Previewing a Rich Post or WeChat Article

This article shows you how to preview a rich post or WeChat article. 

Before placing a rich post inside an auto response message, or sending a WeChat article to your followers, it's a good idea to preview your content first. You can check the layout, fix errors, add or remove content.

Previewing while working

While creating or editing a post or article in the WeChat editor workspace, it is possible to preview your work. 

1. Inside the WeChat editor workspace, scroll up to the top of the screen. Locate two blue buttons on the top menu bar.
2. Click the narrow button to activate mobile preview.
3. Click the wide button to activate desktop monitor preview.

Previewing a final draft

There are two ways to preview the final draft of a rich post or WeChat article. Both options have advantages and disadvantages.

See also,

• Creating a Rich Post or WeChat Article
• Publishing a WeChat Article
• Adding a Rich Post to Menu Items

1  Using the basic preview option

This method previews your rich post or WeChat article as the content sits on the Sinorbis platform. Use this preview method to inspect content quality and overall structure.

Though easy to use, this method has one drawback. The display you see on the mock smartphone might be a little different from the display your readers experience on their phones. That is because the resolution generated by the WeChat portal sometimes changes the layout.

Use this option when you are on the WeChat Content Assets page.

1. On the Assets page, hover the mouse pointer on the post you want to preview. The toolbar displays. 
2. Click Edit. The Edit Content page displays.
3. Scroll up to the top of the screen and then click Preview.
4. A mock smartphone displays with your content. Use the scroll bar to view all of your content on the mock smartphone screen.

2  Previewing on the WeChat platform

This method gives you a better sense of what the rich post or WeChat article looks like to your followers, but there is one disadvantage.

Upload the post or article to the WeChat portal but do not send it to your followers. After uploading, you are able to experience the content like a follower by scanning the QR code that displays within the Sinorbis platform.

The main drawback of this method is that you cannot add new content to a post or article that has been uploaded to WeChat, but you can edit what's in the existing components. There is a workaround to this limitation; see Step 3.

To upload an article to WeChat:

1. Go to the Edit Content page (see Step 1 above).
2. Click Upload to WeChat.
3. Select Yes in the warning box. The Edit Content re-displays.
4. At the top of the page, click Preview. The mock smartphone displays.
5. Click the image on the smartphone and scroll the content.
6. Scan the QR code to see the content on your smartphone.

3  Making changes with a clone

After uploading a post or article to WeChat, it's not possible to make major changes to the file. If you want to make major changes, there is a workaround.

1. Go to the WeChat Content page.
2. Locate the article you published on the WeChat portal. Look for a small square beside the file name; the square indicates the file has been published to WeChat.
3. Hover the mouse pointer on the published post you want to change. The toolbar displays.
4. Click the More button and then select Clone.
5. A copy of the post appears in the WeChat Content list.
6. Edit the clone and, when finished, rename it (if required) and then upload it to WeChat. At that point, you can do another preview or send it to your followers.