Sharing interfaces with non-users

[Limi]

Hi all, I already know Airtable doesnt allow you to share interfaces with non-users (not a good move, Airtable!) but i'm trying to not give up on the beautiful dashboards i made.

Other than taking a screenshot, are there any extensions/third-party tools that i can use to share my dashboards with others that are not on Airtable? We want to share it with our board, funders, etc.

[AirOps]

Hi Limi!

I understand the frustration of not being able to share interfaces with non-Airtable users, and I agree that it can be a headache especially when you have spent hours creating beautiful dashboards! While I may not have the perfect solution you're seeking, here's a potential solution that can help you avoid the task of recreating all your metrics and graphs in a third-party tool.

Currently, the best option I can offer is to share the interface with external users as read-only participants. This means the individuals you share it with will need to create an Airtable Account. However, the good news is that they won't count as paid seats in your workplace. By sharing only the interface, they won't have access to your backend data, but they'll be able to view the dashboards you've set up. This allows them to interact with the information you've curated without compromising the sensitive data on the backend.

This article goes over how to add read-only users to interfaces, and this article describes the different levels of interface permissions. 

I hope this helps! 

Chantal

[MelissaNunes]

Thank you for this possible solution.  Sometimes airtable perplexes me.  What is the point of having something that can act like a database of records without the expectation that those records would be used to populate things like menus, directories, materials schedules, online stores and project inventory?  I can't be the only business owner in the world who has a B2C business, looking for a way to store, organize and present information to public customers (not a B2B "client" but individual customers).  I've run into this problem for several years now, every single time I find a software solution I think may work.  It's so frustrating and obvious that tech businesses have no clue how other businesses function outside of tech or that the term "client" does not always refer to another company.  I simply want a way for my clients (interior design clients) to see the products and materials we have compiled for their project but only view the fields we want them to view.   It seems like a fairly simple ask, yet impossible to find. 

[AirOps]

Hi @MelissaNunes,  

If you are looking for a a way to publicly display products with a select number of fields, I would suggest looking into the gallery view that Airtable offers. This view can be shared externally without users needing an Airtable account, and if you configure your view correctly you can make it so only the fields you'd like to show are available to view. I have had previous clients use this feature to share data with external parties through the shared link as well as embedding the view directly to their websites. 

Help articles: 

Getting started with Airtable gallery views

Hiding fields (customizing cards) in gallery view 

Embedding Airtable views

[bhender]

I am also looking for this, spent days creating a beautiful 8 page dashboard for my corporate client only to realise that corporation blocked access to Airtable on their laptops so now I have to find another way to share the data...

[marcobatman88]

hello,
thank you for your reply, but what you mean does not, however, address the need to be able to share interfaces effectively with external users. It would be a super feature that would avoid using other third party software and consolidate your base of paying users (like me) who instead have to find third party solutions to do this.

I ask you to strongly consider this sharing update, it would be revolutionary. Moreover, I note that many users are asking for it: it cannot be a missing feature in your backlog.

[Matteo_Cossu3]

restricting an interface to authenticated users seems only normal to me – would be a huge security issue otherwise. if you share a google doc, don't you have to log in to Google first?

[marcobatman88]

Hello Matteo, I agree with you that company data is important, but if I decide to share something publicly, I take responsibility for the action.

The case you bring up: if you share a google doc, don't you have to log in to Google first? the answer is NO.
A Google doc can be shared with anyone who has the link. Why shouldn't the same thing happen with Airtable interfaces?

I do not mean that a user from outside the organisation can edit/create the data, but being able to query an interface is the minimum. Don't you think?

[MelissaNunes]

Nope. Not happening. My clients are individual homeowners who have hired me as their architectural designer. I'm not going to require them to create a new account to a new software just to see the information I've commie l compiled for their project.

[MelissaNunes]

Nope.  That reveals all information for each record. There is some information I do not want my clients to see.  Hence, the curated interface.