Real-time collaboration in livedesign works through a per-design room: everyone editing the same design connects to it over a live connection, and that room relays cursors, who is selecting what, which tab people are on, and edits as they happen. When something is not coming through, it is almost always the connection to that room rather than your data. Work through the checks below.
When you see no one else
- Confirm everyone is in the same design. Live presence is per design. Two people on different designs, or on different copies, will not see each other.
- Make sure others actually have access. Collaborators need a valid share link (or to be the owner, or a member of the team the design belongs to). If their link expired, was revoked, or needs a password, they may not be connected at all. See share link security.
- Reload the page. A refresh re-establishes the live connection and re-sends presence. This clears most transient glitches.
- Check your network. Real-time relies on a live connection that some corporate networks, VPNs, or firewalls block. Try a different network or a mobile hotspot to confirm.
When edits or cursors lag or stall
- Give it a moment, then reload. After a short drop, the editor reconnects on its own and catches up on what it missed, without reloading the page. If the connection was out for longer (more than about half a minute, for example after sleep or a long Wi-Fi outage), it stops retrying: reload the page to rejoin. If it still seems stuck, the affected person refreshing re-arms the connection.
- Remember not every link can edit. A Viewer link only looks. A Participant link can add stickies, text and pictures and comment, but cannot move or restyle what is on the pages. If someone's changes are not landing, check whether they need an Editor link.
- Avoid editing the exact same element at once. Edits to different elements, even on the same tab, merge cleanly. Two people changing the same element is the one case where the last change to arrive wins, which is why an element someone else has selected (an Editor or a Participant) shows as locked for you until they let go (a Viewer's selection never locks anything).
- If an element stays locked, the person holding it has probably left it selected and walked away. Ask them to click away, or free it yourself: right-click the element and choose their Release row in the In use menu. Any Editor can do this.
- Watch for a dropped link mid-session. If a share link is revoked, or the password changes, visitors using it are disconnected (or sent back to the password prompt). If the design is moved to the Trash, everyone in it is told it was deleted. An expired link lets people already inside carry on until their next load, save or reconnect. Ask the owner for a fresh link.
If it still will not connect
- Try a different browser or device to separate a local issue from a design one. See browser compatibility.
- Disable extensions that might interfere with live connections, then retry in an incognito window.
- Confirm the design loads at all. If it will not even open, start with a design will not load.
Your changes are saved independently of the live room, so a presence hiccup does not lose work. If a save does fail, a message at the bottom of the screen says so; see My Changes Are Missing. If collaboration still will not come through, contact us with the design URL and what each person sees.
Was this article helpful?