How to: make a publication
Zie de videopagina voor een how to video met uitleg.
What is a publication?
A Publication in Rana is a collaborative space where you can share your project data and visualizations with stakeholders. It allows you to present specific views of your project—such as modals, maps, and designs—in a clear and interactive format.
The Publication Viewer makes it easy to communicate ideas, gather feedback, and align with stakeholders. You can pin chat comments directly to locations on the map, enabling contextual discussions and clarifications. This visual communication method reduces confusion and speeds up decision-making.
Use publications to:
Share project updates with clients or colleagues
Present specific scenarios or designs
Collect feedback in a structured and visual way
Versioning in publications
One of the key features of Publications in Rana is version control. When you add files (such as datasets, models, or maps) from your project to a publication, these files do not update automatically when you make changes in the main project. Instead, you choose exactly which version of each file to include in the publication.
This ensures that all stakeholders are looking at the same, consistent version of the data, even if the project continues to evolve behind the scenes.
Why this matters:
It avoids confusion from unexpected updates.
Stakeholders can confidently refer to a stable version when reviewing or giving feedback.
You maintain full control over what is shared—and when.
Sharing a publication
You can share a publication directly via the Rana Viewer—without requiring stakeholders to create a full Rana account. This makes it easy to share data securely and efficiently with external collaborators.
When you create a share, Rana generates a secure, non-traceable link that grants access only to the content included in the publication.
Temporary registration for viewers:
Although no full account is needed, viewers are asked to provide their name and email address the first time they access a shared publication. This creates a temporary registration tied specifically to that publication.
Why this matters:
Feedback left on the map or other components will always be linked to a name.
It ensures that all comments and discussions are traceable, even if you revisit the project months later.
It supports accountability and proper documentation throughout the decision-making process.
Link management:
You can manage all your shared links via the “Manage Shares” in de context menu:
Revoke a link instantly if needed (e.g. in case of a data leak or incorrect share).
Set an expiration date when creating a link.
Extend or shorten the access period at any time.
Comments in publications
The Commenting feature in Rana allows users to collaborate on geospatial datasets and analysis results by leaving map-based annotations, similar to how Miro or Figma handle comments.
Instead of discussing abstract concepts, users can pin feedback directly onto specific locations on the map, enabling precise discussions on hydrological models, GIS data, and project workflows.