Follow a teammate
Move with another collaborator during a live review so everyone can stay oriented on the same canvas area.
Follow a teammate when the group needs to look together
Follow behavior helps you move with another collaborator during a live canvas session. It is useful when one person is walking through a canvas and everyone else needs to stay oriented without asking for directions every few seconds.
Use it for design reviews, workshops, client walkthroughs, planning sessions, onboarding, and handoffs. If the session is more formal and the presenter should control the flow, consider Present a canvas. If everyone is still editing, follow behavior keeps collaboration live.
Availability and permissions
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Available on | Workspaces and plans with live collaboration features. |
| Available for | Web app and desktop app. |
| Who can follow | Members, guests, or external collaborators who can open the canvas and see presence controls. |
| Who can be followed | Collaborators currently present in the same canvas where follow is supported. |
| What follow does | Moves your view with another person’s navigation. It does not give you their permissions or control their account. |
Where to find follow
Open the canvas and look for collaborator avatars, the presence list, cursor labels, or an avatar menu. Where supported, choose the teammate you want to follow. Your view moves with that person as they pan, zoom, or move through pages.
Stop following when you want to inspect another area on your own.
If you do not see follow controls, the workspace, device, canvas state, or your permission may not support the action. Use presence indicators, page navigation, comments, or a call as the fallback.
When follow is useful
| Scenario | How follow helps |
|---|---|
| Design review | The reviewer can follow the presenter across large canvas sections. |
| Workshop | Participants can return to the facilitator’s area after breakout work. |
| Client walkthrough | Clients can stay with the presenter instead of getting lost in a large canvas. |
| Handoff | A teammate can show the next owner where work lives. |
| Debugging access | You can confirm whether someone is looking at the same page before troubleshooting. |
Follow versus present versus call
Follow moves your view with another collaborator while everyone remains in the canvas. Present mode is better when the presenter wants a more structured walkthrough. An audio/video call is better when the group needs voice discussion. Team chat is better for written live discussion. Comments are better for feedback that must remain attached to a specific object.
These tools work well together. For example, join a call, follow the presenter, then leave comments on the exact objects that need follow-up.
Permission and visibility notes
Following someone does not change your access. If the presenter can edit a canvas and you only have view access, following them will not unlock editing controls.
You can follow only inside work you can open. If someone moves to another private canvas or page that you cannot access, you may not be able to follow there.
Guests and external collaborators can follow only where their shared access and the canvas feature set allow it. If a guest cannot follow, they may still be able to use page navigation, comments, chat, or a call.
Common mistakes
Do not use follow as a substitute for a clear review path. If people need to review later, leave comments or notes.
Do not assume follow means everyone is paying attention. It means their view is moving with the presenter.
Do not keep following when you need to inspect something independently. Stop following, review the work, then follow again if needed.
Do not confuse follow with permission sharing. If someone cannot edit, change their item permission with the sharing controls. See Share work with teammates.
Recover when follow does not work
If the person you want to follow is missing, confirm they are currently in the same canvas and visible in presence.
If follow starts but the view stops moving, refresh the canvas or ask the presenter to pause while live state reconnects.
If follow is unavailable for a guest or external collaborator, check the canvas share permission and use a call or Present mode as a workaround. For outside reviewers, see Invite guests and external collaborators.
If the canvas is very large or the device is under heavy load, follow detail can feel delayed. Reduce other heavy tabs, use the desktop app if available, or rely on page links and comments for precise navigation.
Related articles
- Present a canvas
- Collaborate live on a canvas
- Use canvas chat
- Use online presence
- Use audio/video calls
- When work is read-only