A Document Will Not Load

When a document does not open, the cause is usually access-related rather than data loss. livediagram deliberately returns the same "not found" surface for a document you cannot reach as for one that truly does not exist, so a blank or "not found" screen does not mean your work is gone. Work through the checks below in order.

Quick checks

1. Reload the page. A transient network blip is the single most common cause. A refresh re-runs the load from scratch.
2. Check your connection. The editor needs to reach the API to load a document. Confirm you are online and not behind a network that blocks the site.
3. Open it from your own list. If you own the document, open it from your documents rather than an old URL, to rule out a stale link.

Stuck on "Opening your document"

The opening screen tries to fix a slow load on its own:

1. After 10 seconds it says "This is taking longer than usual." and offers Refresh.
2. After 30 seconds it reloads the page once by itself, with a fresh start.
3. If that does not help, it shows "Couldn't load document" with two more ways out: Copy Diagnostics, a short report to send to support, and Repair This Browser, which clears stuck settings and caches while keeping your documents. You can also run the repair from Repair This Browser, even if the editor will not start.

If your browser is offline, the screen says "You're offline" instead, and the document opens by itself as soon as you reconnect. While you are offline in an open document, a banner says so: your changes stay in that tab and save when the connection is back, so keep the tab open until it does.

It opens for a colleague but not for you

When the same link works for someone else, the document is fine and the difference is on your side:

1. Check who you are signed in as. A document belongs to one account or one guest browser. If your colleague shared it with a different account, or you made it as a guest in another browser, it will not be in your list. Compare the account in the top right with the one the document was shared with.
2. Open the share link itself, not a copy of the address bar from your colleague's browser. The owner's address only works for the owner.
3. Repair this browser, which clears anything saved in this browser that could be in the way.
4. Try another browser or network. A browser extension, an out-of-date browser, or a work network that blocks parts of the site can stop a load that works elsewhere.

If you opened it from a share link

A share link is the most common reason a document refuses to load, and the fixes are different from a document you own.

1. You may need a password. If the document has a share password, you will see a lock screen. Enter the password the owner gave you. A wrong password shows an error and lets you retry.
2. The link may have expired. Share links can be created with a lifetime. An expired link stops working everywhere and looks just like a revoked one. Ask the owner to Extend it or send a fresh link.
3. The link may have been revoked. If the owner stopped sharing or deleted that specific link, it no longer grants access. Ask for a new one.
4. Check you copied the whole URL. A truncated link, missing its share code, will not resolve.

Still not loading

1. Try a different browser or an incognito window to rule out an extension or cached data. See browser compatibility.
2. Try another device on a different network to separate a local problem from a document problem.
3. Confirm you are signed in as the right identity. A guest document is tied to the browser that made it; a different browser or a signed-in account owns a different set of documents. See working as a guest.

If none of this helps, the document itself may be reachable but stuck on real-time connection; see real-time collaboration problems. If you are still stuck, contact us with the URL you used, what you see, and the report from Copy Diagnostics.