Architect lets you preview and test your channel messages with real and realistic dynamic content. Preview as User and Test Message work together to validate personalization, coupon usage, and user-specific content before your journey goes live.
With these features, you can:
Preview dynamic content as a specific end user
Validate real attribute and event values
Test fallback behavior
Send realistic test messages to yourself or others
Modify dynamic content values for API-based fields
Preview and validate API response variables
Test messages using actual coupon codes
Preview as User and Test Message are available for the Email, SMS, WhatsApp, App Push, and Web Push channels.
Preview as User is not a delivery mechanism. It simulates personalization inside Architect screens. Test Message sends the test communication to the recipients you select.
This guide explains the following concepts:
Preview as User
Preview as User shows how a message appears when it is personalized with the attributes and events of a specific user.
Access Preview as User
Click the Preview and Test Message button at the bottom bar of the channel page.
If a message contains no dynamic content, Preview as User is disabled, and a tooltip explains that no personalization exists to preview. When the message contains dynamic content, you can select a user.
Select a user
When you expand the Preview as User section, you can choose between two user selection methods:
User Identifier: Select an identifier type, then enter the value in the matching field. The identifier types are Profile ID, UUID, Phone Number, and Email Address.
Recent User: Select a user you previewed recently from the dropdown for quicker access.
The preview starts once you select a user. Dynamic content is replaced with the selected user's profile data. The preview follows the PII rules.
Test Message
Test Message sends a test communication to the recipients you enter. You can use it even if your content has no dynamic content.
The content of the test message depends on whether you selected a user in Preview as User:
Option 1: A user is selected in Preview as User
Dynamic content is replaced with the selected user's values, and all recipients receive the message personalized as that user. The test message follows the PII rules.
For example, if you preview as User A and send to test recipients X and Y, both X and Y receive User A's personalized content.
Option 2: Get the message with your own dynamic content values
If you do not select a user in Preview as User, dynamic content is replaced with each recipient's own values, as long as the recipient exists in User Management. If the recipient is not in the database, their values are sent as empty.
Channel differences
Channel | Recipients | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Enter email addresses. | No further differences. | |
SMS | Enter phone numbers. | No further differences. |
Enter phone numbers. | No further differences. | |
Web Push | No recipients. The push is simulated on your computer. | If you preview as a user, you receive the web push with that user's values. If you send the test message without previewing as a user, the dynamic content is not replaced. |
App Push | Select test devices. | A device must be registered on the Test Devices page first. For details, see Add a test device on mobile app. |
Test the request in Call an API
You can test the API request you use in the Call an API element. If your request body contains dynamic content, you can test the API and preview the results with real user data or random values.
Click the Test API button on the Call an API element inner page. If your request body has no dynamic content, you see the result of the API request right away.
If your request body has dynamic content, choose how to fill in the values:
Specific User: Fill the values with real user values. Select a user with User Identifier or Recent Users.
Custom Values: Enter the values yourself, or click Use Random Values to fill them automatically according to the data type of each dynamic content.
After you fill in the values, test your API to see the result. If you enabled Call an API Response, you also see the response snippets and real values.
Test In-App and On-Site
In-App and On-Site channels use different flows from the other channels:
In-App: Test from the Action Builder flow. For details, see Test an In-App template.
On-Site: Click the test link on the On-Site inner page. For details, see Test a web template.
PII rules
PII masking affects both Preview as User and Test Message.
Preview as User
Panel user has PII access? | Behavior |
|---|---|
Yes | PII fields are displayed normally (unmasked) in the preview. |
No | PII fields are masked in the preview. |
Test Message
Recipient has PII access? | Previewing as | Behavior |
|---|---|---|
Yes | A user | PII fields are displayed unmasked in the test message. |
No | A user | PII fields are masked in the test message. |
Yes or No | Anonymous | PII fields are not masked, because each recipient receives the message with their own values. |
Coupon handling
Architect retrieves real coupons from your coupon list when you preview and test. When it does:
A real coupon is fetched.
The coupon is not consumed, so it does not reduce the number of coupons used.
The last three characters are masked (for example, SAVE20***). The masking applies regardless of PII access to protect your coupons from undesired exposure.
The masking applies to both Preview as User and Test Message.
Limitations
Product Catalog dynamic content cannot be previewed with real items in a test message. All product catalog attributes show random product values, because Architect cannot know which product the real journey will use.
Constant event parameters are filled with the latest event's parameter values, because Architect cannot know which event the user will enter the journey with during testing.
The Call an API Response preview uses test-time values. It does not replay previous live API calls.
Preview as User and Test Message let you check personalization, coupons, and API responses before your journey goes live. To test the journey flow itself, see Test a journey.