When work is read-only

Read-only means ALLO is letting you see something without letting you change it

Read-only work can happen for good reasons: you only have view access, the owner shared a view-only link, the item is archived, a plan or billing state limits editing, or the app or view you are in does not show that editing control.

If you cannot open the work at all, use When you can't access work. If the work is missing from lists, use When work looks missing.

Availability

Symptom guide

Check your permission level

When your current canvas permission is not Edit, a permission badge appears next to the canvas name. The badge shows your current permission. When the badge is selectable, select it to see why editing is limited and any available next steps.

The owner or workspace admin should confirm whether you have view, comment, edit, or manage access. A view-only link is supposed to be read-only. Comment access may let you discuss work but not edit canvas objects or dashboard layout.

For workspace roles, see Roles and access. For canvas-specific sharing, see Share a canvas. For dashboards, see Share a dashboard.

Check the account

If you are signed into the wrong email, ALLO treats you as a different user, guest, or external viewer. Compare the account email with the one the owner shared. Sign out and back in if needed.

If the owner shared the correct email and you still see read-only, ask them to remove and re-add access or confirm whether the item inherits permission from a workspace, project, or dashboard.

Check item state

Archived, deleted, locked, or restored work can appear differently from active work. A dashboard in Trash may not allow normal editing. A file in Trash may not behave like an active file. A project canvas can be limited by project rules.

If the work should be active, ask an owner to restore it. Use How Trash works and Move dashboards to Trash and restore them where relevant.

If workspace membership is deactivated

Deactivated workspace membership prevents you from opening workspace work; it does not turn the work read-only. A workspace admin must restore membership first. If you can open a specifically shared item as an external collaborator, continue with the plan check below.

Use When you can't access work for membership recovery.

Check the owning workspace plan

An external collaborator can be given Edit access and still be limited to Comment/Chat only when the plan of the workspace that owns the canvas does not include external editing. The owning workspace's plan controls this limit, not the collaborator's own workspace or plan.

Open the permission chip in the canvas header to see the current limit. Ask an admin of the owning workspace to upgrade the plan. Use Pricing to compare current plans.

Check billing or quota state

An invalid subscription state, a failed payment, a plan restriction, or a canvas-count limit can make canvas editing unavailable. Seat and storage warnings affect their own member and file workflows; they do not by themselves explain a read-only canvas.

If you are not an admin, send the warning text to an admin.

Mobile read-only behavior

Mobile can be read-only for two different reasons: your permission or the mobile app itself. If you only have view access, mobile and desktop should both be read-only. If you have edit access but a specific advanced control is missing only on mobile, use web or desktop for that action.

For mobile boundaries, see Use the mobile app for canvas review and Troubleshoot the mobile app.

What to ask the owner

Ask:

When to contact support

Contact support when the owner confirms you have edit access, you are signed in with the correct email, the item is active, there are no plan, payment, or canvas-limit blockers, and editing is still unavailable after refresh. Include the item link, workspace name, account email, expected permission, the app you were using, and screenshots of missing controls.