Share link share splitted view

[madsenfr]

Hello,

I don't know if it's really an issue, but at least a suggestion.
Share link should link to view only panel.

[ThisIs-Developer]

Hello,

Thank you, this is actually a great suggestion.

First, I would like to explain how the current Share Link system works technically.

The current implementation is completely client-side and does not use any backend/server/database.
The markdown content is compressed using pako.deflate(), encoded into Base64url format, and then stored directly inside the URL hash (#share=).

Current architecture:

Markdown Text
     │
     ▼
TextEncoder.encode(text)          → Uint8Array of UTF-8 bytes
     │
     ▼
pako.deflate(bytes)               → raw DEFLATE-compressed Uint8Array
     │
     ▼
btoa(binary string)               → standard Base64 string
     │
     ▼
.replace(+→-).replace(/→_).strip(=) → Base64url string (URL-safe variant)
     │
     ▼
window.location.origin + path + '#share=' + encoded  → Final URL

The decode path is the strict inverse: Base64url → Base64 → atob() → Uint8Array → pako.inflate() → TextDecoder.decode().

The decode path is the strict inverse:

Base64url → Base64 → atob() → Uint8Array → pako.inflate() → TextDecoder.decode()

Because the entire document is stored inside the ==URL itself==, the current share system simply restores the markdown state and opens the normal editor interface.

After your suggestion, I have added a "view-only style" behavior (refer to the demo/video).

screenrun-05-23-2026-23-38-37.mp4

The Share button now opens a popup with two options:

• View Mode
• Editor Mode

Updated behavior:

flowchart TD
    A["Click Share Button"] --> B["Select Initial Mode"]

    B --> C["View Mode Share"]
    B --> D["Editor Mode Share"]

    C --> E["URL stores initial=view"]
    D --> F["URL stores initial=editor"]

    E --> G["Open Preview Panel by default"]
    F --> H["Open Editor/Split Panel by default"]

    G --> I["User can still switch modes"]
    H --> I

Loading

So technically:

• View Mode links only control the initial UI state and open the preview panel by default.
• Editor Mode links open the editor/split panel by default.
• The shared markdown content itself remains identical in both cases.

However, because of the current architecture, this is not true access control.

Since:

• the markdown content is fully embedded inside the URL,
• everything runs client-side,
• and there is no backend/session/permission system,

it is currently not possible to completely lock users into preview-only mode or prevent switching back to the editor.

The feature I added is mainly a UI/UX improvement that changes the initial rendering mode only.

If you have more suggestions or architectural ideas for handling this better, I would be happy to continue improving it before merging. Otherwise, I may keep the current implementation as it is.

Thanks again for the suggestion.