Anon. preview, Full preview and Email test to me for testing templates now select a suitable, but random, guinea-pig automatically if you don’t have anyone selected. Previously you got an error message in these circumstances, asking you to locate one.
If you do have a record selected already and it isn’t suitable for the template (for example, the person isn’t among those who would get the message when sent for real), then it will tell you, but also offer to then locate a suitable sample. I don’t just do this because it replaces the search results and you may want to keep them for other purposes.
At the same time, I’ve also tidied up the handling of the preview pop-up window in which the sample is displayed:
- As it sometimes takes a short while to produce the sample, there is a holding message now rather than a blank window
- When there is an error message (such as prompting for a more suitable record or reminding you the subject was unchanged) it now dismisses the pop-up window, so you aren’t left staring at a blank screen while the main window is waiting for a response.
There are some occasions when I may select an inadequate sample. Mostly this will be when testing templates whose audience is individually chosen, services event or services form. For example, you are testing a letter and you don’t have a postal address set. Generally another go will get you a more suitable candidate.
It’s also possible for this to happen with list audiences: for example you are sending the template to a list which produces emails, but one of the recipients doesn’t have an email address. They are part of the list (though they probably shouldn’t be) so I may select them. When sending for real, it tells you about this (and always has).