Before releasing updates to your visitors, you can experience the content in-app just like they would. To do this you can release to Preview—a private version of the app where you can test and review your changes without affecting live content.
This article walks you through how to release to Preview for internal testing and review.
🔔 Note: Preview releases include items that have been set to Published in the Console but haven’t yet been included in a Public release. This allows your team to generate a preview version of the app and test how updates will appear in the PWA before going live.
Coordinate with your team: The new list view on the Releases page gives shared visibility into proposed changes, making it easier to collaborate and finalize updates together.
Steps to Preview Content
Publish your individual updates in the Console
Whether you're editing content (like Objects or POIs) or making configuration changes (like App settings or Pathways), click the Publish button in the Console to prepare those updates for release.
When you're ready to release
From the left-hand navigation in Console, click Releases.
Review changes on the Releases page
You'll see a list of items with the “Published-sync” status.
This list includes changes made by any user—it's not limited to your own session.
Click “Release Changes" to view your options.
Click "Release to preview", to open a confirmation prompt.
(Optional) Add Release Notes.
Use the free text field to note your initials, date, or a short summary of the updates included.
Click the blue "Release to preview" button.
a. This action releases your updates to your Preview app, which you can view via your preview URL.
b. You will see a notification in the bottom left corner once the release is complete.
(Optional) Check the Release History.
The right-hand panel on the releases page shows previous release notes, including Previews, for your reference.
Note: After a Preview release, your items will still show in the Release list as they are not yet released to the public PWA. Once you're happy with your edits, you're ready to release publicly.
Preview Mode Overview
To access the Preview PWA:
Add?audience=previewto the end of your own PWA URL to launch the Preview version.
Example:
mydemo.pladia.io?audience=preview
You’ll know you’re in Preview Mode when you see the ‘Preview’ tab in the top-right corner of the screen
Switching from Preview to Public Views:
The Preview tab appears in the top-right corner of your screen. Select it to switch back to the live Published version of the app.
Clicking the Preview tab will give you the option to 'Switch to Published Version' to exit the preview session.
Analytics:
Activity in Preview mode does not impact your visitor analytics. It’s purely for internal testing and review.
That’s it!
You’ve successfully released your Preview content. Your updates are now ready for internal testing and review before going live.
Questions? Reach out to the Pladia Customer Success team, we are happy to help.