This article covers how viewers work, how to add them, and how a document's visibility changes when you link it to a Visi or location.
How document visibility works
A document becomes visible to another company in one of three ways:
You add them directly as a viewer via the Add viewers function on the web.
You link the document to a Visi - the company with access to that Visi automatically becomes a viewer.
The document is used to fulfil a document requirement on a Visi - the same auto-add behaviour applies.
The companies who can see a document are shown in the Visible to column of the register and in the document's Details panel.
When shared with a company, the document will appear in the 'shared with you' section within their documents module.
Adding viewers
You can add viewers to a single document or to multiple documents in one action:
Adding viewers to a single document
Open the document from the register.
In the right panel, find the Visible to field.
Click to open the Add viewers modal and select the companies you want to give access to.
Save your changes.
Adding viewers to multiple documents
Tick the checkbox next to each document you want to share in the register.
In the bulk action toolbar at the bottom of the screen, click Edit > Viewers.
In the Add viewers modal, select the companies you want to add.
Click Update documents.
Current and future companies
At the top of the Add viewers modal there's an option called Current and future companies. Ticking this adds every company currently on the project as a viewer, and automatically gives access to any new company that joins the project later.
This is useful for general project information that should be visible to everyone - for example, site plans, building rules, or general specifications.
Tip: Use this option carefully on commercially sensitive documents. Once enabled, any new subcontractor or consultant who joins the project will gain access automatically.
Removing viewers
To remove a viewer, open the Add viewers modal (from a single document or in bulk), untick the company, and save. To remove every viewer at once, use the Remove all viewers button at the bottom of the modal.
What happens when you link a document?
When you link a document to a Visi or use it to fulfil a document requirement, the company with access to that Visi automatically becomes a viewer of the document.
This means anyone who needs to open a document to do their work can access it, without needing to request access separately.
If you'd prefer not to share with the other parties on a Visi, link a different document or keep the document unlinked.
For the linking flows themselves, see Document Linking.
Revisions and viewers
When you upload a new revision of an existing document, you can choose how viewers are handled:
Tick Use viewers from current revision in the Edit document details form to inherit the same viewer list as the previous revision.
Leave it unticked to start with no viewers on the new revision (you can then add them manually).
