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Before a template goes to your contacts, check it four ways: preview it in the builder, preview it as a real contact, send yourself a test, and run the built-in checks.

Preview in the builder

Click Preview in the builder toolbar.
  • Desktop and Mobile switch the preview width.
  • Split View (Desktop + Mobile) shows both side by side on wide screens. The two panes scroll together.
The plain preview shows merge tags and Liquid as written, such as {{first_name}}. To see real values, preview as a contact. Links in the preview open in a new browser tab, so the builder stays where it is. Placeholder links such as # and merge tags such as {{unsubscribe_url}} aren’t real addresses yet, so clicking them does nothing.

Preview as a contact

Click Preview as… (the person icon) in the toolbar and choose Me, A contact, A list or A segment, then click Update preview. If you were in the editor, the builder switches to the Preview tab, and closing the panel takes you back to the editor. The preview shows the whole email exactly as that person would get it, including the rendered subject line and any sample data. The panel sits beside the preview without covering it. For lists and segments, step through members with the arrows and watch the preview change. Split view shows the personalised email too while a preview contact is set. Press Esc or click ✕ to close the panel. Links open in a new tab here too. They are that contact’s real links, so the unsubscribe link in the footer opens their real unsubscribe page. Only click it for test contacts. The panel also lists every variable the template reads and flags the ones that are missing. See Personalization and template data.

Send a test email

1

Open the dialog

Click Send Test Email in the toolbar, or press ⌘K and choose it from the Command Palette.
2

Choose the sender

Pick a sender under Send from, or leave the Default sender.
3

Add recipients

Enter up to 10 addresses under Recipient emails, separated by commas.
4

Send

Click Send. The subject line starts with Test:.

Plain test or test with a preview context

  • Plain test: the email is rendered for a placeholder contact named “Test Recipient”, with the template’s saved sample data as data. Merge tags and Liquid are filled in, in the body and the subject line. The unsubscribe links in the footer don’t work.
  • With a preview context: if you’ve set up Preview as…, tick Send test with this preview context (or click it at the bottom of the Preview as… panel). The test uses the same contact, sample data and rendered subject you see in the preview, so Liquid, loops and data.* values are filled in.
A plain test sends the last saved version of the template. Wait until the toolbar shows Saved before you send it.
Each plan includes a number of test sends per month. The dialog shows how many of this month’s test sends you’ve used. When they run out, you’ll need to upgrade to send more.

Quick Check

Quick Check runs automatically as you edit. The badge in the toolbar shows how many checks pass; the full list is in the Styles tab. It checks that:
  • the email has a call-to-action button,
  • it isn’t image-only, and has a healthy text-to-image ratio,
  • it doesn’t contain common spam trigger words,
  • every image has alt text.
It also lists Email Client Compatibility issues: styles that break or degrade in popular email apps.

Deliverability Score

For a deeper review, click Deliverability Score in the toolbar, then Run Full Audit. An AI audit looks at spam triggers, HTML quality, compliance and more, and returns a score out of 100: The audit takes up to 30 seconds. Click Re-run Audit after you make changes.

Dark mode previews

In the builder’s Preview tab, the moon switch above the email shows your template under three dark-mode behaviours: its own dark-mode styles, partial inversion and full inversion. See Dark mode preview. To see how a library template looks in dark mode, open it from the Library tab and switch between Light, Dark (Gmail) and Dark (Apple Mail). These are simulations; each email app handles dark mode a little differently, so send a test to the apps your audience uses. In apps that follow the email’s own dark-mode rules, such as Apple Mail, every light section is darkened, including cream, sand and pale tints, and its text is made light to match. Buttons keep their own colours. Coloured text inside a light section, such as an accent-coloured label, becomes light grey in dark mode.

Share a preview

To show a template to someone outside your workspace, use Export → Share Link. It creates a read-only link that works without logging in; the template isn’t listed on the Marketplace. Click Revoke Link to turn it off. In a team workspace, the template must be approved first.

Troubleshooting

A plain test uses the sample data saved on the template. Open Preview as…, add the sample data and click Save, or send with Send test with this preview context to use what’s in the panel without saving it.
Plain tests use the saved template. Click Save (or wait for Saved) and send again.
Test sends are counted per month. Wait until next month or upgrade your plan.
Quick Check recognizes Button blocks, and links styled as buttons (with a background or padding) inside HTML and Rich Text blocks. A linked image or a plain text link isn’t counted. Add a Button block, or ignore the warning if that’s intentional.