Skip to main content

Collaboration Q&A

Updated over 2 weeks ago

How Collaboration Works

In Heptabase, each user has a private Space where whiteboards, cards, and tags are only visible to you by default.

You can invite collaborators to specific whiteboards in your Space. Collaborators will only see the whiteboards you've explicitly shared and their associated cards—nothing else.

Once invited, collaborators can switch between their own Space and yours using the "Space name" menu in the top-left corner.

Inviting Others to Collaborate

To invite collaborators:

  1. Click Share in the top-right corner of your whiteboard.

  2. Enter the collaborator's email address (you can invite multiple people at once).

  3. Select their email from the pop-up to confirm.

  4. Click the Full access dropdown menu to choose the permission level.

  5. Click Invite.

Collaborators will receive an email invitation and can immediately access your shared whiteboard.

Anyone can be invited, even if they're not a Heptabase subscriber. Non-subscribers will automatically become Free Plan users with access only to the shared whiteboard.

Collaborator Permissions

Collaborators' abilities depend on the permissions you grant:

Space

Action

Owner

Full Access

Can Edit

Can View

View Permission

✅

✅

✅

❌

Edit Permission

✅

✅

❌

❌

Note card, Media Card, PDF Card

Action

Owner

Full Access

Can Edit

Can View

Read

✅

✅

✅

✅

Create and edit on a whiteboard)

✅

✅

✅

❌

Create in the Card Library

✅

❌

❌

❌

Edit in the Card Library

✅

✅

✅

❌

Trash and restore

✅

✅

✅

❌

Delete permanently

✅

❌

❌

❌

See version history

✅

❌

❌

❌

Journal Card

Action

Owner

Full Access

Can Edit

Can View

Read

✅

❌

❌

❌

Create

✅

❌

❌

❌

Edit

✅

❌

❌

❌

On a shared whiteboard

1. Whiteboard Elements and Card Instances

Action

Owner

Full Access

Can Edit

Can View

Read

✅

✅

✅

✅

Create

✅

✅

✅

❌

Edit

✅

✅

✅

❌

Delete

✅

✅

✅

❌

2. Whiteboard & Whiteboard Instances

Action

Owner

Full Access

Can Edit

Can View

Read / Enter

✅

✅

✅

✅

Create sub-whiteboard

✅

✅

❌

❌

Rename

✅

✅

✅

❌

Delete/Restore the whiteboard from trash

✅

❌

❌

❌

Delete Permanently

✅

❌

❌

❌

If you have any questions or run into any issues with permissions, feel free to contact support!

Managing Permissions

To change a collaborator's permissions:

  1. Click the permissions button next to the collaborator's name.

  2. Select the new permission level.

Important: If you downgrade your own permission from Full access to Can edit or Can view, the change is immediate and irreversible. To regain Full access, you'll need the Space owner to grant it again.

Common questions

Why is there a small box icon with a number next to my Share button?

This icon indicates that a collaborator has removed or deleted a card from your shared whiteboard. These cards remain accessible from your shared card library or trash and can be restored. To permanently stop sharing these cards, click the box icon and select Remove access.

Why can’t my collaborators see my embedded cards?

Embedded cards on a shared whiteboard are not visible unless explicitly placed on the whiteboard itself. To make these cards visible to collaborators, add them directly to the whiteboard.

Can collaborators import their own cards into a shared whiteboard?

Not at the moment. Collaborators cannot currently import cards from their own Spaces.

Related Articles
How to restore deleted cards and whiteboards from Trash?
Readwise Sync Q&A
Does Heptabase offer a free plan?
How to use deeplinks in Heptabase?
Did this answer your question?