---
title: "05 What Readers See"
canonical_url: https://mdflow.cz/share/c/h0L7MvX5Cy5sST3qPnApqHOmrQ36JTVy169qJMtDMya9Kc30zm04cg9OuPSSPwvj/cab68b8e-3ce1-48ea-a7e1-82c962bef030
md_url: https://mdflow.cz/share/c/h0L7MvX5Cy5sST3qPnApqHOmrQ36JTVy169qJMtDMya9Kc30zm04cg9OuPSSPwvj/cab68b8e-3ce1-48ea-a7e1-82c962bef030.md
visibility: public
---

# What Readers See

This document describes the experience from the *other* side of a share link — useful before you send one.

## Opening a shared document

Readers open shared documents directly in a **clean reader view**. No account, no sign-up wall, no MDflow chrome demanding attention.

The **rendered markdown preview** is shown by default.

## What they can do without signing in

- **Read** the rendered document.
- **Switch views** — rendered preview, read-only markdown source, or side-by-side split on larger screens.
- **Download the original markdown** as a `.md` file.
- **Export a PDF** through a print-ready flow.

That is a deliberately generous anonymous experience. A reader can take your document with them, in its original portable format, without giving you anything.

## What requires signing in

- **Commenting** (when you have enabled it).
- **Cloning** an editable private copy.

Signing in from the shared page **returns them to the same page** and automatically resumes whichever action they were attempting. They do not lose their place.

## Cloning

A signed-in visitor can clone a **private, independent copy** into their own workspace:

- They **choose a destination folder**.
- The cloned filename is **automatically disambiguated** inside that folder.
- **Referenced uploaded images are copied**, so their copy is self-contained.
- The copy is **fully independent** — your later edits, deletion, or unsharing do not affect it.

## What readers never see

- Your **identity or email address**.
- Any **other document** in your workspace.
- **Uploaded images** the saved public document does not reference.
- **Version history**.
- Which **workspace** the document came from, or that other workspaces exist.

For comments specifically: commenters see **display names and avatars only**, never email addresses — including yours.

## Encrypted documents

A shared encrypted document shows a **password gate**. The reader enters the password you gave them separately. Without it there is nothing to read — the server itself holds only ciphertext. See [01 Document Encryption](/doc/b230e154-6c58-4bfd-8a7a-c70bc7bebcd7).

## Collections

A shared collection opens in the same reader with a **file list**, and each document offers the same preview, source, split, download and PDF options.

In **Knowledgebase** mode (Pro) readers additionally get a **homepage** at the root URL and **full-text search** across the collection. See [03 Sharing Collections](/doc/669c61d4-1297-48e1-8e75-e82c10a2e60f).

## Dead links

An invalid or disabled link shows a **friendly unavailable page**. It reveals nothing about what was there, or whether anything ever was. See [01 Public Share Links](/doc/4691db3e-cee1-45b0-bad8-997709083105).

## For tools and AI agents

Appending `.md` to a share URL returns the raw markdown with YAML frontmatter (title, canonical URL, markdown URL, visibility). This means a shared MDflow document is directly citable and readable by an AI agent in one request — a useful property if you are publishing reference material you *want* models to read correctly. See [05 Agent Discovery Files](/doc/e6cc65f9-1e9a-484f-b1fa-e4eb22da894d).

Share pages are `noindex`, so they are not intended to be found by search engines — only by people you send the link to.