Unread shared work

Unread shared work shows what still needs your attention

Unread shared work highlights canvases and projects that were shared with you and have not yet been handled in your Shared with me view. It helps you separate new shares from older work you already opened or marked read.

Unread is personal. It does not mean the sender is waiting, it does not mean everyone else has not read it, and it does not change the actual sharing permission. It is simply ALLO’s way of helping you track new shared items.

For the main shared list, see Shared with me overview.

Where unread appears

Unread shared work can appear as a badge, a highlighted section, or unread styling inside Shared with me. Your workspace and app surface control whether unread canvases and unread projects are grouped together or shown in separate areas.

Unread items can also connect to the broader notification experience. If you were notified about a share, check Inbox for the notification and Shared with me for the persistent shared-work list.

If the badge count and list do not match for a moment, refresh or wait briefly. Open tabs, app refreshes, and live updates can take a short time to agree.

What counts as unread

A shared canvas or project can be unread when someone shares it with you and you have not opened it or marked it read through the available controls. The unread state belongs to the shared item and your account.

Unread state is not the same as content activity. If someone edits a canvas you already read, that change may appear in Activity, comments and mentions, or notifications, but it does not necessarily make the shared item unread again as a newly shared item.

If a shared item is deleted or access is removed before you read it, it may disappear or fail to open rather than staying as a normal unread item.

Open unread work

Go to Shared with me and look for the unread section or unread styling. Open the item you need. Scan the card first so you know who shared it, when it was shared, and whether it is a canvas or project.

Opening the item may clear its unread state. If it does not clear immediately, use a mark-read action if available or refresh after a moment. If the item still stays unread, see the troubleshooting section below.

For details on opening, see Open shared work.

Mark unread work as read

Use mark-read or read-all actions when you do not need to open every item one by one. This is helpful after a vacation, a large project handoff, or a workspace migration where many items were shared at once.

Marking read does not remove the work from Shared with me. It only clears the unread reminder for your account. You can still open the item later as long as you still have permission.

For bulk read behavior, see Mark shared work as read.

What unread does not mean

Unread does not mean the canvas or project is new. Someone can share older work with you, and it can appear unread because the share is new to you.

Unread does not mean you can edit. You may have view-only access to an unread item.

Unread does not mean the item is safe from deletion. Owners and admins can still remove access or delete work according to workspace permissions.

Unread does not mean the item appears in every search. Shared access, workspace selection, and filters still matter.

Examples

If a teammate shares three canvases for review, the Shared with me badge can remind you that three items still need attention. Open each canvas, leave comments where needed, then return to Shared with me. The unread count should drop as items are handled.

If a project manager shares a launch project with the whole team, you can mark it read after opening the project and confirming your tasks. The project remains available in Shared with me, and you can also star it for faster access. See Use Starred.

If a client shares a canvas with the wrong email, the unread item may not appear in your account. Ask them to share with the email you use for ALLO.

Troubleshooting unread state

If an unread badge remains after you open an item, refresh Shared with me. If you have ALLO open in multiple tabs or devices, close or refresh the older view so it does not show stale state.

If read-all does not clear every item, check whether there are separate unread groups for canvases and projects, or whether new shares arrived while you were clearing the list. Try read-all again after the page refreshes.

If an unread item fails to open, access may have changed after it was shared. Ask the sender to confirm the share and use Fix shared access.

If unread items keep coming back, they may be newly shared items rather than the same old state. Check the shared date and sender before treating it as a bug.