Draft Sharing lets you share SOPs that are still in draft (not yet published) with specific users or groups, separate from the approval workflow, so they can view and comment on them. Use it when you want field staff or experienced colleagues to check the contents before publishing.

People you share with do not get editing rights. They cannot edit, save, approve, or delete steps. They can only leave comments.

What Is Draft Sharing?

By default, a draft SOP can only be opened by its Initiator and the people in the approval workflow. So when you wanted field staff who are not approvers to check the contents before publishing, the only options were to publish it first or to sit down together and look at the screen.

With Draft Sharing, the Initiator only needs to choose who to share with (users or groups), and those people can open the draft, check the contents, and leave comments. You can also share with people who do not have access permission to the storage folder (Draft Sharing is a separate route from the folder access restriction). Because it is separate from the approval workflow, it does not affect the approval process.

●Screen: The “Draft Sharing” tab in the SOP editing screen (as seen by the Initiator)

[Image: draftshare_tab_owner]

What You Need

• Permission: Only the Initiator of the draft can set shared targets. Shared targets are visible to everyone who can open the draft, but the [Change shared targets] button is shown only to the Initiator. Anyone other than the Initiator (Approvers and the people the draft is shared with) can only use comments.
• Who can be selected as shared targets: Users and groups in the same team. Guest users and users whose status is Inviting (not yet joined) cannot be selected
• Target: SOPs only in draft status. The “Draft Sharing” tab is not shown for published SOPs.
• Plan: Available on the Lite plan or higher.
• Location: Configure this from the [Draft Sharing] tab at the top of the SOP editing screen.

Configure Shared Targets (Initiator)

1. Open [SOP] → [Drafts / Approvals] from the left menu, then click the target SOP on the [Draft] tab.
2. Open the [Draft Sharing] tab at the top of the editing screen.
3. Click [Change shared targets].
4. Select individuals under Shared users, or select groups under Shared groups. (You can use both.)
5. Click [Save sharing settings].

●Screen: The shared target settings dialog that opens from [Change shared targets]

When you save, only people who have been newly added as shared targets receive a notification email with a direct link to the target SOP. People who were already shared with do not receive the same email again.

Share at the Group Level

Under Shared groups, each time you click a group name, its selection switches as follows.

• 1st click: Shared with the members of that group and all of its subgroups
• 2nd click: Shared with only the users directly in that group (subgroups are not included)
• 3rd click: Deselect

Shared targets are fixed to the members as they were when the group was expanded. People who join the group after saving are not added automatically, so save again if needed.

No Need to Share with Approvers

Users whose approval has been requested can view the draft automatically. You do not need to add them to the shared targets.

What the Shared Users See

People the draft is shared with can open it in either of the following ways.

• Open it from the link in the notification email
• Open [SOP] → [Drafts / Approvals] from the left menu, then open the [Shared drafts] tab. (For View-only users, the menu name is displayed as [Shared drafts].)

●Screen: The [Shared drafts] tab on the “Drafts / Approvals” page

When you open it, the [Shared draft (view/comment only)] tag appears at the top of the screen, and the [Comments on draft] tab opens first. You can check the step details on the [Step details] tab.

In this state, you cannot edit, save, publish (request approval), approve, revise, duplicate, delete, or share by QR Code. Only comments can be left.

Exchange Comments

1. Open the [Draft Sharing] tab (people the draft is shared with open the [Comments on draft] tab).
2. In the input field at the bottom of the screen, enter a comment and click [Post comment].

When you post, a notification email that includes the comment content is sent to the Initiator and the people who have previously commented on that SOP (excluding yourself). Shared targets who have not commented yet do not receive notifications.

Comments appear as soon as they are posted and are updated on the screens of everyone who has the draft open. The name of the person who posted and the date and time of posting are displayed together.

●Screen: The list of Draft Comments and the input field

Remove Sharing

The Initiator opens [Draft Sharing] → [Change shared targets], deselects the users or groups to remove, and clicks [Save sharing settings]. The SOP then disappears from the [Shared drafts] tab of each person who was removed.

Also, when the SOP is published, it is automatically removed from the [Shared drafts] tab. After publishing, who can view the SOP follows the access restriction of the storage folder.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a person who was shared with edit the SOP?
No. On the screen of a person who was shared with, the buttons for editing, saving, and approval are not displayed, and the draft is read-only.

Can I share with people who do not have folder access permission?
Yes. Draft Sharing allows viewing independently of the folder access restriction. Since you will be showing an unpublished SOP, please double-check the shared targets before you set them.

Can I share with Guest users?
No. Guest users are not shown as shared target candidates.

What happens to comments left while the SOP was in draft after it is published?
Published SOPs do not show the “Draft Sharing” tab, so the comment area is no longer displayed either.

What happens if a shared draft is also in “Waiting for your approval”?
The approval workflow takes priority. If you open it as an approver, it is not read-only, and you can approve or reject it as usual.

Related Information

Access Restrictions, Including Published SOPs and Materials

User Permissions and Number of Accounts

How to Re-edit an SOP Rejected (Sent Back) in the Approval Workflow