Real-Time Collaboration Problems

Real-time collaboration in livediagram works through a per-document room: everyone editing the same document connects to it over a live connection, and that room relays cursors, who is selecting what, which tab people are on, and edits as they happen. When something is not coming through, it is almost always the connection to that room rather than your data. Work through the checks below.

When you see no one else

1. Confirm everyone is in the same document. Live presence is per document. Two people on different documents, or on different copies, will not see each other.
2. Make sure others actually have access. Collaborators need a valid share link (or to be the owner). If their link expired, was revoked, or needs a password, they may not be connected at all. See share link security.
3. Reload the page. A refresh re-establishes the live connection and re-sends presence. This clears most transient glitches.
4. Check your network. Real-time relies on a live connection that some corporate networks, VPNs, or firewalls block. Try a different network or a mobile hotspot to confirm.

When edits or cursors lag or stall

1. Give it a moment, then reload. When a connection drops, the editor reconnects on its own and catches up on what it missed, without reloading the page. If it still seems stuck, the affected person refreshing re-arms the connection.
2. Remember view-only visitors do not edit. Someone on a view-role link can show their cursor and selection but cannot change the canvas. If their edits are not landing, check whether they hold an edit-role link.
3. Avoid editing the exact same element at once. Edits to different elements, even on the same tab, merge cleanly. Two people changing the same element is the one case where the last change to arrive wins, which is why an element somebody else has selected shows as locked for you until they let go.
4. Watch for a dropped link mid-session. If a share link is revoked, or the password changes, visitors using it are disconnected (or sent back to the password prompt). If the document is moved to the Trash, everyone in it is told it was deleted. An expired link lets people already inside carry on until their next load or save. Ask the owner for a fresh link.

If it still will not connect

1. Try a different browser or device to separate a local issue from a document one. See browser compatibility.
2. Disable extensions that might interfere with live connections, then retry in an incognito window.
3. Confirm the document loads at all. If it will not even open, start with a document will not load.

Your changes are saved independently of the live room, so a presence hiccup does not lose work. If a save does fail, a message at the bottom of the screen says so; see My Changes Are Missing. If collaboration still will not come through, contact us with the document URL and what each person sees.