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You can preview a merchandising rule on your live storefront before saving or publishing it. The preview shows exactly how your pins, expressions, and settings will look to shoppers — without affecting production traffic.

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How preview works

When you click Preview on a merchandising rule (during creation or editing), the platform:
  1. Takes a snapshot of your current unsaved form state — pins, expressions, scheduling, and all other settings
  2. Creates a temporary, hidden copy of the rule that is only accessible via a special preview URL
  3. Opens your storefront collection page in a new browser tab with the preview applied
The preview URL includes a preview_id parameter that tells the Browse API to load the temporary rule instead of any active production rule. Only someone with the preview URL can see the previewed merchandising — all other visitors continue to see your live merchandising.

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Preview duration

Preview rules expire one hour after creation. After that, the preview URL stops working and the temporary rule is automatically cleaned up. If you need to preview again, click Preview to generate a fresh preview.

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What to know about preview

  • No save required. Preview captures your current form state, including unsaved changes. You don’t need to save first.
  • No impact on live traffic. Preview rules are hidden from production. Other visitors see your existing merchandising.
  • Analytics are not recorded. Browse requests made through a preview URL are excluded from analytics and reporting.
  • Contextual conditions are bypassed. The preview always shows the rule regardless of any contextual conditions you’ve configured, so you can verify the merchandising layout from any location or device.
  • One preview at a time. Creating a new preview for the same collection and sort order replaces any previous preview.

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When to use preview

  • Before publishing a new rule — Confirm your pins and expressions look right on the actual storefront before going live.
  • While editing an existing rule — Test changes to pins or expressions without disrupting the current live merchandising.
  • Validating expression logic — Check that automated groupings produce the product order you expect.
  • Stakeholder review — Share the preview URL with team members so they can review merchandising changes before you publish.
The preview URL is shareable. Anyone with the link can see the previewed merchandising within the one-hour window, but the preview has no effect on other visitors browsing the same collection.

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See also