Sharing with a Reader

You can share live writing with a reader or export a copy for reading, publishing, backup, or another workflow. This section explains share links, the available export formats, and the final checks worth making.

A share link lets someone read your work in a browser without signing in to Spleen. You can share one writing document or the whole project. The reader can view the work, but cannot edit it, comment on it, or see the rest of your workspace.

Share links are useful for sending a draft to a friend, beta reader, or editor. They are unlisted and kept out of search results, but anyone who receives the link can open it. Treat the link as private information and send it only to people you want to give access to.

Sharing one document

Open the writing document’s Document actions menu in the project sidebar and choose Share document. Review the message, then choose Create link.

When the link is ready, use the copy button beside it and send the copied address to your reader. On devices that provide a system sharing menu, you can choose Share instead and send the link through one of the available apps. Copy remains available on every supported browser. Choose Done to keep the link active.

If you try to close the dialog after creating the link but before choosing Done, Spleen asks whether you want to keep sharing. Choose Keep sharing to return to the link, or Stop sharing to make it unavailable.

Only writing documents can be shared. Research documents cannot be shared directly.

Sharing a whole project

On the projects overview, open Project actions for the project and choose Share project. Inside the project workspace, open Project actions in the sidebar footer and choose the same action. Choose Create link, copy the address when it is ready, and then choose Done.

A shared project contains all writing in its current reading order. The reader sees the project title, its subtitle and author or pen name when they are set, its book cover when it has one, writing sections, and writing documents as one long page. A contents panel helps them move through larger projects.

You cannot share only one section. Share an individual document when you want to send less than the full project.

What the reader can see

A share link includes the current title and content of the document or project you selected. A project share also includes the project subtitle, author or pen name, and book cover when they are set, together with writing sections, loose writing documents, and documents inside writing sections. The cover may also appear in a link preview.

Only the author or pen name set on the project is shared. When that field is empty, Spleen does not use your account name as a fallback on the shared page.

It does not include:

• the research structure;
• document notes;
• annotations;
• snapshots;
• other private workspace information.

Readers do not need a Spleen account. The shared page has a light and dark appearance control, but no editing or feedback tools.

Reading a shared project

A shared project with more than one section or document has a Contents panel. Its tree follows the project structure, so sections can be folded and documents remain nested where the writer placed them. The current part is highlighted as the reader moves through the project.

On a larger screen, the reader can drag the edge of the Contents panel to make it wider or narrower. Its width and open or closed state are remembered in that browser. On a smaller screen, the same control opens Contents as a panel over the page.

The top header moves out of the way while the reader scrolls down and returns when they scroll up. After the reader has moved more than one screen down the page, a Scroll to top button appears near the lower corner.

Share links stay up to date

A share link shows the current version of the writing rather than a fixed copy. Changes you make to a shared document appear at the same link. Changes to a shared project’s writing content, titles, structure, and order also affect what the reader sees.

Use an export instead when you need to send a fixed copy that will not change as you continue writing.

Stopping sharing

Open Account → Shared links to review every active project and document link in one place. Each row identifies what was shared and when. Choose its title to open the reader page in a new tab, Copy to copy the address, or Stop sharing to revoke it. Spleen asks you to confirm before the link stops working.

After a document or project has been shared, its actions menu shows Stop sharing or Stop sharing project in place of the sharing action. Choose it to revoke the active link.

The old address then shows that the link is no longer available. To share the same document or project again later, create a new link from its actions menu and send the new address to your reader.

Moving writing to Archive or Trash takes it out of reader shares. A shared project link remains active, but no longer shows the binned section or document. A direct document link is unavailable while that document is in a bin and becomes available again if the document is restored. Move the writing back into the book before changing its share setting.

Archiving a whole project does not revoke its existing project or document share links. Unarchive the project first when you need to stop sharing one of them. Permanently deleting the shared document or project makes its link unavailable.