Use Preview during authoring to inspect instructions and run workflow logic. Use a real test session to verify saved records, signing controls, and integrations.
Preview the whole workflow
Wait for Saved and review the Process Validator.
Click Preview in the header.
If a step is selected and a menu appears, choose the start-from-root option.
Select the appropriate Part when prompted.
Follow the process as an operator would.
Choose Start preview from root step to test the whole sequence. The selected-step option is for a local check that does not require earlier inputs. This example is read-only.
After opening Preview, check the selected step, instruction text, and input fields. Here the voltage field is required (red asterisk). This equipment example differs from the workspace exercise.
The workflow needs a valid starting step. A preview with the wrong Part can also miss conditions tied to the intended Part context.
Preview one selected step
Select one step and choose the selected-step preview option. This is useful for checking layout, media, or a late instruction quickly.
It does not replay earlier entries, signatures, or triggers. A variable set upstream may still have its initial value, and a field from an earlier step may have no value.
Use a full root preview when testing behavior that depends on earlier work.
Build a small test matrix
For each decision, record the inputs and expected next step. Include:
Normal successful input.
Each failure/alternative choice.
Missing required input.
Numeric boundary values.
A value from a skipped or not-yet-visited step.
Any back/change/re-sign behavior the process permits.
Start a fresh preview for independent cases so earlier test values do not confuse the result.
What Preview does not prove
Some external triggers are simulated or skipped. For example, NPT operations and email actions have preview-specific behavior. A preview notification is not a delivery receipt or a saved table row.
Do not use Preview alone to certify real signing credentials, persisted session records, work-order creation, or integration delivery.
Run a controlled real session
After draft preview checks pass, publish an appropriate test version in your test environment, then launch a real test session through its intended entry point. Confirm that test recipients and endpoints are configured before starting. Use test Parts, Work Orders, recipients, and endpoints where applicable.
Check the workflow version, entered values, branch taken, signatures, and final saved record. For integrations, inspect the receiving system as well.
Record a failure clearly
Capture the workflow/version, input data, expected result, actual result, and exact error or stopping point. Include a screenshot where useful.
Distinguish a missing instruction in the manual from behavior that contradicts the configured workflow. Correct the relevant cause, then rerun the affected cases.
A short first-time check
Open the workspace practice draft from its first step. Read the preparation instruction and continue to Review the workspace. If you added the required field, first try continuing without an answer, then choose Yes. In a fresh preview choose No. Without branching, either supplied answer satisfies Required. If the wrong instruction appears, return to the previous step’s Routing tab and inspect its Target Step.