Who can open what
Every document and file has one setting that decides who can open it: Who can open it. It has three choices. Passwords, encryption and named people work on top of that setting, and this page explains how they fit together.
The three choices
#| Choice | Who can open it | Sign-in |
|---|---|---|
| Anyone with the link | Anyone who has the address. | Not needed. |
| {Team} team, for example Acme team | Everyone in the workspace it's filed in, plus people you add by email. Nobody else, link or not. | Needed. |
| Only people added | You and the people you add by email. | Needed. |
Anyone with the link is the default. Everything published without an account uses it, and it's how Markdrop links have always worked.
The team choice is named after your workspace, so a workspace called Acme shows Acme team. It's only available once the document is in a workspace.
People you add by email always get in, whatever the choice, as long as they sign in with that address. See Share with specific people.
Change it
#You need to be the document's owner, signed in.
Open Share
#On the document, choose Share. From My files, choose Share… in the row's menu. On a file, choose More artifact actions › Share.
Pick a choice
#Under Who can open it, choose one of the three cards. It saves straight away: "Who can open it is updated."
The dialog lists every address the setting covers, for example docs.acme.com/guides/setup and markdrop.in/setup. One setting covers them all.
Narrowing takes effect at once. Make a document private and people who aren't on the list can't open it on their next visit, and links to a protected file's bytes that were already handed out stop working.
What readers see when they can't open it
#| They see | Because |
|---|---|
| "This document is private" and Sign in to open | They aren't signed in, and the document isn't open to anyone with the link. |
| "You don't have access yet" and Request access | They're signed in, but not with an address that has access. They can ask you. See Request access. |
| "This document is password protected" | It's open to anyone with the link, behind a password. |
How the extras fit
#Passwords
#A password only applies to Anyone with the link, and only to strangers. You, people you added, your workspace team and anyone holding the edit secret open it without the password. See Passwords and expiry.
Encryption
#An end-to-end encrypted document needs the full link, with its #k= key, on top of everything else. Adding someone by email lets them fetch it; it doesn't give them the key. See End-to-end encryption.
Workspaces that require sign-in
#A workspace admin can turn on Visitors must sign in to open anything. Then nothing in that workspace is open to strangers, even items set to Anyone with the link: only members and people added by email get in. See Workspace privacy.
Filing doesn't change access
#Putting a document in a workspace folder doesn't change who can open it. A document set to Only people added stays that way inside a workspace; even workspace admins can't open it unless you add them.
What each person can do
#| Person | Read | Edit the text or replace the file | Password, expiry, link, delete | Who can open it, add people |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owner | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Edit secret holder | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Added with Can edit | Yes | Yes | No | Add others, if allowed |
| Added with Can view | Yes | No | No | Add others, if allowed |
| Workspace member, team choice or link | Yes | Yes, except Can view members | No | Add others, if allowed |
| Anyone else, link choice | Yes | No | No | No |
"If allowed" means you turned on Let people I share with add others. See Share with specific people.
More about sharing
#Add people by email with Can view or Can edit.
Ask an owner for access, or answer someone who asked you.
Encrypt a document so Markdrop stores only ciphertext.
Set defaults for a whole team, or require sign-in for everything.