Testing Emails and Viewing as Guest

See exactly what your guests will receive – send test emails or preview as a specific guest before you activate.

Before you send an email to hundreds or thousands of guests, you need to be absolutely sure it looks right, works correctly, and contains no mistakes. A broken link, a misspelled name, or a missing QR code can create confusion at the door and extra work for your team.

Check-in Pax provides two powerful features to help you verify your emails before sending:

Send Test – Sends a real email to your own address (or any test address)
View as guest – Previews the email inside your browser as if you were a specific guest

Send Test – Real email preview

The Send Test feature sends an actual email to an address you choose. This is the best way to see exactly what your guests will receive, including how the email renders in different email clients (Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail, etc.).

How to send a test email

Open your email template in the Email Designer.
Click the Send Test button at the top of the screen.
Enter one or more email addresses (separate multiple addresses with commas) or choose yourself or one of your team members.
Select a guest from your list to use as the data source for the test email. The test email will be sent to the addresses you entered (e.g., your own inbox), not to the selected guest. The guest will not receive anything.
Click Send Test Email(s).
Check your inbox. The email should arrive within a couple of minutes.

What to check in your test email

Element	What to verify
Sender name and address	Does it look professional and recognizable?
Subject line	Is it clear and free of typos?
Guest placeholders	Are they replaced with real data (not `[Guest](First Name)`)?
QR code	Does it appear as an image? Can you scan it with the Check-in App?
Links and buttons	Do they go to the correct URL?
Images	Do they load properly?
Mobile layout	Does the email look good on a phone screen?
Spelling and grammar	Read everything carefully.

Pro tips for test emails

Send tests to multiple email clients. Use Gmail, Outlook, and Apple Mail if possible. Different clients render emails differently.
Test on both desktop and mobile. Most guests will read your email on their phone.
Create a test guest. Add yourself as a guest in your guest list (use your real email address). Then use View email as (see below) or send a test to see your own placeholder data.
Scan the QR code. Open the Check-in App and actually scan the QR code from your test email. Confirm it pulls up the correct guest profile.

View as guest – Browser preview

The View as feature shows you a preview of the email inside your browser, using real data from a selected guest. This is faster than sending a test email and is great for checking placeholders and layout.

How to use View as guest

Open your email template in the Email Designer.
Click the View email as dropdown at the top of the screen.
Select a guest on your guest list.
Alternatively, choose a test guest you created earlier.
The preview will update to show the email as that guest would see it.

What to check in View as guest

Element	What to verify
Placeholder replacement	Does `[Guest](First Name)` become the guest's actual first name?
QR code	Does the QR code appear? (It will show as a real QR code for that guest)
Conditional content	If you have content that only shows for certain guests, verify it works
Layout	Does the email look correct in the preview?

Limitations of View as guest

The preview is rendered inside your browser, not a real email client. It may look slightly different in Gmail or Outlook.
Always follow up with a Send Test to confirm real-world rendering.

When to use each feature

Scenario	Best feature
Checking placeholder data	View as guest (faster)
Checking email client rendering	Send Test (real email)
Testing QR code scan-ability	Send Test (then scan with the app)
Quick layout check	View as guest
Final approval before activation	Send Test (one last time)

Testing workflow – Recommended steps

Before activating any email template, follow this checklist:

Create a test guest in your guest list using your own email address.
Design your template in the Email Designer.
Use View as guest to select your test guest and verify placeholders.
Send a test email to your own address.
Open the test email on your phone.
Scan the QR code using the Check-in App to confirm it works.
Check the email on different clients (Gmail, Outlook, etc.) if possible.
Fix any issues and repeat steps 3–7.
Send one final test when you are completely satisfied.
Activate your template.

Common issues found during testing

Issue	How to catch it	How to fix it
`[Guest](First Name)` appears as code	View as guest	Check spelling and capitalization
QR code is missing	Send Test	Verify you used the correct placeholder e.g. `[QR](Email)`
Links go to wrong page	Send Test and click links	Update the URL in the link settings
Email looks broken on mobile	Send Test on phone	Simplify layout, use responsive design
Images don't load	Send Test	Upload smaller images and use png or jpg image files.

Pro tips

Test early, test often. Do not wait until your template is "finished" to test. Test after every major change.
Keep a test guest. Create a guest called "Test Test" with your own email address and keep them in your guest list for testing across multiple templates.
Don't skip testing. One typo in a QR code link or a broken placeholder can ruin the guest experience at the door.

Using the Email designer
Adding guest placeholders
Adding QR Codes
Activating, sending, and scheduling emails