Public Links
How to generate and configure token-based links for sharing documents with people outside BackOps.
Public links let you share a document with anyone, with no BackOps account required. Each link is a unique URL that opens the document in a read-only viewer. This is the primary way to distribute outputs to external stakeholders: vendors, talent, sponsors, clients, or anyone else who needs to see event information but isn't part of your BackOps organization.
Creating a Public Link
Public links are created from the Share panel within the document editor.
Open the Share panel
Click Share in the top-right corner of the document editor.
Create a new link
In the Links section of the Share panel, click the button to create a new link.
Name the link
Give the link a descriptive name, for example "Crew Link" or "Sponsor View." The name helps you identify the link's purpose when managing multiple links on the same document.
Copy and distribute the URL
The generated link appears with a copy button. Paste it wherever you need: email, messaging, a printed sheet.
A document can have multiple public links, each with different names, variable presets, and constraints. This lets you create a separate link per collaborator, per area, or per audience without duplicating the underlying document.
Pre-Setting Variable Values
When a document uses variables, you can configure a link to open with specific variable values already set. This scopes what the recipient sees without requiring them to select anything.
For a day sheet document with a Collaborator variable, creating a link with that variable pre-set to a specific collaborator means the recipient opens directly to their relevant view. They don't need to know what a variable is or how to interact with one. The document just opens showing their data.
Variable presets are configured in the link settings within the Share panel.
Constraining What Viewers Can Change
By default, a public viewer with a pre-set variable can change it to any value in the event. If you want to restrict what the viewer can select, to show them only their area's schedule or only a specific set of collaborator views, you can configure allowed values for each variable on the link.
When allowed values are set for a variable, the viewer sees a picker constrained to only those options. Values outside the allowed set are not accessible to them. This makes it practical to give external viewers some interactivity (letting a sponsor switch between two venue areas, for example) without exposing the full event.
Managing Links
Each link can be updated after creation:
- Name: rename it to reflect its current purpose
- Active / Inactive: deactivate a link to stop access without deleting it; reactivate it later if needed
- Expiration: set a date after which the link stops working automatically
Deactivated and expired links return a not-found response to anyone who tries to open them, without indicating that the link ever existed.
What Public Viewers See
Public viewers see the document as it renders for an authenticated user, subject to the variable values that are pre-set or allowed by the link and the data the document creator chose to include in its Query Blocks.
There is no automatic filtering of sensitive information. If a column appears in a Query Block, public viewers see it. The document creator decides what to include.
Public links are always read-only. No editing of any kind is possible through a public link, regardless of any other configuration.
There is no automatic redaction for public viewers. Any field in a Query Block is visible to anyone with the link. Be deliberate about which columns you include in documents you plan to share publicly.