Track object activity and unread changes

When several people work in the same canvas, the hard part is not always finding the page. It is knowing what changed after you last looked. ALLO gives you lightweight activity signals directly on the canvas: a hover card that shows who added or edited an object, a red dot on unread objects, and unread counts in the slide rail. For current-session presence and cursors, use live collaboration.

These signals are not a full audit log. They are navigation aids for review, handoff, and follow-up. Use them when a teammate says “I updated the mockup,” when you return to a canvas after a meeting, or when a page looks familiar but something has changed.

Availability and permissions

The exact signals depend on collaboration state, object type, and whether ALLO has creator or editor metadata for that object.

See who added or edited an object

Hover over a canvas object to see recent modifier details when they are available. The hover card can show rows such as Edited by and Added by, along with the person and time. This is useful when you need to understand whether an object is original context, a new review note, or a recent update.

The hover card appears after a short delay and closes when you move away, click elsewhere, scroll, zoom, enter edit mode, open comments, or switch canvas state. It is intentionally temporary so it does not cover the canvas while you work.

Some objects may not show modifier details. For example, ALLO does not show this hover card when the object has no usable creator/editor metadata, when collaboration display is turned off, while you are commenting or editing, in full-screen states where the card would be distracting, or for object types that are excluded from the modifier card.

Read the red dot on an object

A red dot on a canvas object means ALLO is treating that object as unread for you. It appears when another collaborator created or changed that object after your last read state.

Hovering the object marks it as read. That is why a red dot can disappear after you inspect the object. If you only want to scan a page without clearing every unread state, use the slide rail counts first, then open the page where the count matters.

Unread object dots are separate from comment bubbles. A page can have unread object changes, unread comments, or both. For comment workflows, use Comments and mentions and the Collaboration side panel.

Find pages with unread object changes

The slide rail can show unread counts on page rows or thumbnails. The count comes from unread objects on that page, so it helps you jump directly to the page that changed instead of scanning every page in a long canvas.

Open the page with the unread count, then look for red dots on objects. Hover the changed object to see who added or edited it when that metadata is available. If the canvas uses many pages, combine unread counts with page titles and Overview so you can review changes in order.

The bottom label in the open slide rail can summarize the total unread object count across pages. Treat it as a reminder that there is still unseen canvas activity, not as a task list.

How this differs from Activity

Object activity indicators are local to the canvas. They help you review changes in place.

Use Activity when you need a broader feed across projects, canvases, dashboards, or workspace work. Use object hover details when you are already inside the canvas and need to understand a specific object.

Common review workflow

Start from the slide rail and look for pages with unread counts. Open the first page with a count, scan for red object dots, then hover the object to see who added or edited it. If the change needs discussion, add an object comment or reply to the existing thread. If the change is clear and no response is needed, simply reviewing the object is enough.

For design review, this helps you spot which image, note, or layout object changed. For workshops, it helps facilitators find new notes after a participant adds them. For client handoff, it helps the team confirm whether final edits landed before export or presentation.

What can go wrong

If you expected an unread dot but do not see one, the object may already be read for your account, the edit may have happened before your read baseline, the object type may be excluded, or the canvas may still be syncing.

If a red dot disappears as soon as you hover, that is expected. Hovering an unread object marks it as read.

If the slide rail count remains after you reviewed a page, another unread object may still be on the page, or your view may need a refresh after sync catches up. Use the Collaboration side panel if you need to compare unread object changes with comment threads.

If hover details do not show a person or time, use comments, Activity, or the collaborator who shared the update for more context. The hover card is a convenience signal, not the only source of truth for collaboration history.