Count
count.co
  • Getting Started
    • What is Count?
    • Count FAQ
    • Intro to your workspace
    • Example canvases
    • Getting started guides
      • Set up your workspace and projects
        • 1. Review workspace settings
        • 2. Create and organise your projects
      • Canvas orientation
      • Your first ad hoc analysis
        • 1. Examples and templates
        • 2. Build your first queries
        • 3. Create visuals
        • 4. Caching, local cells and scheduling
        • 5. Collaborating with a stakeholder
      • Your first report
        • 1. Examples and templates
        • 2. Filters and control cells
        • 3. Sharing your report
        • 4. Alerts
  • Connect your data
    • Database connection overview
      • Athena
      • Azure Synapse
      • BigQuery
      • Databricks
      • Microsoft SQL Server
      • MySQL
      • PostgreSQL
      • Redshift
      • Snowflake
    • Refresh database schema
    • Upload CSV files
    • dbt integration
      • ☁️dbt Cloud integration
      • 👩‍💻dbt Core integration
  • Import & Export
    • Import from other tools
      • Import Miro files
      • Import SQL files
      • Import Google Sheets
      • Import Jupyter notebooks
    • Export code and results
      • Export compiled SQL and Jinja-SQL
      • Export CSV files
      • Export images and PDF files
  • THE CANVAS
    • Navigating the canvas
      • Canvas tool bar
      • Data sidebar
      • Customizing the canvas
    • Canvas objects
      • Cells
      • Text and markdown
      • Shapes and tools
      • Sticky notes
      • Frames
      • Images
      • Embeds
      • Stamps
      • Grouping objects
      • Object order and alignment
      • Locking objects
      • Scaling objects
      • Shared styles
    • Overviews
    • Templates
    • Count AI
    • Alerts and subscriptions
      • Slack integration
    • Keyboard shortcuts
  • Querying data
    • Cells overview
      • Dynamic query compilation engine
    • SQL cells
      • Referencing other cells
      • Jinja templating
      • SQL formatting
    • Python cells
    • Visual and low-code cells
      • Calculations in visuals and low-code cells
      • Joins in visuals and low-code cells
    • Control cells
      • Single and multiple selects
      • Date controls
      • Text, number, and boolean controls
      • Custom control cells
    • Local DuckDB cells
      • DuckDB on the server
    • Query caching and scheduling
    • Manage queries and results
    • Troubleshooting
  • Visualizing data
    • Visualization overview
    • Templated visuals
    • Custom visuals
      • Marks
      • Facet
      • Subplots
      • Style
      • Filters
    • Formatting a visual
      • Axes
        • Secondary Axis
      • Colors and labels
      • Legends
      • Tooltips
    • Column summaries
    • Dynamic text
    • Every Visual Under the Sun
  • Presenting and Reporting
    • Reports and Slides
  • Count Metrics
    • Intro to Count Metrics
    • Build and edit a catalog
    • Views
      • Creating views
      • Customizing views
    • Datasets
      • Creating datasets
    • Save changes to the catalog
      • Catalog validation
      • Version control
    • Exposing catalogs to the workspace
    • Caching in Count Metrics
    • Using the catalog
      • Explore from cell
  • Sharing and Permissions
    • Real-time collaboration
    • Comments
    • Sharing permissions
    • Shared links
    • Embedding canvases
  • History and Versions
    • Version control
    • Duplicating and merging
    • Data snapshots
  • Settings and administration
    • Workspace settings
      • Workspace members
      • Groups
      • Tags
      • Billing
      • Single sign-on (SSO)
        • Okta
        • Entra ID
        • JumpCloud
        • Google
        • Generic OIDC
      • Brand
    • Connection settings
    • Project settings
    • User settings
    • Roles and permissions
  • Quick guides
    • Interactive control guides
      • Date ranges
      • Date groupings
      • Search
      • Select All
  • Resources
    • Join the Slack community
  • Blog
  • Security overview
  • Terms of use
  • Pricing FAQ
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On this page
  • The collaboration flow
  • Real-time and locking
  • How to lock/unlock a canvas
  1. Sharing and Permissions

Real-time collaboration

Better together.

PreviousExplore from cellNextComments

Last updated 15 days ago

In the upper right of the canvas is a list of everyone currently viewing the canvas (including anonymous users if your canvas is public):

Clicking on any person will put the canvas into 'follow mode', which keeps your view in-sync with the person you are following.

Real-time collaboration is at the heart of what makes the Count canvas unique. Many people can work together in the same document, contributing their skills and talents whether they are a business or data person.

The collaboration flow

Count is different from other data tools in that you collaborate, gather requirements, build mockups and have conversations in the same document where you write queries and build reports. This changes the way you work together to solve problems with data.

Traditionally you might gather requirements up front, develop a dashboard and ask the business for feedback. Now you can get everyone together, brainstorm possible solutions, diagram out your logic and ensure that whatever you develop - dashboard, notebook, narrative, slide deck - is exactly what the business needs to move forward.

By using the Count collaboration flow, you save yourself from wasting time and frustrating your business users by building the wrong thing - even if it's exactly what they asked for!

Real-time and locking

It's important to understand what real-time means in the context of the Count canvas, as there are important implications for user experience. A canvas has two states:

Unlocked (default)

  • Everyone who visits the canvas at the same time shares a single session and all canvas features are enabled.

  • Each action is displayed simultaneously to all participants.

  • The mouse cursors of other users are displayed live.

  • Any changes are saved automatically.

When you are collaborating with your team, doing development work or exploring findings together, you want your canvas to be unlocked.

Locked

  • Everyone who visits the canvas at the same time has an independent session.

  • Viewers can still use control cells, but as they are in separate sessions they can select separate things and may disagree on the state of the canvas.

  • Most objects cannot be interacted with, except for commenting and editing control cells.

  • Changes to control cells are not saved, and are only visible to you.

  • The canvas control bar shows more limited options related to navigation and commenting.

When you are creating a static document or report that will be used by many people or needs to be uneditable, you want your canvas to be locked.

How to lock/unlock a canvas

In the canvas menu you'll see the option to Lock canvas or Unlock canvas. These options are also displayed in the canvas nav bar (if your permissions allow it).

Locking a canvas does not affect how your queries are executed - only can affect that.

To make changes to a locked canvas or report without interrupting viewers, duplicate it and .

caching
See the current people viewing the canvas from the nav bar.
merge your changes