API Self-Hosted v3 – User and viewer settings reference

These settings apply to API Self-Hosted v3. Each setting is configured per user account from the admin dashboard that ships with your instance. Changes take effect for new comparisons created by that account after you save.

Overview

API Self-Hosted v3 includes a built-in admin dashboard (a Django administration site) for managing the user accounts on your instance. Each account has its own settings page, the Change user page, where you control:

The account’s identity and access (personal info and permissions)
The plan limits applied to the account (file size and page limits)
The API credentials the account uses
How the comparison viewer looks and behaves for that account (white labelling, viewer controls, comparison options and colours)

Most settings are configured per account, so you can give different accounts different limits, branding or viewer behaviour.

How to reach the settings page

Sign in to your instance with an administrator account, then open the admin dashboard from the menu in the top-left of the home page.

Open the Users section

In the admin dashboard, go to the Users section. You will see a list of every account on the instance.

Select the account to edit

Select the account you want to configure. This opens the Change user page, where all of the settings below appear.

Save your changes

After editing, scroll to the bottom and click Save. Changes apply to comparisons created by that account from that point on.

Many viewer settings only change comparisons created after you save. If a setting does not appear to take effect, generate a new comparison to confirm.

Personal info and permissions

Personal info

Setting	What it does
Username	The login name for the account. Required; up to 150 characters; letters, digits and `@ . / + - _` only.
First name	The account holder’s first name.
Last name	The account holder’s last name.
Email address	The email address for the account.

Permissions

Setting	What it does
Active	Whether the account is treated as active. Clear this instead of deleting an account to revoke access while keeping its history.
Staff status	Whether the account can sign in to the admin dashboard.
Superuser status	Grants the account every permission without assigning them individually. Reserve this for trusted administrators.
Groups	The permission groups the account belongs to. An account inherits every permission granted to its groups.
User permissions	Specific permissions granted to this account on top of any group permissions.

Superuser accounts have full control over your instance, including every other account. Grant it only to administrators who need it.

Plan limits

The Important dates section (last login and date joined) is read-only. The On prem plan section sets the comparison limits for the account:

Setting	What it does
Name	A label for the plan. This field is for your own reference and does not affect how the instance behaves.
File size limit MB	The maximum size, in MB, of a single file this account can submit for comparison. A file larger than this limit will be rejected and the comparison will fail. Leave it at `0` to use the instance default.
File page limit	The maximum number of pages in a single file this account can submit. A file with more pages than this limit will be rejected and the comparison will fail. Leave it blank to use the instance default.
Internal plan notes	Free-text notes about the account, for your own reference.

When File size limit MB is 0 and File page limit is blank, the account uses your instance’s default limits. Set explicit values here to raise or lower the limits for an individual account.

The Name and Internal plan notes fields are labels for your own reference. On Premises Plan is simply the default name given to the plan record on a self-hosted instance. It is not a product tier or a subscription SKU.

Usage figures are reporting only

The file size and page limits above are the only plan settings your instance enforces. Your instance also tracks usage counters for comparisons created, comparison views, stored comparisons and pages compared, and these may be displayed alongside a figure such as 2,000 on an annual period.

On a self-hosted deployment those usage figures are reporting figures, not enforced entitlements. There is no cap on the number of comparisons you can run, no limit on API calls, and no overage charges. See Usage, limits and entitlements for what each counter measures.

Credentials The Credentials table lists the API credentials attached to the account. Each credential shows its Account ID, whether it is a test credential, whether logging is enabled, and whether it is disabled. Account IDs and the test flag are read-only; you can toggle Logging enabled and Disabled per credential.

Comparison viewer settings

The User options section controls how the online comparison viewer looks and behaves for the account. These settings let you brand the viewer, show or hide controls, and set the defaults users see when they open a comparison.

Compare viewer

Compare viewer

Setting	What it does
Viewer version	The comparison viewer version used for this account. Leave it blank to always use the latest available version. Viewer version resolved (read-only) shows the exact version this resolves to.

Persistence

Setting	What it does
Remember preferences enabled	When enabled, the viewer remembers a user’s preferences (such as view mode and zoom) between comparisons.

Interested in custom branding for your comparison viewer? Branding options are available as part of a white-labelling package. To discuss white labelling for your instance, contact our sales team at sales@draftable.com.

Viewer controls

Search, zoom, cursor, export, help, comparison view, change list and share controls

Setting	What it does
Search enabled	Shows or hides the search button in the viewer.
Zoom button hidden	When enabled, hides the zoom control.
Zoom default scale	The default zoom level when a comparison opens. Defaults to `page-width` (other values include `page-fit` or a zoom percentage).
Cursor button hidden	When enabled, hides the cursor-mode control.
Cursor default state	The default cursor mode: Grab (pan the document) or Select (select text).
Print enabled	Shows or hides the print button.
Download enabled	Shows or hides the download button.
Help enabled	Shows or hides the help button.
Comparison view – default view	The view shown when a comparison opens: side-by-side or single-document.
Show changes list	Shows or hides the change list panel.
Change list default state	Whether the change list starts Open or Closed.
Share button hidden	When enabled, hides the share button.

Display and comparison options

Fullscreen, app menu bar, changes shown, repeated characters and side-by-side options

Fullscreen and app menu bar

Setting	What it does
Fullscreen enabled	Whether the fullscreen option is available in the viewer.
App menu bar visible	Shows or hides the application menu bar.
App menu mode	The menu style: Standard or Ribbon.
App menu compact	When enabled, displays the menu in a more compact layout.

Changes shown

Setting	What it does
Show style changes	Whether formatting (style) changes are shown in the comparison.
Changes shown default state	What is shown by default: Content and styles, Content only, or Styles only.
Font size change threshold	The minimum font-size difference that counts as a change. For example, set it above `0` so small, document-wide font-size shifts are not flagged. Defaults to `0` (every change is detected).

Repeated characters Control how runs of repeated Dots, Dashes and Underscores (for example, leader lines in a table of contents) are handled. Each can be set to Shown, Hidden or Ignored. Side by side options

Setting	What it does
Enable header footer detection	When enabled, the comparison detects and accounts for headers and footers.
Enable moves	When enabled, the comparison detects and marks moved text rather than showing it as a separate deletion and insertion.

Colour customizations

Set the colours used to mark changes in the comparison:

Setting	What it does
Delete	The colour for deleted content. Defaults to Red.
Insert	The colour for inserted content. Defaults to Green.
Move	The colour for moved content. Defaults to Blue.

Available colours are Red, Green, Blue, Yellow, Purple, Grey and None.

Saving your changes

When you have finished, scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save. Use Save and continue editing to apply your changes and stay on the page. New settings apply to comparisons created by the account after you save.

Last updated: 17 June 2026. Settings reference verified against API Self-Hosted v3.

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API Self-Hosted v3 – User and viewer settings reference

Overview

How to reach the settings page

Personal info and permissions