CalmCompliance
Documents

Shared Collections

Why Shared Collections

Shared collections let you share documents with people outside your organisation—contractors, clients, tenants, or visitors—without requiring them to log in. You create a curated bundle of published documents and get a public URL (or QR code) that anyone can open. Use shared collections for policies on walls, legal documents in reception, or temporary document bundles for a project. Unlike distributions, shared collections don't track who viewed what—they're for external publishing, not compliance tracking.

How to Create a Shared Collection

  1. Go to Documents > Shared Collections

  2. Click Add Collection

  3. Enter a Title (required) and Subtitle (optional)

  4. Optionally set a Custom slug—the URL-friendly identifier (lowercase letters, numbers, hyphens only). If you leave it blank, one is generated automatically

  5. Add documents—select one or more published documents from your library (at least one required)

  6. Optionally set an Expiry date—the collection becomes inaccessible after this date (useful for temporary sharing)

  7. Click Save to create the collection

The collection gets a public URL. Copy it from the collection card or open the collection and use Copy to share it.

How to Share a Collection

  1. Open the collection from Documents > Shared Collections

  2. Copy the link—click the copy button next to the URL and share it by email, messaging, or your website

  3. Use a QR code—open the side panel (toggle icon) to see the QR code. Print it and post it physically (e.g., policies on a wall, documents in a reception area)

  4. Anyone with the link or QR code can view the documents—no login required

When you update a document in the collection with a new published version, the collection automatically shows the latest version. Only published documents appear; drafts are never visible.

Embed a Shared Collection on Your Website

You can embed a shared collection in an iframe on your own website so visitors can browse documents without leaving your page.

  1. Copy the shared collection URL from the collection card or the Copy button.

  2. Add an iframe to your website HTML with the collection URL as the src.

  3. Append query parameters to the URL to control which chrome elements appear in the embedded view. Each flag is independent and accepts true or false as a value.

Available chrome flags:

  • ?hideHeader=true — hides the collection or document title.

  • ?hideDescription=true — hides the description or subtitle.

  • ?hideButton=true — hides the Back to List button.

Common combinations:

  • ?hideHeader=true — hides the title while keeping the description and back button visible.

  • ?hideHeader=true&hideButton=true — hides the title and back button, useful when you want visitors to read the description but not navigate back to the list.

  • ?hideHeader=true&hideDescription=true&hideButton=true — removes the entire chrome area and collapses the top spacing, leaving only the document content.

These flags persist when a viewer clicks into a document and then returns to the collection list, so your embed configuration stays in place across navigation.

When the collection is embedded, it exchanges navigation information with your parent page:

  • When a viewer loads the embed or switches between documents, the embed sends the current document name and slug to the parent page. You can use this to update headings, page URLs, or analytics.

  • Your parent page can send a navigation command to the embed to open a specific document by its slug, or to return the viewer to the collection list.

No messages are sent when the collection is opened directly outside an iframe.

Before You Start

  • You need the Manager role for Documents to create and manage shared collections. If you don't see Documents > Shared Collections, ask your site administrator for Manager access.

  • Documents must be published before you can add them to a collection. Draft documents are not available.

  • Shared collections are public—anyone with the link can view them. Don't include confidential or restricted documents.

Common Questions

Can I track who viewed the documents? No. Shared collections don't require authentication and don't record who viewed what. For tracking acknowledgements, use the distribution system instead (Documents > distribute to users).

What happens when a collection expires? After the expiry date, the URL returns an error and the documents are no longer accessible. The collection remains in your list (marked as expired) so you can edit or delete it.

Can I change the documents in a collection after creating it? Yes. Open the collection, click Edit, add or remove documents, and save. The URL stays the same.

Can I use a custom URL? You can set a custom slug when creating or editing a collection. The slug must be 3–50 characters, lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens only. The full URL is your site's domain plus /shared/{org}/{site}/sc/{slug}.

What if I delete a document that's in a shared collection? The document is removed from the collection. If it was the only document, the collection may show an error. Remove documents from collections before deleting them if possible.

Can I embed a shared collection on my website? Yes. Add the collection URL in an iframe. Append ?hideHeader=true, ?hideDescription=true, or ?hideButton=true to control which chrome elements appear, or combine them (for example, ?hideHeader=true&hideButton=true). The settings persist when viewers switch between documents and the collection list. The embedded collection sends navigation updates to your parent page when viewers switch documents, and your parent page can send navigation commands back to open a specific document or return the viewer to the collection list.

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