# Sharing an animation
The Share button at the top of any workspace file's detail view turns the animation into a public URL anyone can open in a browser — no LottieFiles account required on the recipient's side. Generate it once, paste it into a doc or chat, and the same URL keeps working as you iterate. This is the foundation of every async review and developer handoff flow.

## How to access this

1. Open the LottieFiles plugin in After Effects.
2. Click **Workspace** in the top tab bar.
3. Navigate to the file you want to share.
4. Click the **Share** button next to the file's preview.

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## Generate a sharing link

The Share button changes behavior depending on the file's current state:

- **First click on a file with public access disabled** — enables public access for the file, generates a shareable URL, and copies it to your clipboard automatically. Tooltip shows "Enabling sharing link" briefly, then settles into "Copy sharing link".
- **Subsequent clicks** — re-copy the existing URL to your clipboard without re-enabling.

The URL is stable as long as public access is on. You can paste it into Slack, Linear, Notion, Figma comments, design docs — anywhere a link works.

## Re-copy or open the link later

The Share button doesn't reset state between sessions. If you enabled the link last week and want to copy it again today, click Share — same URL, no re-enabling step.

To preview what the recipient will see, click the URL in your clipboard (paste into the browser address bar). You'll see the animation in a public LottieFiles player, no sign-in required.

## Disable sharing

If a project wraps or sensitive work needs to stay internal:

1. Open the file's detail view in the plugin.
2. Open the share controls (typically a small menu next to the Share button). {/* [needs review] confirm exact location of disable action */}
3. Toggle public access off.

Once disabled, the URL stops working immediately. Anyone holding the link sees a "not available" page.

## What recipients see

Recipients clicking the share URL get:

- The animation playing in a browser-based player at full quality.
- Playback controls (play/pause, loop, scrubber).
- No sign-in prompt.
- No download button on the public page — they can view, not necessarily extract the file. {/* [needs review] confirm whether public viewers can download */}

For developers who need the actual `.lottie` or `.json` to embed, send them the **share URL plus the variant** (e.g., "use the optimized `.lottie` from this link") — they can fetch via the LottieFiles API or you can hand them the file directly.

## Tips for motion/product designers

- **Set the share link once at the start of a project** and pin it in your Slack channel. Every [Update from AE](/en/integrations/after-effects/10_workspace/updating-a-version) keeps it fresh — your team doesn't get a new URL every revision.
- **For client-facing review, share the link instead of MP4 exports.** Clients see the same vector quality your team sees; you don't waste time re-exporting MP4s for every iteration.
- **The link is a workspace-level secret in disguise.** Disable sharing on files that contain unreleased brand assets before archiving the project.

## Troubleshooting

- **Share button doesn't appear** — confirm you're signed in to the workspace that owns the file. Public access is a per-file workspace permission.
- **Link copied but recipient sees "not available"** — confirm public access is still on (re-open the file in the plugin; the Share button tooltip will tell you).
- **Link works but doesn't reflect latest version** — the recipient may have a cached browser view. Have them hard-refresh.

## Related

- [Updating a version](/en/integrations/after-effects/10_workspace/updating-a-version) — keep the same link valid across versions.
- [Tracking file status](/en/integrations/after-effects/10_workspace/tracking-file-status) — signal which version reviewers should look at.
- [Working with a file](/en/integrations/after-effects/10_workspace/workspace-panel-controls) — full file view reference.