You share with named colleagues and work in the same place, on the project as it is right now.
Share something
You can share a layer, a project, or a layer group. Open the Share dialog, find the person under "Find user", and pick their "Permission": "View" to look, or "Edit" to change it with you.
"Existing access" lists everyone who has access, and is where you take it away again.
When Ava Reyes shares "Hydrants" with a teammate at "Edit", they're both editing the same layer. No copies, no exports, no reconciling two versions later.
Sharing a project to "View" is available on every plan. "Edit" and "Owner" are working together, which is part of Professional and above.
If your organization's policy blocks a share, the dialog tells you why. Admins set that policy in organization settings — see Organization Management.
Invite someone to view a map
The person you want to show a map to does not need an account, a plan, or a place in your organization. Select "Share" in the top bar of the map, and under "Invite by email", enter their address, choose the "Email language", and select "Send invitation".
They receive an email that names you and the map. When they accept, they can view that map and nothing else. Viewing is free, it uses none of your seats, and there is no limit on how many people you invite.
Someone who already makes maps in an organization of their own keeps it exactly as it is. Someone new signs up to view it and gets a workspace of their own on the Free plan, like every account. It includes the 14-day Professional trial, which starts when they sign up.
The map's owner sends the invitation.
Shared with me
Everything other people have shared with you is in one list, whichever organization it comes from: each web map and dashboard you may open, whose it is, and when it last changed. Each opens at its own Web address.
If you make maps, the list is on Maps home under "Shared with me". If you only view, it is the page you land on when you sign in.
Request access
If you open a link to a map or dashboard that you are not allowed to see, the page offers "Request access". Selecting it sends your name and email address to the owner of that address. The page tells you nothing about what is published there, and neither does the answer to asking.
The organization's owners get the request in the Inbox and by email. "Grant access" lets the person view the application: they become a viewer with no seat and, when the application is open to chosen groups, a member of the group you pick. "Decline" refuses it. Either way the person is told, in the app and by email.
A person can ask once for each application. A declined request can be asked again after 30 days.
Layer versions
Versions belong to the layer, and each is a "Draft", "Published", or "Archived".
- "Create draft" starts a working version, so you can improve data without disturbing what other people — or a published map — are relying on.
- "Publish" makes a version the one others can pick up.
- "Adopt in project" appears when a layer you use has a newer published version. Each project takes it when it's ready, rather than having it change underneath.
Comments on the map
Comments are anchored to places. A thread belongs to the project and to the spot it's about.
The "Comments" toggle in the top bar opens a panel listing every thread. It stays put while you pan and zoom — drag its header to move it wherever suits you.
Every thread is a pin on the map, showing whether it's "Open" or "Resolved", how many replies it has, and whether there's something new. Hover a pin to see who wrote it and what it says, without opening anything.
To start one, click "Add comment on the map" in the panel header, then click the spot. In the composer, type @ to mention a colleague, or "Attach image" to bring a photo along.
Open a thread for the whole conversation, and "Resolve" it when it's settled. A reply you started but didn't send survives closing the panel.
The "Comment options" menu also hides resolved threads and downloads the lot as CSV or JSON.
The Inbox
Mentions and replies from every project land in the Inbox — the bell in the top bar. Each row takes you straight to its thread, switching projects if it has to.
Mark up the map
Markup is drawn on the map itself, and everyone with access sees it. Open Edit → "Add Markup" on the toolbar and pick a tool.
"Text Label" and "Callout / Note" — click the map and type right there.
"Line / Path" and "Area Outline" — click each point, press Enter to finish.
Select anything you've drawn to open its style card and change its colour, width, opacity, or text size. Drag it to move it.
"Photo Overlay" pins a photo to a place, showing a thumbnail right on the map.