Sharing
Virza lets you share your research with anyone using secure share links. Recipients don’t need a Virza account. They can view your content in a clean, read-only page.
Within a workspace
Everything in a workspace is shared by default. All members can see all documents, collections, and notes (subject to their role permissions).
There’s no need to explicitly “share” a document with a teammate. If they’re in your workspace, they can access it.
Share links
Share links let you give anyone read access to a specific resource. You can share:
- Documents: PDFs, papers, reports
- Library items: Items in your library
- Research sessions: AI research conversations
- Citations: Citation collections
- Drafts: Work-in-progress content
Creating a share link
Open the share dialog
Click the Share button on any document, session, or citation. This opens the share dialog.
Configure permissions
Choose what the recipient can do:
| Permission | Description |
|---|---|
| View | Always on. Recipients can read the content |
| Comment | Recipients can leave comments |
| Export | Recipients can download or export the content |
Set expiration
Choose how long the link should be active:
| Option | Duration |
|---|---|
| 1 hour | Quick, temporary access |
| 24 hours | Day-long access |
| 7 days (default) | Standard sharing period |
| 30 days | Extended access |
| 90 days | Maximum duration |
| Never | Link stays active until you revoke it |
Add password protection (optional)
Toggle Password protection and enter a password (minimum 8 characters). Anyone who opens the link will need to enter this password before they can see the content.
Set an access limit (optional)
Toggle Limit accesses to restrict how many times the link can be opened. Useful for one-time or limited-use sharing.
Create the link
Click Create link. The share URL appears. Copy it and send it to your recipient.
Copy the link now. For security, the full share URL is only shown once. You can always manage or revoke the link later, but you won’t be able to see the full URL again.
What the recipient sees
When someone opens a share link, they see a clean page with:
- A banner indicating they’re viewing a shared resource
- The content of the shared resource
- An Export button (if you enabled export permission)
- A Sign up link if they want to join Virza
Share pages are private and don’t appear in search engines.
Password-protected links
If you added a password, the recipient sees a password prompt before the content loads. They need to enter the correct password to continue.
Password verification is rate-limited to prevent guessing. After several incorrect attempts, the recipient will need to wait a few minutes before trying again.
Managing share links
Viewing existing links
In the share dialog, switch to the Manage tab to see all active share links for that resource. Each link shows:
- How many times it has been accessed
- When it expires
- What permissions are granted
- Whether it’s password-protected
Revoking a link
Click Revoke next to any active link. The link immediately stops working. Anyone who tries to open it will see a “Link revoked” page.
Revoking a link is instant and permanent. You can always create a new link if needed.
Who can share
Sharing requires the Editor role or above. Viewers and Researchers cannot create share links. See Roles & Permissions for details.
| Role | Can create share links | Can revoke share links |
|---|---|---|
| Viewer | ❌ | ❌ |
| Researcher | ❌ | ❌ |
| Editor | ✅ | ✅ (own links) |
| Admin | ✅ | ✅ (all links) |
| Owner | ✅ | ✅ (all links) |
Security & privacy
- Links are unguessable: each link contains a unique, cryptographically random token
- No search engine indexing: share pages include
noindextags - Access tracking: every time someone opens a share link, it’s recorded
- Audit trail: share creation and revocation are logged in your workspace audit log
- Workspace isolation: share links only expose the specific resource, not your workspace
Data export
If you need to share documents outside Virza without a share link:
- Select one or more documents in your library
- Right-click → Download original
- The original file (PDF, DOCX, etc.) is downloaded to your computer
You can also export metadata and citations. See Citations for export formats.