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Shared Views: Share and Collaborate

Create custom shareable links that let anyone view specific parts of your workspace (workflow sections, teams, tool groups, and people) from a single URL, no login required.

Written by Brian Ragone

Available with any of the following subscriptions, except where noted:
๐ŸŸข Starter (up to the planโ€™s step limit) | ๐Ÿ”ต Builder | ๐ŸŸฃ Optimizer |

โšซ Enterprise

Effective collaboration starts with sharing the right information with the right people. Puzzle's Shared Views let you create a secure, read-only view of your workspace that you can share with teammates, clients, stakeholders, or external collaboratorsโ€”no Puzzle account required.

Shared Views are no longer limited to workflow sections. You can now build a single shareable view that includes content across multiple canvases, including Workflow sections, Teams, People, and Tool Groups. Whether you're documenting operations, onboarding new team members, or presenting processes to clients, you can create one link that tells the complete story.

This guide walks you through creating, managing, and sharing Shared Views so you can confidently share the exact parts of your workspace your audience needs to see.


Benefits of Using Views

๐Ÿ”— Share Instantly: Generate a secure link to share your workspace with anyoneโ€”no Puzzle account required.

๐Ÿ—‚๏ธ Cross-Canvas Sharing: Combine Workflow sections, Teams, People, and Tool Groups into a single shareable view.

๐ŸŽฏ Share Only What's Relevant: Choose exactly which sections, teams, and tool groups to include while optionally displaying your People Canvas.

๐Ÿค Improve Collaboration: Give clients, stakeholders, and teammates the context they need without granting edit access.

๐Ÿ’ป Embed Anywhere: Add your Shared View to websites, documentation, Notion, Google Sites, and other internal tools using an iframe.

๐Ÿ”’ Optional Password Protection: Protect sensitive documentation with a password before sharing externally.


Video Guide: Creating Views

Coming soon...


Step-by-Step Guide

1๏ธโƒฃ Creating and Configuring a New Shared View

Open the Share button from any canvas and pick the content you want to share.

  • ๐ŸŽฏ On any canvas that supports Shared Views (Workflows, Teams, Tools, People), click the Share button in the top-right corner.

  • โž• Click New View.

  • ๐Ÿ“ Enter a View Name and confirm the auto-generated Slug.

  • ๐ŸŽจ Pick the content to include:

    • Workflow sections from the Workflows Canvas

    • Teams from the Teams Canvas

    • Tool groups from the Tools Canvas

    • People from the People Canvas

  • ๐Ÿ’พ Save and share the generated link.

2๏ธโƒฃ Share or Embed the Shared View

  • ๐ŸŒ Preview Your View: Click Visit Share Link to preview and ensure everything looks perfect.

  • ๐Ÿ”— Copy & Share URL: Share the generated link with stakeholders, team members, or external collaborators. No Puzzle account is required!

  • ๐Ÿ’ป Embed via iFrame: From the same view settings, click </> โ€œGet Embed Codeโ€ to generate an iframe snippet. You can paste this code into:

    • Notion

    • Web pages

    • Google Sites

    • Internal documentation tools

The embedded view retains full viewer functionality:


โœ… Tab navigation
โœ… โ€œView Asโ€ role filter
โœ… Zoom controls
โœ… Step & tool context

3๏ธโƒฃ Add Password Protection To Your Shared View (Optional)

You can restrict access to your Shared View by setting a password. To enable this:

โ€ข Click the ๐Ÿ”‘ password icon in your View settings

โ€ข Enter and save your desired password in the modal

Once enabled, anyone accessing the shared link will be prompted to enter the password before viewing the workflow.

๐Ÿ’ก This is useful when sharing sensitive workflows with clients or stakeholders while keeping access controlled.


๐Ÿ‘€ What Viewers Can See in Shared Views

When someone opens a shareable View link, they'll get a comprehensive, read-only version of the content you've chosen to share, no login required. Shared Views can include workflow sections, teams, tool groups, or your entire People Canvas. Mix and match to show viewers exactly what they need.

Content shared per canvas

Canvas Type

What Viewers See

๐Ÿ“‹ Workflow Sections

Step names and notes, assigned roles, associated tools, linked attributes, and the Workflow ID (if available).

๐Ÿ‘ฅ Teams

Team names and structure, roles within each team, and the relationships between roles.

๐Ÿงฐ Tool Groups

Tool cards, including logos, notes, and any associated details you've included.

๐Ÿ‘ค People Canvas

All people cards, including names, profile information, primary roles, and job titles.

Note: Everything is shared as read-only. Viewers can explore the content without being able to make changes.

Viewer-Friendly Features

Feature

Description

๐Ÿ” View As

Filter workflows by role so viewers can quickly see their responsibilities.

๐Ÿ—‚ Tab Navigation

Easily switch between the different canvases and sections included in the Shared View.

๐Ÿท Attribute Icons

View linked attributes directly on workflow steps for additional context.

๐Ÿš€ Try Puzzle Button

Appears in the upper-right corner, allowing new users to explore Puzzle.


๐Ÿ’ก Best Practices and Tips

๐ŸŽจ Tailor the Content for Each Audience. Create different views for different audiences by mixing canvas content to show exactly what each group needs:

  • ๐ŸŽฏ Client-facing view: workflow sections showing the delivery process + relevant tool groups.

  • ๐Ÿข New-hire onboarding view: People Canvas + team structure + core workflows.

  • ๐Ÿ’ผ Vendor / auditor view: tool groups + the workflows those tools touch.๐Ÿค Use for Collaboration and Training: Share these links with external or internal team members to help everyone understand and contribute to your processes.

๐Ÿค Use for Collaboration and Training: Share these links with external or internal team members to help everyone understand and contribute to your processes.

๐Ÿ•“ Stay Current: Periodically update views to reflect any new workflows or process changes.

๐Ÿ“Œ Highlight Roles Clearly: Encourage stakeholders to use the "View As" feature for rapid comprehension of their specific tasks.

๐Ÿ“„ Use as an Export Alternative: Since direct export to PDF or documents isn't available yet, leverage Views as your primary method for sharing detailed workflows and maps clearly and quickly.

๐Ÿ” Use Password Protection for Sensitive Vieews: Add a password when sharing workflows externally to maintain control over who can access your process documentation.


Conclusion

Shared Views make it easy to share the right information with the right people, whether that's a single workflow or a broader view of your operations across multiple canvases. By combining workflows, teams, people, and tool groups into a single interactive experience, you can give stakeholders the context they need without requiring a Puzzle account.

Create your first Shared View, customize exactly what you want to share, and send a single link that keeps everyone aligned, from onboarding and documentation to client collaboration and process reviews.

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