Hi everyone, I want to sell my docs, but not as an editable document, but as an application. So the use cases are these:
Multiple teams can use my docs but cannot see / interact with other teams’ data.
When I update the docs, everyone got the update.
It doesn’t matter if users can copy the docs, as they won’t get the update I made later.
It doesn’t matter if users have to sign-up and subscribe certain Coda plans, as I can adjust the pricing plan accordingly.
Is there any way to do this in Coda?
Thanks!
Notes: this question is related to Can sell doc and doc update but it’s been more than a year and has been closed. Checking if Coda has launched an update for this use case
The only issue is that by providing access to a document people will theoretically have access to the data. They could just open up the source and see anything that is filtered.
My understanding of this request is that clients get copies of the doc, they then use it as they see fit. But it is still possible for Kenji to make improvements to the doc, and share that with the copies out there.
It is a little bit like a phase 5 of the current 4 phase plan that Coda is working on:
phase 2: permissions in target & source doc are the same and you can view, not edit
phase 3: permissions in target & source doc are the same and you can view and edit
phase 4: permissions in target & source doc are not the same and you can view & edit
phase 5: permissions in target & source doc are not the same and you can view & edit, ONLY in the target doc. In other words, data is not synced back to the original doc.
So the idea that multiple users use the same doc and whenever @Kenji_Prahyudi updates it they also all get the same update.
This helps because if people make copies of the doc they wont receive the updates or have to move all of their data to the new template every time theres an update.
Yeah actually it doesn’t matter if it’s the same or different docs, as long as it’s scalable and one update for all. I already see solutions @Scott_Collier-Weir mentioned, and yes the problem is exactly as what Scott mentioned as well.
And from what @Piet_Strydom mentioned, does Coda have a more detailed explanation / documentation regarding these phases? Now I’m curious if phase 5 can really accommodate this use case
Your idea sounds great! To achieve it in Coda, you can use permissions settings to restrict access, automation for updates, and set up a subscription model. While Coda doesn’t have a specific feature for selling documents, with some creativity, you can make it work. Good luck!
I don’t have time to go into all the specifics (they have been discussed in numerous topics in this community), but what you want to do can not be done in Coda at this point in time.
Allowing people to copy the doc gives them access to any filter you might have setup, undo it and have access to all data in the copy (which is current up to the time and date of the copy action).
Using the search box with some smart search terms or educated guesses will reveal other peoples data.
There are a couple more issues, but these two should make it clear that you don’t want to go this route.
I love Coda, I use it every day, but it is not designed to do what you are asking for.
Happy coding,
Greetings,
Joost
Hi @mr_shad Thank you! Yes I’ve been tinkering with Coda a lot, but like @joost_mineur said, whatever I’ve done to achieve those use cases, it always has drawbacks (i.e., data privacy if we put all the data in one docs, or have to edit the docs one by one if we put each of the users’ data on separate docs).
So I think, at least for now, it’s concluded that there’s no way to achieve those use cases perfectly. Let’s just hope someday Coda will provide a way to achieve this. The docs will be nearly as powerful as a standalone app by then
…but this sounds complicated/hard work. There is clearly a gap in the market here that both Coda and Notion are not seeing. There are other low code platforms like Softr that do this, but Softr has ridiculous pricing structures where you have to pay them $135/month to use charts whilst IN DEVELOPMENT. Forget Sotfr
This seems like the way to go for now. I have an idea and want to use Coda but I would need to sell my template on the basis that it’s bought as sold with no future updates. i.e. It would suit companies already using Coda and can them update the template themselves for their needs… but what’s to stop some one buying the template and then reselling it as their template?
The most effective filter against those who resell other people’s templates is the initial high price of the template. This raises the threshold of entry and eliminates many who do not appreciate other people’s labor. The price must be justified. But price alone is not enough. Behind the template there must be the ideology and philosophy of the author and his community and background.
I’ve never really played with this, but what about publishing the doc as a web page? Is it the same as sharing a doc publicly without the “copy doc” button?
Coda themselves use this for polls and other thing, does looking at the source gives you access to the whole dataset? If such it looks like a major thing they should be working on as a next phase, for sure!
The “copy doc” is always optionally turned on or off, so that is not a problem. There is a big difference between share and publish though. Published docs are visible for anyone who knows the URL, while shared docs are only visible for people with whom you share access.
My biggest problem with shared docs is the search function, which allows with access to find anything in your doc (it might take some effort, but it can be done).
My biggest problem with published docs is that any person can check out your doc. Publishing in edit mode will allow you to filter sensitive data, but the data is there and can be found.
Back to your question: publishing and sharing differ more than just the copy doc option.
This thread was about publishing a doc. Now you are talking about forms.
Publishing a doc is not really the same as publishing a form, although there are similarities. When you publish a form, you make it available by it’s own url and people don’t have to log in to submit a form.
The data submitted show up in the corresponding table in your document and this table is only accessible to the people that have rights to your doc. So yes, if you are the doc owner or if the doc is shared with you, you can see all the data that has been submitted.
You can ask all the questions you want, but your statement “I’ve never really played with this, …” says it all. You have to play with these things and at some point, it all becomes clear. The concepts of sharing, publishing, page locking, etc. are confusing if you only read about them and if you try to get answers before putting in the required time to master Coda, we all have had to do that. Make a dummy doc for testing, make some forms, play with publishing and/or embedding. Open an anonymous browser to test what you can see without logging in. You have to use an anonymous browser side by side with a ‘standard’ browser, because when you are logged in in one tab, you are logged in in all tabs of your browser session and this is not what your users would see in their own session.
