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You have a cost question answered in or on a , and you need someone else to see the same numbers. Sharing sends that exact view: filters, time window, and group-by, without asking the recipient to rebuild the query.
Public Costory share page with a stacked cost chart, doughnut breakdown, and Open in Costory button

A secure external link shows a PNG snapshot of the Explorer view, with a path back into Costory

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Overview

Use a Link when the recipient has a Costory login. The URL opens the live query. Use a Secure external link or a dashboard PDF when they do not. New objects start private. You grant access per user, or you make a dashboard public to the organization. Recurring delivery still belongs in Cost Reports. Typical cases:
  • Paste an Explorer investigation into Slack so a teammate lands on the same filter and date range
  • Give finance Reader access to a dashboard they should not edit
  • Send a PNG snapshot to a stakeholder who will not log in
  • Recover a dashboard after an accidental edit with dashboard versions

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Key terms used in this article

  • Link: a URL that opens the live query. The recipient must log in to Costory.
  • Secure external link: a URL with a PNG snapshot of the current Explorer view. No login required.
  • Object permissions: per-user Reader, Editor, or Can manage on a Costory object.
See the Glossary for a full list of terms.

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Choose a sharing method

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Share an Explorer view

Explorer sharing is the path for a single investigation. The link stores the current Where clause, date range, and group-by.
1

Build the query

In Explorer, set the metric, filters, date range, and group-by you want someone else to see.
2

Open Share

Click Share.
3

Copy a Link

Choose Link. The URL points at this exact view. A simple query opens in Explorer. A more complex query (multiple series, formulas) opens in Advanced Explorer.
4

Send the URL

Paste it in Slack, a ticket, or a pull request. The recipient must be able to log in to Costory and have permission to view the underlying data.
After you change a widget on a dashboard, use Open in Explorer and share from there. The dashboard URL does not store per-widget edits.
A Secure external link is a URL with a PNG snapshot of the current Explorer view. Anyone with the URL can open it. They do not need a Costory account.
Slack message with a Costory Explorer share link and an unfurled PNG snapshot of the cost chart

A secure external link unfurls in Slack as a snapshot of the Explorer chart

1

Open Share

From Explorer, click Share.
2

Choose Secure external link

Costory attaches a PNG of the view you are looking at.
3

Send the URL

Paste it to anyone who needs the snapshot. The page is view-only.
Anyone with the URL can see the snapshot. Review filters and the date range before you create the link. Treat it like a public document link.

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Share a dashboard

The dashboard URL encodes what is set in the top bar: Where clause, date preset, metric, and group-by. It does not capture edits made on an individual widget.
1

Set the top bar

Open the dashboard and set the filters, date preset, metric, and group-by you want the recipient to land on.
2

Copy the link

Click Share → Link, or copy the dashboard URL from the address bar once those parameters are in it.
3

Send it to Costory users

Recipients need a login and permission on that dashboard. They see the saved widgets with the top-bar context you copied.

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Share one widget

To change one widget and share that result:
  1. Open the widget menu and click Open in Explorer. Costory takes the widget query, including your current edit, into Explorer.
  2. Share from Explorer with Link or Secure external link.
Share widget still exists. Reopening a shared widget now lands in Explorer, not back on the dashboard. Use that when the recipient should investigate the query, not browse the rest of the dashboard.

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Save as copy

Use Save as copy for larger dashboard edits: adding widgets, changing layout, or trying a different breakdown without touching the original. The copy is a new dashboard. You grant access on the copy separately.

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External sharing for dashboards

For people outside Costory, export the dashboard as a PDF. The PDF includes a link back to the current dashboard context, so someone with access can open the live page after they read the snapshot. For a scheduled PDF or image in Slack, Microsoft Teams, or email, use a Cost Report.

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Dashboard versions

Dashboards keep versions. Open the version history when someone saved a change by mistake, or when an older layout is the one you want to keep. From a previous version you can:
  • Revert the dashboard to that version
  • Copy the old version as a new dashboard, then share that copy
Copy as a new dashboard when you want the old layout back without discarding the current one.

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Who can view or edit

The same roles apply to every Costory object: dashboards, reports, alerts, and the rest of the workspace. New objects are private. Only you can see them until you grant a user , or you make a dashboard public so everyone in the organization can view it.
1

Open the object

Open the dashboard, report, or other object you want to share.
2

Grant access

Add a user and choose Reader, Editor, or Can manage.
3

Or make a dashboard public

Use a public dashboard when the whole organization should be able to view it, without listing each person.
Stop using organization-wide admin rights as a way to share dashboards. Grant the people who need the view Reader or Editor, or make the dashboard public.
Existing dashboards currently grant Can manage to organization admins, so access matches the previous model. That grant is there so current dashboards keep working. Do not add new sharing through it. Move each dashboard to a public dashboard or to explicit per-user roles.
Team scopes in Teams still pre-filter Explorer and dashboards. They do not replace object permissions. Grant the team members the role they need on each dashboard.

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Frequently asked questions

No. Only the top bar is in the URL: where clause, date preset, metric, and group-by. To share a widget edit, use Open in Explorer and copy a Link from Explorer.
In Explorer, with that widget’s query. It no longer reopens the dashboard.
Open dashboard versions. Revert to the version you want, or copy that version as another dashboard.
Use Teams for default metrics and cost scopes. Use object permissions (or a public dashboard) to decide who can view or edit. See Teams.

Explorer

Build the query you want to share.

Dashboards

Save recurring views, then share the dashboard or a widget.

Cost Reports

Schedule snapshots to Slack, Teams, or email.

Teams

Apply default scopes and metrics. Grant dashboard access on the object.
Last modified on September 16, 2026