Public Address and Sharing from the Desktop App

Overview

A share link or an emailed report is only useful if the person who receives it can open it. That depends on where Shift-Left Studio runs:

• On a shared server your team reaches at a web address, links should use that address.
• On a desktop install, Studio runs on your own computer. No one else can reach a web link to it, so a web link would open nowhere.

Studio now handles both. An administrator can set the Public Address, the web address colleagues use to reach the app, and every share link and email is built from it. When no address can travel beyond your computer or network, the Share Dashboard dialog offers what does travel instead: a self-contained HTML report and a link that opens the dashboard in the reader's own Shift-Left Studio desktop app.

Key concepts

Before you begin

• To set the Public Address, you need the Administrator role.
• Know the exact address people type to reach the app, including any path prefix if a reverse proxy serves it under one (for example https://tools.example.com/studio).
• To open Studio links, the reader needs the Shift-Left Studio desktop app installed and launched at least once.

Step 1 — Set the Public Address (administrators, shared servers)

1. Go to Settings → System & Monitoring → Public Address.
2. Enter the address in the field (the placeholder shows https://studio.yourcompany.com).
3. Click Save. The screen confirms Saved. New links will use this address.
4. Check the box below the field:
   • Links use now: shows the address links are built from.
   • It then says either Other people can open these links. or that the links open only on this computer or network.
5. To stop using the address, click Clear.

The address must start with http:// or https:// and can't contain a user name or password. A path prefix is kept.

Note: Users who aren't administrators can see the address but not change it. They see Only an administrator can change this.

Important: If Studio runs only on your own computer, leave the Public Address empty. Setting it to a local address doesn't make links reachable by anyone else.

Step 2 — Share a dashboard

1. Open Analytics → Dashboards and choose the persona, project and time range.
2. Click Share. The Share Dashboard dialog opens.

What you see depends on whether the address can be reached by others.

When links can travel

You see the usual share form: Custom Title, Access Type (Public, Authenticated Users or Password Protected), Link Expiration and Show Branding. The link you create uses the Public Address. See Sharing and embedding dashboards.

When links can't travel (desktop app, or a local-only address)

The dialog says A web link from this computer would open only here and offers two alternatives.

Option A — send a report file

1. Click Download report (HTML).
2. Studio saves the file and says Saved <file name>. Attach it to an email or a chat message.
3. Attach the file to an email or a Teams or Slack message.

The report is one file with the dashboard's numbers. It opens in any browser, prints to PDF, and carries an Open in Shift-Left Studio button.

Option B — send a Studio link

1. Next to the shiftleft-studio://dashboard?… link, click Copy.
2. Paste it into your message.

When a colleague clicks it, their own Shift-Left Studio opens on the same dashboard (persona and time range), showing the data their app is connected to. The link never carries a project or any data of yours.

Tip: Some web mail services hide or disable links that don't start with http. The report file always works, so send it when in doubt.

If your team shares a server

Under Does your team share a server?:

• Administrators can enter the Public Address right there and click Save. The dialog switches to the normal share form.
• Other users see Ask an administrator to set it under Settings → System & Monitoring → Public Address.

To create a web link anyway, click Create a link anyway (it opens only on this computer). The link is labeled as local-only when it's created.

Step 3 — Open a report or Studio link you received

1. Open the HTML report in a browser, or click the Studio link in the message.
2. In the report, click Open in Shift-Left Studio. If the Public Address can be reached, you also see View the live dashboard.
3. The desktop app opens on Analytics → Dashboards with the persona and time range from the link.

If nothing happens, open Shift-Left Studio yourself and go to Analytics → Dashboards.

Note: On Windows, the desktop app registers shiftleft-studio:// links the first time it's launched, for the signed-in Windows user. Launch the app once after installing it.

Where the buttons appear

Understanding what the address screen tells you

Troubleshooting

Best practices

• On a shared server, set the Public Address once, as soon as the server is reachable by your team.
• On desktop installs, prefer the HTML report for stakeholders who don't use Studio.
• Use Studio links between Studio users who work on the same shared data.
• After changing your server's domain, update the Public Address before sending new links.

Related articles

• Sharing and embedding dashboards
• Scheduled reports and alerts
• Persona dashboards: layout, TV Mode and Focus Project