Sharing a document
Open a document and click Share (the share icon in the bar at the side of the editor; only the document's owner sees it). You can:
- Invite by email: they receive an email with a link to open the document, and sign in with that address to accept.
- Create a shareable link: anyone with the link (and a Folio account) can open it.
For either option, pick what they can do:
- Can view: read the document.
- Can comment: read and leave comments.
- Can edit: edit the text with you in real time (co-editing). Learn more
Sharing is available on Fellow and Chair plans. Only you, the owner, need a paid plan; the people you invite can use Folio for free.
Managing who has access
The Share dialog lists everyone with access. You can change what someone can do, or remove their access entirely. Each person also shows when they last opened the document.
Finding documents shared with you
Anything shared with you appears under Shared with me on your dashboard. Open it like any other document.
Commenting
Select text in the document to anchor a comment, then choose a type: comment, question, suggestion, or issue. You can reply to comments, and the owner can resolve them. Anyone who can comment or edit can leave comments; people who can only view can read them.
To @mention a collaborator, type @ in a comment and pick their name. They'll be notified in the app and by email.
Staying in sync
- Notifications: the bell in the top bar tells you when someone joins your document, comments, replies, or mentions you.
- Live presence: avatars in the editor's top bar show who else has the document open right now.
- Live updates: new comments appear for everyone without a refresh, and people viewing the document see it update as it's saved.
You can turn collaboration emails on or off under Account settings → Notifications → Collaboration emails.
Co-editing in real time
Share with Can edit and you can write in the document at the same time, with live cursors and shared selections. It's in Beta and turns on automatically once a document has an editing collaborator. See Real-time co-editing.
Chat
Every shared document has a built-in chat (the bubble in the bottom corner), so the people working on it can talk without leaving the page. History persists, and you're notified by the bell if someone messages while you're elsewhere.
- Attach a source: type
@in the chat to reference a source from your library. It shows as a card others can Preview or Add to library, even if they don't have it. - Scholar AI (Chair): invite Folio's AI advisor into the chat to review the shared draft and sources. It points out what's strong, weak, or missing and asks sharpening questions, but it never writes the paper for you. There's an optional proactive mode, and you can turn it off per document from the chat's settings.