is a copy from the moment you share or last updated it. To include newer messages and files, open Share… again and choose Update share.

Can I take back a share?

Yes. Open Share… and choose Stop sharing. Access ends for everyone and the link stops working; your chat and files stay yours.

Which files go with a share?

The dialog lists the files Oda created or changed in the chat, and they start unticked: tick the ones to send. Add file… covers a file the list misses, for example one changed by a shell command. A share can carry at most 50 files, each at most 25 MB, and at most 100 MB together.

What can someone do with a chat I shared?

Open it read-only, read it with its charts, images and pages, download its files, open the link in a browser, and continue it in their own Oda with Continue in my Oda. They cannot change the shared copy.

Does Continue in my Oda change my chat?

No. It copies the chat with its files into a folder the recipient chooses, and they carry on in that copy. Your chat, your files and the share stay as they are.

Why is there no Share… in my chat?

Sharing needs the Share DataMind Oda Chats permission on your account, and it is offered in the DataMind Oda desktop app and the VS Code extension. Without the permission the Share… entry does not appear; if a share is refused anyway, the dialog says Your account is not allowed to share conversations. Ask your administrator.

A chat I was reading says it is no longer shared with me. What happened?

The person who shared it stopped the share, or removed you from the list. The view reads This conversation is no longer shared with you. Ask them to share it with you again if you need it.

Which version of the chat does a share carry?

The version you are on when you share or update it. See Conversation branches for how versions work.