Fix shared access

Shared access problems usually come from account, workspace, permission, or deletion

If a shared canvas or project does not open, start with the simplest checks:

• Are you signed in with the right email?
• Are you in the right workspace?
• Are you using a share that still exists?

Most shared-access problems are not mysterious. The item was shared with another account, the owner changed permission, the work was deleted, the link is old, or the share gives you less access than you expected.

Shared with me is a recovery surface, but it cannot override the permission on the original work. If you no longer have access to the canvas or project, the list may show less information, fail to open the item, or stop showing it after refresh.

For normal opening steps, see Open shared work.

Check the account first

Make sure you are signed in with the email that received the share. If a teammate shared work with you@company.com, signing in with you@gmail.com will not grant access just because both accounts belong to you.

If you use multiple ALLO workspaces, use Switch workspaces. Shared work belongs to a specific workspace. A canvas shared in the Client Review workspace will not appear in the Product Team workspace.

If you opened a direct link from email or chat, sign out and sign back in with the intended account, then open the link again. If that fixes it, the share was valid but tied to a different account than the one you were using.

Check what was actually shared

Ask the sender whether they shared a canvas, a project, a workspace invite, or only copied a link. These are different access paths.

A canvas share can let you open one canvas without letting you browse the whole project. A project share can let you open project views but still leave some canvases restricted if those canvases have separate access. A workspace invite gives broader workspace membership, but it may still depend on role.

If you expected a project but received a canvas, ask the sender to share the project. If you expected edit access but received view access, ask them to change the permission. If you expected every canvas in a project and one does not open, ask for access to that specific canvas.

Check read-only state

Read-only is not always an error. Many shared canvases are intentionally shared for review. If you can open the work but cannot edit, comment, download, export, or remove files, your current role may not include that action.

Look for the controls inside the opened canvas or project. If edit actions are missing, ask the owner whether they intended view, comment, or edit permission. For general read-only troubleshooting, see Read-only access.

Do not ask support to “fix” read-only until the owner confirms the intended permission. ALLO should respect the owner’s sharing settings.

Check whether the work was deleted or moved

If a shared item used to open but now fails, the owner may have deleted it, moved it, restored it elsewhere, or removed your access. Ask the sender to open the item from their account. If they cannot find it either, they should check Trash before the retention window ends.

If the item was permanently deleted or automatically removed after the retention window, normal shared access cannot restore it. The owner or admin should review Retention window and When work looks missing.

If a project was moved or renamed, your old link may still work, but the title or location in Shared with me can look different. Search by current title if the old title no longer appears.

Check guest and external collaborator limits

Guests and external collaborators can have narrower access than workspace members. They may only see the canvas or project explicitly shared with them. They may not see all workspace files, members, dashboards, or project lists.

If you are a guest and need broader access, ask the workspace owner whether you should be invited as a member or given access to additional work. For setup details, see Invite guests and external collaborators and Guest collaboration.

If you are collaborating across companies, make sure the sender shared to the email you actually use to sign in. External email aliases are a common source of “access denied” loops.

Check membership and deactivation

If your workspace membership changed, shared items can stop opening. This can happen after role changes, team changes, company offboarding, workspace deactivation, or a guest invite expiring.

Ask a workspace admin to confirm that your account is active and has the expected role. If your access was deactivated, use Deactivated access. If your role needs to change, use Change a member's role.

If you recently accepted an invite, refresh ALLO or sign out and back in so the app loads your current workspace membership.

If the item appears in Shared with me but will not open

Refresh the page. Then open the item from its direct link if you have one. If the direct link works, Shared with me may have had a stale view.

If neither the card nor the direct link works, ask the sender to confirm that you still have access. They should check sharing settings and whether the item is in Trash.

If the card shows the wrong project or sender, the item may have been renamed, moved, or shared through another path. Use the title and shared date to confirm you are discussing the same work.

If the direct link opens but Shared with me is missing the item

Confirm that you are in the same workspace as the link. Then search Shared with me by title if search is available, and check whether the item is already read rather than unread.

The item may not appear in Shared with me if it was not shared in a way that creates a shared-list entry for your account, or if the list has not refreshed. Keep the direct link and ask the sender to share the item directly with your account if you need it to appear there.

You can also star the opened canvas or project for fast return access. See Use Starred.

What to send when asking for help

Send the workspace name, your signed-in email, the item title, whether it is a canvas or project, the sender, the link if you have it, the error message, and whether you can open other shared work. If the issue is read-only access, say which action you expected to perform.

That information lets the owner, admin, or support distinguish the real problem quickly: wrong account, wrong workspace, missing permission, deleted work, expired invite, or a stale shared list.