MY BOARDS › SHARING & COLLABORATION
Help — Investigation Boards
Sharing & Collaboration
Every board starts private and belongs entirely to you. This guide explains your options for sharing work with the community, inviting collaborators to edit with you, and understanding what each permission level means.
In This Article
01
Board Visibility Levels

Every board has a visibility setting you can change at any time from the board's Share menu. There are three levels:

Private
Only you
The default. Only you can see and edit the board. It does not appear in the Community library and cannot be accessed by anyone else — unless you explicitly invite a collaborator.
Link Only
Anyone with the link
Anyone who has the share link can view the board in read-only mode. They cannot edit it. The board does not appear in the Community library — it stays discoverable only through the link you share.
Public
Community library
The board appears in the Community library and is viewable by anyone on Disclosure Navigator. Other users can fork it into their own private copy. You remain the owner and your board is never changed by others.
02
The Community Library & Forking

When you set a board to Public, it appears in the Community Investigations library alongside boards shared by other researchers. Anyone browsing the library can open and read your board.

Forking is how the community builds on each other's work. When someone forks your board, they get their own private copy — with all your items, connections, and notes — that they can continue developing independently. Nothing they do affects your original board.

You can also fork other people's boards. Open any community board, click ⎇ FORK THIS INVESTIGATION, and you'll get your own editable copy in your workspace immediately.

Your work is always yours. Setting a board to Public makes it readable and forkable — it does not give anyone edit access to your board. Only collaborators you explicitly invite can make changes.
03
Inviting Private Collaborators

Collaborator access is separate from visibility. A board can be Private (invisible to the public) and still have multiple people editing it together.

When you invite a collaborator, they receive a collaborator link — a private URL that grants edit access to that specific board. Anyone with the collaborator link can open the board in edit mode and make changes in real time alongside you.

Collaborator links work independently of Disclosure Navigator accounts. The person you share the link with does not need to sign up — they open the link and start editing. Changes from all collaborators appear on the canvas immediately.

Keep collaborator links private. Anyone who has the link can edit the board. If you need to revoke access, you can regenerate the collaborator link from the Share menu — the old link will stop working.

Collaborator access is ideal for:

  • Researching with a colleague or co-investigator
  • Working with a team on a shared investigation
  • Getting a second set of eyes on your board before publishing
04
How to Share a Board

All sharing options live in the SHARE button in the top-right of the board editor.

1
Open your board
Go to My Boards and click on the board you want to share.
2
Click SHARE in the toolbar
The Share button is in the top-right of the board editor. Click it to open the sharing panel.
3
Set your visibility level
Choose Private, Link Only, or Public. Changes take effect immediately. You can change this at any time.
4
Copy the appropriate link
Use the View Link to share a read-only version of your board, or the Collaborator Link to give someone edit access. Copy and send whichever link fits your intent.
05
Common Questions

Can I make a board public and also invite collaborators?
Yes. Visibility and collaborator access are independent. A public board can still have private collaborators editing it behind the scenes.

What happens to forks if I delete my original board?
Forks are fully independent copies. If you delete your board, existing forks are unaffected — they belong to the users who forked them.

Can I see who has forked my board?
The community board card shows a fork count. Individual forker identities are not shown.

Does forking copy my notes and connections too?
Yes — a fork is a complete copy of the board at the moment of forking, including all items, connections, section labels, and notes.

Can I revoke someone's collaborator access?
Yes. Open the Share menu and regenerate the collaborator link. The old link immediately becomes invalid.

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