The PADS4 Designer application allows you to preview presentations to see exactly how they will look and behave when played in the PADS4 Viewer application. This helps verify the layout, content, data connections, and interactivity before publishing.

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How to Start a Preview

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Preview the Entire Presentation

  1. Click on the View tab in the ribbon bar.
  2. In the Preview section, click Presentation.
  3. The Presentation Preview window will open and automatically start the presentation.

Tip:

  • Quickly start a preview by pressing F2.
  • Press F12 during preview for web element debugging (when using Chromium browser engine).

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Preview a Specific Page

  1. Navigate to the page you want to preview using the Go To section in the View menu.
  2. Follow the steps above to start the presentation preview.
  3. Alternatively, inside the Presentation Preview window:
    • Use the Page selector dropdown to pick a starting page.
    • Click Start to begin the preview from that page.

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Presentation Preview Window Overview

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Presentation Group

  • Close: Closes the preview window.
  • Start: Starts the preview from the selected page.
  • Stop: Stops the running presentation.
  • Page & Total: Shows the current page number, time on current page, and total running time.

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Zoom Group

  • Stretch/Zoom Options: Adjust the zoom level to fit the preview window.
    Note: Some content like web elements may not scale perfectly.

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Options Group

  • Viewer Name: Enter an existing Viewer name to simulate how that specific Viewer would run the presentation. Useful for testing Viewer Variables like #ViewerName#.
  • Page: Select the starting page for the preview.
  • Viewer Type: Choose a Viewer Type to simulate and remove elements not supported by that Viewer Type.

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Data Source Group

(These can only be adjusted before starting the preview)

  • Use Data Cache:
    • Uses cached data for a faster preview.
    • Avoids time-consuming data provider calls.
    • Essential for working offline or designing with slow/remote data sources.
    • Learn more: Data Caching in PADS4 Designer.
  • Use Backup:
    • Forces PADS4 to use backup Data Providers (if defined), allowing simulation of fallback scenarios.

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Show Group

  • Viewer Variables: Opens a window listing all Viewer Variables for this preview session. See Viewer Variables page for more details.
  • Data Preview: Displays all connected Data Providers and their retrieved data for this presentation.
  • Log Information:
    • Shows logs with errors/warnings during preview.
    • Automatically updates in real-time.
    • Button turns red if any issue is detected.
    • View the last 4 log messages directly.

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Important Notes

  • Hidden pages can still be forced into view for preview if chosen as the starting page.
  • If using web elements with interactivity enabled, press F12 to open the Chromium browser debug tools.
    (Note: This is not supported for Internet Explorer engine).

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Summary of Shortcut Keys

ActionShortcut Key
Start full presentation previewF2
Open Chromium web debugger (for web elem)F12