Open and Read a Wave
This guide is for a shared collection. You open a wave from a link. You pick a document. You read it in the Surf reader. You do not need an account if the documents are open for public reading.
Prerequisites
- You have the wave link.
- You have the password if the owner set one.
- Each document you want to open as a guest must be open for public reading.
If you only have a link to one document, that is a public reading link, not a wave. The reading steps are the same after the document opens. See Waves and Public Reading.
Open the wave
Open the link you were given. Wait for the wave to load. If the wave is gone, the owner has turned it off, or the link is wrong.
If the wave asks for a password, enter it. If the password is wrong, try again. When the password is accepted, you see the wave title, an optional description, and the document list.
Pick a document
Read the list. Open the document you want. A guest can open a document only when that document is itself shared for public reading. A document that is not shared this way stays in the list, but a guest cannot open it. Sign in with your NUU account if you have access another way.
If a member document also has a password, the wave password can already cover it. If the wave has no password, the document can still ask for its own.
Read in the reader
The document opens in the reader. You get the latest completed surf of that document. Zoom through layers as you would in your own library. Use the outline. Use firehose.
A guest can read. A guest cannot save notes or questions. Sign in if you want to keep that work. Your notes stay yours. Other people on the same wave do not see them.
To leave the document, go back to the wave. You return to the list, not to a private library.
If the document will not open
If the reader says the document is not available for this kind of viewing, the owner has not opened it for public reading. Ask for a new link, or sign in.
If the surf has not run yet, the reader cannot show layers. Wait, or ask the owner to run a surf.
If a password prompt returns, the stored password is wrong. Enter it again.