# Public Address and Sharing from the Desktop App

> Set the Public Address that shared dashboard links and emailed reports use, and share dashboards from the desktop app when colleagues cannot reach your machine.

Source: https://totalshiftleft.ai/help-center/product-documentation/public-address-and-desktop-sharing

> **Applies to:** Editions that include dashboard sharing · Web app and Desktop app · Setting the Public Address requires an Administrator

## 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

| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| **Public Address** | The web address colleagues use to reach this app, for example `https://studio.yourcompany.com`. Share links and the web buttons in emailed reports use it. |
| Local-only address | An address only reachable from where the server runs: `localhost`, `127.x.x.x`, or a private network address such as `10.x.x.x`, `192.168.x.x` or `172.16–31.x.x`. |
| HTML report | A single file with the dashboard's numbers. It opens in any browser and prints to PDF. |
| Studio link | A link starting `shiftleft-studio://` that opens a dashboard in the Shift-Left Studio desktop app on the reader's computer. |
| **Open in Shift-Left Studio** | The button in exported reports and scheduled report emails that opens the dashboard in the desktop app. |
| **View the live dashboard** | The button in reports and emails that opens the dashboard on the web. Shown only when the Public Address can be reached by others. |

## 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](/help-center/product-documentation/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

| Place | **Open in Shift-Left Studio** | **View the live dashboard** |
|---|---|---|
| Export menu → **Export as HTML (Print-friendly)** | Yes | Only when the Public Address can be reached by others |
| **Download report (HTML)** in the Share dialog | Yes | Only when the Public Address can be reached by others |
| Scheduled report emails | Yes | Only when the Public Address can be reached by others |

## Understanding what the address screen tells you

| Message | Meaning |
|---|---|
| *Other people can open these links.* | Links use an address outside your computer or private network. |
| *These links open only on this computer or network…* | Links use a local-only address. On a desktop install, share the report file instead. |
| *This link points at this machine, so it will only open here…* | Shown on a share link created while the address is local-only. |

## Troubleshooting

| Symptom | Why it happens | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Share links point to `localhost` or a `192.168…` address | No Public Address is set, and the server is reached locally. | Set the Public Address (Step 1), or share the report file. |
| Share links point to the wrong domain | The Public Address is out of date. | Update it under **Settings → System & Monitoring → Public Address**. |
| *Could not save the address.* | The value isn't an http(s) address, or contains a user name or password. | Enter a plain `https://host[/prefix]` address. |
| Clicking a Studio link does nothing | The desktop app isn't installed or hasn't been launched since installing. | Install and launch Shift-Left Studio once, then click the link again. |
| The Studio link was removed from an email | Some mail services strip non-web links. | Send the HTML report file instead. |
| The dashboard a colleague sees shows different numbers | A Studio link opens their own app with their own data. | Send the HTML report if they need your numbers. |

## 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](/help-center/product-documentation/sharing-and-embedding-dashboards)
- [Scheduled reports and alerts](/help-center/product-documentation/scheduled-reports-and-alerts)
- [Persona dashboards: layout, TV Mode and Focus Project](/help-center/product-documentation/dashboard-layout-tv-mode-and-focus-project)