Private links and share links in Canvas

Canvas links do two different jobs. Some links send a person to an exact place inside a canvas: a page, object, comment thread, or chat message. Other links help a person get access to the canvas in the first place. Mixing those up is one of the most common reasons a recipient says a link does not work even though the URL was copied correctly.

Use private links for precision after access already exists. Use share links when the recipient may need access, guest entry, or a permission check before opening the canvas.

The word private here does not mean a separate privacy mode or a secret URL format. It means the link follows the normal access rules for the canvas. If the recipient does not already have access through the canvas, project, workspace, or a direct share, a private link can still lead to an access error.

In practice, Copy page link, Copy link on an object, Copy comment link, and Copy link on a canvas chat message are private links. They point to a normal canvas route and focus the right place after the canvas opens. They do not invite the recipient, change the recipient's permission, or make the canvas available to the public.

Availability and permissions

Guests do not see the normal Share control. If a guest needs another person added, a workspace member or canvas owner should manage access from Share.

Private links point to a place

Private links are best when the recipient already belongs to the canvas, project, or workspace and needs to land in the right spot.

Use a private link when you need to say:

1. "Review this exact page."
2. "Look at this file object."
3. "Reply to this comment thread."
4. "Open the screenshot I marked."
5. "Continue from this page during the workshop."

In the canvas, these private links usually come from Copy page link, Copy link on an object, Copy comment link, or Copy link on a chat message. They keep the conversation precise. They do not add the person to the canvas, change their permission, or make the canvas public.

Why Share appears after copying a private link

After ALLO copies a precise page, object, comment, or chat link, it may show a copied-link message with a Share action. That is intentional. The copied link knows where to go. Share lets you verify whether the recipient can actually get there.

Use that Share action before sending the link outside the confirmed audience for the canvas. This is especially important when the recipient is a client, contractor, guest, external collaborator, or teammate who may be outside the project. Opening Share is the access check that prevents a precise link from becoming an access-denied message.

If you are sure the recipient already has access, you can send the private link directly. If you are not sure, share or confirm access first, then send the private link for the exact location.

The two-link handoff

For external work, the cleanest handoff often uses two links on purpose.

First, send the share link. This is the access link. It answers "Can this person enter the canvas, and with what permission?" The share link is the one to use in email, onboarding notes, client kickoff messages, contractor briefs, and workshop invitations when you are not certain the recipient already has access.

Second, send the exact private link. This is the navigation link. It answers "Where should this person look after they can enter?" Use a page link for the review section, an object link for the exact file or screenshot, or a comment link for the thread that needs a reply.

A good message looks like this in practice: "Use this share link to enter with comment access. After it opens, use this page link to go straight to the pricing review section." That extra sentence prevents the classic failure mode where a client receives a precise object URL, signs in with the wrong account, and assumes the canvas is broken.

If you only send one link externally, choose the share link. The recipient can always navigate once they are inside. They cannot navigate anywhere if access fails at the door.

Share links open the access path

Use a share link when the recipient may not already have access. This is the safer default for external collaborators, clients, contractors, workshop participants, or anyone whose account and permission you have not confirmed.

Share links are created from Share. Depending on the visible settings and workspace rules, a share link may grant access with the selected permission, ask the recipient to complete guest entry, ask for a Canvas PIN, or check whether the person is allowed to enter before opening the canvas. Do not assume a share link bypasses workspace rules. Trust the final permission shown in Share.

Share links are the right choice when you need to:

1. Send a canvas to a client for comment-only review.
2. Invite a contractor to edit a specific working canvas.
3. Let workshop guests join without making them workspace members.
4. Give a reviewer access before sending an exact page or comment link.
5. Confirm that a link has a view, comment, or edit permission before sending it broadly.

For external review, comment access is better than edit access. Use edit access only when the recipient should change canvas content.

URL patterns

These examples show the shape of common Canvas links. The values are generated by ALLO, so copy the real link from the product instead of typing one by hand.

The same focus query can appear after a share link. For example, if you copy an object link, click Share, and then copy the share URL, the final URL can look like /s/{share-key}?req=obj&cid={object-id}&perm={permission}. The share key handles access. The query values only tell ALLO where to focus after entry.

Most exact links use the normal /canvas/{canvas-id} route, but a canvas can also open through its generated root URL, such as /{canvas-url}. If ALLO copied the link while you were already on a different canvas entry route, use the copied URL as-is instead of editing it by hand.

Object links attached to canvas objects can also point to other ALLO canvases or sub-canvases. When those object links use a share-link destination, they may keep the /s/... shape. When they use a normal canvas destination, they use the normal /canvas/... shape. In both cases, the viewer still needs the right access at the destination.

The query values after page, cid, comment_p_name, comment_id, and chat_message_id are generated by ALLO. They are not meant to be readable, reusable across canvases, or edited by hand. ALLO strips query strings and hashes when it is only trying to detect which canvas a URL belongs to, then uses those query values later to focus the page, object, comment, or chat message after the canvas opens.

Choose the right link

Internal teammate review

For normal teammate review, start with the narrowest useful link. If the teammate already works in the project or canvas, use Copy page link for a page-level review, Copy link from the Element menu for one selected object, Copy comment link from Comments and mentions for a thread, or a chat message link when the conversation itself is the reference.

If the teammate cannot open it, do not keep resending the same precise link. Open Share a canvas, confirm their access, and then resend the precise link. The first link was doing the right precision job; it was missing the access job.

External client review

For a client, start from Share. Choose view access if the client only needs to inspect the canvas. Choose comment access when they should leave feedback on pages or objects. Avoid edit access unless the client should change the work directly.

After the client has access, send a page link or comment link for the specific section that needs review. This keeps the client from landing at the top of a large canvas and guessing where the review starts.

Contractor and guest access

Use Guest collaboration when someone outside the workspace needs temporary or scoped access. A guest can see an entry screen, enter a name, and continue into the canvas when the shared access allows it. The guest experience can hide owner-level controls such as Share, Present, thread moderation, and workspace metadata.

For a contractor who needs to work in the canvas over time, decide whether they should be a guest, external collaborator, or workspace member. Do not use an exact object link as a workaround for missing access. Grant the right access first, then use exact links to point them to the right work.

Exact links after access is granted

After someone can open the canvas, exact links make review faster.

For big canvases, combine both jobs in your message:

1. Send or confirm the share link first.
2. Send the exact page, object, comment, or chat message link second.
3. Tell the recipient what action you need: view, comment, or edit.

What can go wrong