Publishing and sharing canvases
Last updated: October 27, 2026
Plan availability | In open beta for all paid plan types |
Permissions |
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Platform(s) | Web/Browser |
Publishing and sharing are separate
Publishing puts your finished canvas at its own link and controls who can open it.
Sharing controls who can edit the draft with you in Canvas.
Turning on sharing doesn't publish anything, and publishing doesn't let anyone edit. Both live behind the same button in the top bar. It reads Publish when there's something new to publish and Share when the published version is current.
Publish a canvas
Open your canvas.
Click Publish in the top bar.
For a report, choose who can open it in the Who can view? dropdown: Anyone with the link or Base collaborators. Apps and slides are always limited to people with access to the base.
Click Publish.
Click the copy button next to the published link to share it.
Optional: Click Edit appearance next to the published link to set the page's title and favicon. Favicons can be JPG, PNG, WebP, or SVG files under 256 KB.
To publish later changes, open the same menu and click Publish updates.
Who can open a published canvas
Apps: People with access to the connected base. They sign in with Airtable, and their base permissions carry through, so read-only on the base means read-only in the app. Apps can't be opened to anyone with a link.
Reports: Anyone with the link, without signing in, or only base collaborators.
Slides: People with access to the base. A published deck opens straight into playback.
Viewers don't need to have built anything in Canvas. Any base collaborator can sign in with Airtable and open a canvas shared with them.
To reach someone who can't be added to your base, such as a client or partner, use a report. Decide this before you create the canvas, because you can't change the type later.
Publishing pins a version
People only see the version you last published. You can keep working on a canvas people are already using, and your unfinished changes won't reach them until you publish again. If people aren't seeing your changes, publish again.
Let teammates edit
To let base creators edit your canvas, turn on Allow base creators to edit this Canvas app (or report) in the publish menu. Only the canvas owner can change this setting.
On: Anyone with creator permissions on the connected base can edit the draft and publish it.
Off: Only you can open the draft.
This setting only affects editing in Canvas. It doesn't change who can open the published canvas, and it doesn't give anyone base access they didn't already have.
If a link won't open
The page shows one of these messages:
Sign in to view this app: Sign in with Airtable to continue.
This app isn't available: The canvas was never published or was unpublished, or the link is wrong. People who aren't on the base usually see this message too, because Canvas doesn't confirm that an app exists to someone who can't see its base.
You don't have access to this app: You're signed in, but you don't have access to the base.
This app isn't loading right now: Canvas couldn't check your access. Try again in a moment.
If you can't get in, ask whoever sent the link to add you to the base or to publish the canvas again.
FAQs
Why do I need to sign in to open this?
Canvas apps and slides are limited to people with access to the base behind them, so you need to sign in with Airtable. If you sign in and still can't get in, ask whoever sent the link to add you to the base.
Why can't I change anything in this app?
Your base permissions carry through to the app. With read-only access to the base, you can view records but not add, edit, or delete them. A base owner can change your permission level.
Why isn't my published canvas showing my latest changes?
Publishing makes the current version live. Anything you change afterward stays in your draft until you click Publish updates.
How do I let a teammate edit my canvas?
In the publish menu, turn on Allow base creators to edit this Canvas app (or report). Anyone with creator permissions on the connected base can then edit and publish the draft.