Preview
Test your interactive graphic novel in the embedded PanelWave Player — device frames, locales, entitlements, variable overrides, and saved scenarios.
The Preview screen lets you experience your work the way a reader will — inside the same PanelWave Player that powers published works — without leaving the CMS. You can switch device frames, languages, and simulated entitlements, and override variables to walk every branch of your story.
Opening the preview
Preview is one of the Backstage Tools. You can reach it two ways:
- From the works list, open a work's More actions menu (the ⋮ button on the card) and choose Preview.
- From any backstage screen, click Preview in the left-hand Backstage Tools navigation.
The screen is titled Player Preview and shows the work ID it is previewing. If the work's manifest has not been built yet, you'll see "No Manifest Available — Build the work manifest to enable preview" instead of the player.
A work with nothing playable yet — no chapters, or chapters without any panel — shows "Nothing to preview yet" with what to add (a chapter with at least one panel) instead of a player error. Once at least one chapter has panels, the preview plays those chapters and notes under the device frame how many chapters without panels it left out.
Preview always renders the current editing state of your work — including content you have not published yet. It is a private testing surface; readers never see it.
The preview controls
A control bar above the player frame lets you shape the reading conditions you want to test.
Device frames
Pick a device under Device: to preview your layout at realistic screen sizes:
| Device | Viewport |
|---|---|
| iPhone 14 Pro | 393 × 852 (portrait phone) |
| iPad Pro | 1024 × 1366 (portrait tablet) |
| Desktop | 1920 × 1080 (landscape) |
The current device name and dimensions are shown below the frame. Use the number keys 1, 2, 3 to switch devices quickly.
Locale
The Locale: dropdown switches the player's language so you can check translations, text fit, and speech-bubble layout per language. Available preview locales: English, Deutsch, Français, Español, Italiano, 日本語, 中文, and 한국어. Press L to jump to the locale selector. See Localization for managing translations.
Network
The Network: dropdown offers connection presets: Fast (WiFi), 4G, 3G, Slow 2G, and Offline.
Network presets are currently informational — the selection is recorded in the preview configuration but does not yet throttle the actual connection.
Entitlements
Under Entitlements: you can toggle the access tiers the simulated reader holds: free, basic, premium, and pro (only free is active by default). This is how you test paywalls: preview with only free checked to confirm the paywall appears where you expect, then add premium and confirm gated chapters unlock.
The Entitlement backstage screen can open Preview pre-configured for a specific reader persona — the preview header then shows a "Previewing as …" badge listing that persona's entitlements.
Playback options
Under Options:
- Autoplay — start playback automatically (on by default).
- Muted — silence all audio.
- View — force the player's view mode: Auto (manifest-driven — chapters with a canvas layout open in canvas view), Panel view, or Canvas view. Ideal for comparing both reading experiences of a canvas chapter side by side.
Variable overrides
The Variables: panel lists every variable your work defines (see Variables) and lets you override its value for the preview session — this is the key tool for testing branches:
- Each variable gets an input matched to its type: a checkbox for booleans, a dropdown for enums, number/date/time pickers, or a text field.
- An overridden badge marks values you have changed; the reset arrow next to a row restores its default, and Clear all overrides resets everything at once.
- Each row shows the variable's default value, so you always know what readers start with.
Set a decision variable to each of its possible values and re-run the chapter to verify every path through your graph behaves as intended. If the work defines no variables, the panel says "This work defines no variables."
Scenarios
The Scenario: row saves complete control setups so you can re-test recurring situations in one click:
- Built-in presets: Mobile 3G, Free tier, and Premium reader.
- Save your own: configure the controls, type a name into "Save current as…", and click the save button. Saved scenarios appear as chips next to the presets and can be deleted with their × button.
Scenarios are stored in your browser, per device.
Fullscreen and sharing
In the preview header:
- Fullscreen (or the F key) removes the device frame and fills your screen — the most accurate way to judge the final reading experience. Press Esc to exit.
- Working copy | Published preview switches what the player shows: your current editing state, or the last Internal preview publish. Published preview is disabled with "Not published as preview yet" until you have published as Internal preview.
- Open in new window opens the same backstage preview (including the selected source) in a separate browser window.
- Reset returns every control to its default (Desktop, English, Fast network, free entitlement, no overrides).
Previewing extras
Bonus content (covers, concept art, wallpapers, …) has its own reader-style preview: the Extras manager shows your published extras grouped exactly as readers will see them, and excludes anything still marked Draft (hidden from readers).