# Understanding Draft vs Published Mode in Deal Rooms

Learn how Draft and Published modes control what buyers can see in a Deal Room. This article explains the differences, what content remains internal, and how publishing impacts visibility, access, and notifications.

June 1, 2026

## Deal Room Modes

Deal Rooms are designed to give sellers control over when buyers can view content, updates, and features. To support this, every room operates in one of two states: **Draft** or **Published**.

Understanding the difference ensures you can collaborate internally, prepare materials safely, and only share content externally when you’re ready.

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## What Draft Mode Means

A room starts in **Draft** mode by default. Draft mode is your internal workbench; nothing is visible to external participants until you choose to publish.

### In Draft mode:

- **Only internal users** (room owner + collaborators) can see and access the room
- You can freely edit:
  - Content sections
  - Files
  - Meetings (all appear as drafts)
  - Mutual Action Plan
  - Updates
  - Sales Team Widget configuration
- External participants **cannot open the room**, even if they previously had access
- AI can still use draft content to help generate summaries, proposals, or business cases
- No buyer notifications are ever sent
- You can continue refining structure, messaging, and layout without visibility concerns

### Use draft mode when you want to:

- Prepare content before showing it to buyers
- Collaborate internally on messaging or positioning
- Set up meetings, action plans, or files in advance
- Build a room template-like structure
- Ensure nothing is shared prematurely

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## What Published Mode Means

Publishing the room makes it available to external participants and activates all buyer-facing features.

### In Published mode:

- Buyers and invited participants **can access the room**
- Any **shared** meeting notes, files, or room content become visible to participants
- Buyer-facing notifications begin to trigger (based on the notification model)
- You can continue editing content, changes appear instantly unless the section is locked
- Updates you publish appear in the Updates feed and may send summary emails
- All analytics (views, downloads, visits, engagement) begin tracking
- The room URL becomes active and accessible based on the room access settings

### Use published mode when you want to:

- Share the Deal Room with prospects or customers
- Start tracking engagement and visits
- Give buyers access to files, content, and updates
- Enable chat, comments, meetings, action plans, and other collaboration features
- Work interactively with decision-makers

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## Switching Between Draft and Published Mode

You can move between the two states at any time.

### Unpublishing a Room

If you unpublish:

- Buyers lose access immediately
- Room becomes internal-only again
- Content stays intact, nothing is deleted
- You can continue editing without triggering notifications
- When you're ready, you can publish again with one click

## Publishing Again After Unpublishing

Re-publishing reactivates buyer access and resumes all participant-facing behavior:

- Buyers regain access
- Updates, comments, and chat become visible again
- Meeting drafts remain drafts until explicitly shared
- Notification rules apply again based on activity

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## How Buyers Experience Draft vs Published

### Draft Mode Buyer Experience:

- They cannot view the room
- If they open a previous link, they will see an “unavailable” message
- They receive **no** notifications

### Published Mode Buyer Experience:

- They can access all visible content
- They receive notifications based on event + role
- They can collaborate via chat, comments, meetings, and downloads
- They see updates as they are shared

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## What Stays Internal Regardless of Mode

Even in published mode, some elements remain internal-only:

- Meeting drafts
- AI prompt sets and generated outputs until you save them
- Internal-only notes on tasks or internal meeting sections
- Internal-only participants (collaborators) who are hidden from the Sales Team Widget
- Template settings

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## Summary

|     |     |     |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Feature / Behavior | Draft Mode | Published Mode |
| Buyer access | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Internal collaboration | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Edits visible to buyers | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Buyer notifications | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Engagement analytics | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Share meetings | Only drafts | Full visibility |
| Updates feed | Internal-only | Buyer-visible |

Draft mode is for preparation, internal collaboration, and fine-tuning.

Published mode is for external engagement, collaboration, and deal progression.