Real-time collaboration

Two or more people can edit the same cloud map at the same time. You see each other's cursors and paint strokes as they happen, and changes save in the background. On the free plan you can share a map with up to 2 other people (3 seats total); paid plans allow more.

All you do is sign in

Signing in to GridCraft, in the desktop app or the browser, is the only setup collaboration needs. Your account is what connects you to GridCraft's realtime server, so there are no keys to copy, no addresses to configure, and nothing extra to install. If you can open your cloud maps, you can collaborate on them. The desktop app keeps you signed in and handles the connection for you.

Sharing a map

1. Open the map from the cloud (Dashboard → My maps).
2. Click Share. Add collaborators by GridCraft username or email address, and choose whether each person can edit or only view.
3. Each collaborator opens the map from their dashboard and edits live.

Roles and permissions

• Owner: the person who created the map. Edits, manages sharing, changes roles, removes people, and deletes the map.
• Editor: paints, edits layers and objects, and saves.
• Viewer: read-only. Sees the map and everyone's cursors live, but cannot edit or save.

The owner can change someone's role or remove them at any time from the Share dialog. A demoted collaborator switches to read-only without rejoining.

Keeping everyone in sync

Everyone keeps a live copy of the map, and your edits show up the instant you make them. GridCraft's realtime server merges everyone's changes into one consistent order, so you all end up looking at the same map. If two people paint the same cell at the same moment, the most recent edit wins and everyone sees the same result. There is nothing to merge by hand and no prompt to sort out.

Limits

• The map owner's plan determines whether collaboration is enabled and how many seats a single map can have.
• All collaborators need a GridCraft account, but they don't need to be on a paid plan themselves.
• Cloud maps collaborate through the cloud server. The desktop app also offers LAN hosting for local sessions (see below).

LAN hosting and direct connections

The desktop app can host a session on your local network, so people on the same network join without going through the cloud. On a cloud map or a LAN session, GridCraft also opens direct connections between editors when it can, so cursors and paint travel straight between machines for lower latency. It falls back to the server automatically, so nothing breaks when a direct connection cannot be made.

Going offline

If your connection drops, you keep editing locally. When you reconnect, your edits sync up and you see anything that happened while you were offline. Conflicts resolve automatically, with no merge prompt. If a manual save lands at the same moment as someone else's, GridCraft may show a brief notice that the map changed so you can save again cleanly.