Account Switcher: Working Across Multiple Workspaces
If you are a member of more than one AwardLettr workspace, the TopBar account switcher flips your context cleanly without sign-out. Here is how it works and what stays scoped per workspace.
You'll learn
- Where the account switcher lives and when it shows up
- How switching propagates across every open browser tab
- Why server-side checks prevent cross-workspace mistakes even if you forget to switch
- What stays per-workspace (the dashboard data) vs. what stays per-user (your OAuth tokens)
Picture this. You assist two appraisers, and each has their own AwardLettr workspace. One of them pings you to add a note to a file. The other needs you to confirm an inspection time. Without a workspace switcher, every flip means signing out, signing back in, and re-doing MFA. A 10-second context switch becomes a 90-second auth dance, and you do it twenty times a day.
The account switcher fixes that. One click in the TopBar flips your active workspace, and every tab you have open follows along automatically. You stay signed in. You skip the MFA prompt. You get back to the actual work.
This matters most for VAs assisting multiple appraisers, firm admins juggling more than one entity, and any appraiser with a side gig in a second workspace. If you only belong to one workspace, AwardLettr hides the switcher entirely and the rest of this article is informational only.
AwardLettr is built around one workspace per appraiser firm. Most users only ever belong to one. But VAs, partner appraisers, and consultants often need to assist on more than one firm. The account switcher lets you flip context cleanly without signing out and back in. It also coordinates across every tab you have open so you never end up "writing to the wrong account" by accident.
You only see the switcher if you have more than one workspace
Where to find it
The switcher lives in the TopBar at the top of every dashboard page. Look for the workspace name next to your avatar. If there is a chevron next to the name, you have multiple workspaces and clicking opens the dropdown.
Click the workspace name in the TopBar
The dropdown lists every workspace you belong to, with your role badge (owner, admin, or staff) next to each.
Pick the workspace you want to work in
AwardLettr writes the new active workspace to your session cookie and reloads the dashboard so every server component re-renders with the new scope.
Other tabs catch up automatically
Any other AwardLettr tab you have open receives a BroadcastChannel message and switches to the same workspace within a fraction of a second.
The switch flow
Open dropdown
TopBar shows all your workspaces
Pick workspace
Cookie updates, page reloads
Tabs sync
BroadcastChannel updates every open tab
Server scopes writes
Every subsequent action runs as the new workspace
Why multi-tab sync matters
Without coordination, you could have tab A on Colby's workspace and tab B on Bob's workspace, both authenticated as you. Switch in tab A, work in tab B, and suddenly you are creating Colby's appraisal in Bob's file. AwardLettr fixes this by broadcasting the switch to every other tab the moment you make it. All your tabs always agree on which workspace you are in.
Save unsaved work before switching
The server-side safety net
Even if you forget to switch and click "Create Appraisal" with stale UI, AwardLettr checks the workspace scope on the server before writing anything. The API resolves your active workspace from the session cookie, and Row Level Security on every table further enforces the boundary. So you cannot accidentally insert a Bob's appraisal into Colby's account, even if the wrong UI was on screen at click time.
When in doubt, look at the TopBar
What is scoped to the workspace vs. you
Per workspace (changes when you switch)
- Appraisals and all their data
- Directory (carriers, adjusters, appraisers, umpires, contacts)
- Workflow templates and message templates
- Business profiles, rate sheets, and document templates
- Dropbox folder destination (the workspace owner's connection)
- Tags, custom activities, coverages
Per user (stays the same)
- Your own Google Calendar OAuth token
- Your own Outlook calendar connection
- Your own Google Drive personal sync
- Your scheduling availability zones
- Your profile (name, email, avatar)
- Your MFA configuration
Dropbox is the exception
What does not change when you switch
Your role is fixed per workspace. Switching does not make you an owner of a workspace where you are staff. If you are staff on Colby's workspace, you stay staff on Colby's workspace forever (until Colby changes the role). The switcher just changes which workspace's data you are looking at.
Common pitfalls
- •Assuming the switcher changes your role. It does not. Each workspace assigns you a role at the time you are invited, and the role only changes when an owner or admin updates it.
- •Assuming a switched workspace gives you access to another user's personal integrations. Google Calendar, Outlook, and personal Google Drive tokens are per-user and stay yours. Dropbox is the deliberate exception because it is owned at the workspace level.
- •Forgetting that switching propagates to every open tab. If you have a draft message typed in another tab, save it before flipping workspaces.
- •Thinking you are "safe" because you did not switch. Always read the TopBar workspace name before clicking a destructive button. The server will refuse cross-workspace writes, but the UI itself will not stop you from typing into the wrong tab.
Next steps
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