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Previewing Your Message

The Preview panel lets you see exactly how your message will look before sending — across desktop and mobile, in both light and dark mode. It helps you catch layout issues, readability problems, and dark-mode surprises before your audience does.

Opening the preview

Click Continue on the compose page to open the preview panel. It slides in from the right and shows your message as recipients will see it.

The preview updates automatically based on your latest draft — no need to refresh.

Desktop and mobile views

Use the device toggle at the top to switch between:

  • Desktop — A full-width email layout, similar to what users see in webmail or desktop apps
  • Mobile — A phone-sized preview that shows how your message adapts to smaller screens

This helps you confirm that text wraps correctly, images scale properly, and buttons remain easy to tap on mobile devices.

Light and dark mode

Use the theme toggle to switch between light and dark mode. This simulates how email clients like Gmail and Apple Mail may adjust your message:

  • Light backgrounds may invert to dark
  • Text colors may shift for contrast
  • Images remain unchanged
Dark mode is handled differently by each email client. Use this preview as a guide, but test important messages across real inboxes when possible.

Dark mode warnings

When dark mode is enabled, Formtabulous checks your message for common issues and shows notes below the preview. These may include:

  • Hard-coded text colors that may invert poorly
  • Images placed on white backgrounds that may look awkward in dark mode
  • Light-colored text that could become hard to read
  • Heavy use of background colors that may render inconsistently

These are suggestions, not errors — they help you spot potential problems before sending.

Subject and sender preview

At the top of the panel, you'll see your subject line and sender name as they appear in an inbox. This helps you quickly verify:

  • Your subject isn't too long
  • Your sender name looks correct
  • Your message feels clear and recognizable

Footer options (⋮ menu)

The vertical ellipsis button () in the bottom-right corner of the preview panel gives you two additional options:

  • Show header & footer — Toggle your organization's email branding on and off. This lets you preview the message both with and without your header and footer.
  • Send test email — Send a copy of the message to any email address so you can check how it looks in a real inbox. Enter an address in the field that appears below the footer and click Send.
Use Send test email to check rendering in your own inbox before sending to your full list — especially useful for messages with images, tables, or callout blocks.

Edit button

The pencil icon () in the bottom-left corner takes you back to the compose page to make changes.

Continue to send

Once everything looks right, click Continue to send to move on to selecting recipients and scheduling your message.

Always check both mobile and dark mode before sending — most recipients will see your message in one of those environments.
Last updated: June 16, 2026