Sharing — Platform Sharing Overview
What is the Sharing System?
OrbitingFox has a centralised sharing system that lets you share content from different apps with people inside or outside the platform. Currently it powers Orbit Cards deck sharing, with more apps (Blinks, Goals, Projects, Study Lists) coming in future phases.
Three Share Types — Each with Its Own Icon
| Icon | Type | Who can access | Account needed? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🔗 | Public Link | Anyone with the URL | No |
| 👤 | Specific User | The named OrbitingFox member | Yes (must log in) |
| 🏢 | Group / Space | All members of the group | Yes (group membership) |
Sharing Scope Rules
The platform enforces three rules to keep sharing simple and non-redundant:
- System content cannot be shared. Platform-managed items (e.g. the Uncategorised deck) have sharing permanently disabled.
- A parent share covers all its children. If you share a full deck, all its sub-decks are already accessible through that share. The platform blocks creating a separate share for any sub-deck of an already-shared parent — it would be redundant. To share a sub-deck independently, the parent deck must have no active shares.
- Sub-decks use one share type at a time. A sub-deck may only have one active share type (Public Link, Specific Users, or Groups). Switching type requires revoking the current share first. Full (top-level) decks are not subject to this restriction and may mix all three types simultaneously.
How the URL Works
Every share has a unique UUID token embedded in the URL:
https://orbitingfox.com/share/<token>/
You can send this URL via any channel — text message, email, DM, social media, etc. The platform does not force any specific delivery method.
Permissions
Each share has three independent permissions (Study · Export · Copy). In the sharing dashboard they appear as three small dots (🟢 = allowed, ⚪ = not allowed).
View Count Analytics
Every time a share link is opened, the view counter increments and the "Last Accessed" timestamp updates. The deck owner can see this on the deck profile page under the Sharing Report section.
Revoking Shares
Any share can be revoked instantly. The token immediately stops working — visitors see an error page. Revoked shares are kept in the database for audit purposes but are never served again.
Admin Controls
Site administrators can enable or disable each share type globally from Admin Dashboard → Sharing Settings:
- Allow / block public link sharing
- Allow / block sharing with specific users
- Allow / block group/space sharing
- Allow / block the "Make a Copy" permission
- Maximum number of active shares per item
These toggles work alongside the platform rules above — disabling a type here prevents all users from creating new shares of that type, regardless of deck level.