---
title: Cannot share
type: troubleshooting
section: drive
summary: "What each failure in the share dialog means: a disabled Done button, a failed save, a recipient who cannot be found, and a link that opens for nobody."
sources:
  - evolve-front-end/components/powerflow/share-resource-dialog.tsx
  - evolve-front-end/components/content-platform/content-platform-workspaces-panel.tsx
  - evolve-front-end/app/i18n/locales/en/content-platform.json
verified:
  at: 2026-09-04
  env: code
  by: content-lane-drive
ttl_days: 45
related: [drive/invite-people-to-a-managed-folder, drive/permission-levels, drive/link-access]
---

Most share failures come from one of four things: nothing staged to save, a recipient the picker cannot offer, a grant the service refused, or a link whose audience is narrower than you expected. Work through the symptom you can see.

## Done is greyed out

**Done** activates only when the dialog holds an unsaved change. Adding a recipient to the field is not enough: choose **Share** first, which moves the recipient into **Who can access**. **Done** is also disabled while the access list or the candidate list is still loading.

## Failed to update shares.

The service refused the change and nothing was saved. Reopen the dialog and check **Who can access** to see what is actually stored, then try again. Granting access needs write permission on the item, so this repeats for anyone holding **Can view**.

## Failed to load shares.

The dialog could not read the current access list. Nothing is broken and nothing has changed; close it, reload the page and open **Share** again.

## No people, workgroups, collaborations, or all Evolve users found.

The picker matched nothing. Three causes, in order of likelihood:

- The person is spelled differently in the directory. Search by surname alone.
- You are searching for a Space. Spaces are not offered as recipients, because a Space owns no folder. Pick the Space's workgroup instead, or post the file into the channel from the **Send in Spaces** tab.
- The person is not in your Account. There is no invitation by email address from this dialog.

## The permission menu on a row will not open

That row's grant cannot be changed in place. Choose **Remove** on the row, then invite the same recipient again with the permission you want.

## The recipient says the link does not work

- A **Restricted** link opens only for the access list. Confirm the person appears in **Who can access**, rather than assuming the link is enough.
- A recipient who sees **You do not have access to view this content** is outside the access list. The page tells them to **Ask the owner to share the file or folder with your Evolve account.**
- A recipient who sees **This content link is unavailable** hit a link that has expired or been withdrawn. Public links last 30 days.

## The file is not in their Shared list

An Account-wide grant does not add a row to **Shared**, and a file posted into a Space channel is reached from that channel's **Files** tab rather than from Drive. See [Find what other people shared with you](/help/drive/shared-with-you).

## Related

- Reopen the dialog and read **Who can access**. It is the only reliable statement of who holds access.
- Ask the recipient which Account they are signed in to.
- Check whether you hold **Can edit** on the item. Sharing is a write action.
- For a public link that must be withdrawn, use the item's own actions menu; **Link Access** cannot revoke one.