> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.overleaf.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.overleaf.com/collaborating/shared-workspace.md).

# Shared workspace

{% hint style="info" %}
The Shared workspace is only available on **Pro group** plans. The group admin can decide whether it is available and how it is setup.

If you’re an administrator looking for support with the Shared workspace, please visit our [page for admins](/groups/user-management/shared-workspace.md).
{% endhint %}

The Shared workspace is a shared space where everyone in your group can find and work on the group's projects.

Normally, a project in Overleaf belongs to the project owner, and other people only see it once they've been invited. The Shared workspace adds a shared project space to your pro group subscription. When a project is in it, everyone in the group can open it, and it stays with the group if the person who created it leaves.

## How workspaces are organized

Once your group admin turns on the shared workspace, the left-hand navigation of your project list shows:

* **All projects**: Everything you have access to, both your own projects and the ones in your group's shared workspace.
* **Your workspace**: Your personal projects. Only you, and anyone you've invited, can see these. This is what **Your projects** used to be.
* **Your group**: The shared workspace. Every member of your group subscription can see every project here. Your admin might have renamed this to match your team, for example "Physics Lab" or "Research Office".

<figure><img src="https://3502988919-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FVetOkhFZmAC8QCQK0Pi7%2Fuploads%2FQiwu7O9q7PtA8PqdVZps%2FGroup%20Pro%20-%20workspace.png?alt=media&amp;token=5a2a28b4-2ea2-4b40-bd75-d4adebe495e9" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

The project list also has a workspace column. It shows whether each project is in your personal workspace or in the shared one. At the top of the shared workspace, you'll see a stack of avatars for the other people in your group.

<figure><img src="https://3502988919-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FVetOkhFZmAC8QCQK0Pi7%2Fuploads%2FcmoePYpbMGIGi3EyC7H0%2Fimage.png?alt=media&amp;token=bc221771-2a62-4c95-a580-82b4164158ac" alt="" width="386"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

{% hint style="info" %}
Tags are now labeled **Your Tags** because they're personal. Tagging a workspace project only changes how it looks in your project list. Nobody else in your group sees your tags.&#x20;
{% endhint %}

## Create a new project in the shared workspace

Any member of the group can create a project in the shared workspace. It's visible to the whole group right away, and the group owns it from the start.

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

### **Select Your group in the left-hand navigation.**

If your admin has renamed the workspace, it appears under its new name.&#x20;
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### **Select New project and choose the type of project to create.**

\[SCREENSHOT: the New project button while viewing the shared workspace]
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

### Move an existing project into the shared workspace

If you own a project in your personal workspace, you can move it into the shared workspace so the whole group can see it. Only the project's owner can do this. Collaborators you've invited can't move it.

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

### **Go to Your workspace and find the project you want to share.**

{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### **Select the project, then select Move to workspace.**

<figure><img src="https://3502988919-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FVetOkhFZmAC8QCQK0Pi7%2Fuploads%2FhNYerFidiyYE2PfdMikp%2Fimage%20(1).png?alt=media&amp;token=6eebf35e-efa3-47d0-953f-1fe2ce3a3d17" alt="" width="384"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

The project now appears in **Your group** for every member of your group.&#x20;
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

{% hint style="info" %}
**You can't move a project back out yourself.** Once a project is in the shared workspace, only the group administrator can move it back to your personal workspace. If a project is private or unfinished, keep it in **Your workspace** until you're ready for the whole group to see it.
{% endhint %}

### Who owns projects in the shared workspace?

When a project is in the shared workspace, **the group owns it**, not any one person. That's how it stays available when people leave.

If you created the project, or moved it in, you're still listed as its **project owner**. While you're a member of the group, you keep the owner controls: you can raise its access level, share it, and move it to the trash or delete it.

If you leave the group subscription, you lose access to the project, but it stays in the shared workspace for everyone else.

{% hint style="info" %}
Projects in your personal workspace work the way they always have. They belong to you, and they go with you if you leave the group. Your admin can't get them back after you've left and onlt invited collaborators can view them. If a project needs to stay with the team, move it into the shared workspace.
{% endhint %}

### What access do group members get?

Every project in the shared workspace starts with the **Viewer access level.**

The project creator can raise access for individual group members in a single project, for example from **Viewer** to **Editor**.

#### Can I still share a shared workspace project with people outside my group?

Yes. You can still invite people outside your group, and link sharing still works.

<figure><img src="https://3502988919-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FVetOkhFZmAC8QCQK0Pi7%2Fuploads%2FP82CuYVl4kTWz0VmJADY%2Fimage.png?alt=media&amp;token=aa2020f8-7f21-42b2-9ff0-0254dece7590" alt="" width="523"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

### Trashing and deleting workspace projects

Only the project creator and the group managers can move a shared workspace project to the trash or delete it for good. Other members don't have these options.

{% hint style="info" %}
**Trashing a workspace project trashes it for everyone.** In your personal workspace, trash only affects your own project list. In the shared workspace, a trashed project disappears from **Your group** for every member.
{% endhint %}

You can't archive projects in the shared workspace. Archiving hides a project from your own view, which doesn't make sense for a project the whole group shares. If you want a workspace project out of your way, give it a tag under **Your Tags** and filter your list instead.

### What happens if I'm removed from the group?

If you leave your group subscription, or an admin removes you, your projects in the shared workspace stay with the group. The group admin becomes their owner, and you can't open them anymore. Your personal projects in **Your workspace** are still yours. You keep full access to them, and the group can't see them.

This is the same whether you leave yourself or a group manager removes you.

{% hint style="info" %}
**Check where your projects are before you go.** Anything in **Your shared workspace** stays with the group. Anything in **Your workspace** goes with you. If you want to keep a project that's in the shared workspace, ask your group admin to move it to your personal workspace before you leave.
{% endhint %}

#### What if I delete my Overleaf account?

Your projects in the shared workspace go to your group admin, so your team can keep working on them. Your personal projects are deleted along with your account.

If your account is [managed by your group](/accounts-and-security/understanding-managed-accounts.md) and your admin deletes it. They'll transfer your projects before they do.


---

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