Each sponsorship opportunity can send two emails: a confirmation email when a purchase is waiting for approval, and an activation email when the sponsorship becomes active. Both emails use templates with merge fields, such as the sponsor’s name or order total. Before you turn either email on for sponsors, you can send yourself or someone else a preview that uses data from a real sponsorship.
What It Controls
A preview sends a test copy of the email template you are editing to the address you enter. Rhythm fills the merge fields with details from a real sponsorship, so you can review the email with actual data.
The preview does not save anything, and it does not notify the sponsor. It uses the content currently in the editor, even if you have not saved the opportunity yet, so you can review your changes before they go live.
Warning
The requested opportunities on a sponsorship application are a collection, not a single text value. If you insert a merge field like {{application.opportunities}} directly, it can appear as [object Object] or blank instead of showing the opportunity name. To show the name of each requested opportunity, loop over the collection instead, for example: {{#each application.opportunities}}{{name}}{{/each}}.
Where to Find It
Open the opportunity’s edit form at Sponsorship & Benefits › Opportunities › Create Opportunity, or open an existing opportunity for editing. Scroll to the Confirmation Email or Activation Email card, then select Preview next to the merge-field picker.
The dialog opens as Preview Confirmation Email or Preview Activation Email, depending on which email you are editing.
Prerequisites
- The Activation Email switch is always available to preview. The Confirmation Email card and its preview control appear only after you select the opportunity’s approval checkbox and turn on that email’s switch.
- You need an existing sponsorship for the preview. Merge fields such as the sponsor’s name, organization, and order details come from that sponsorship, its application, and its related records, not from the opportunity you are editing.
- The sponsorship you choose must have a contact linked through its application or on the sponsorship record itself. If it does not, the preview fails because Rhythm reads that contact’s information while building the email, before sending it to the address you entered.
- Find a sponsorship to use for the preview. If you do not already have its ID, open the sponsorship record and use Copy ID to Clipboard from its options menu.
- In the preview dialog, paste the identifier into Sponsorship ID:.
- Enter the address where you want to receive the preview in Send Preview To:. This field starts with your own sign-in address, but you can send the preview anywhere.
- Select Send Preview.
Result
A confirmation toast reads "Email preview sent successfully," and the dialog closes. Rhythm sends the email through the same process used for a real confirmation or activation email, so the preview matches what a sponsor would receive.
Rhythm remembers the last sponsorship ID and address you used for a preview in this browser. The next time you open the dialog for either email, on any opportunity you are editing, those values are already filled in. You do not need to re-enter them when you are testing small wording changes.
Dependencies and Precedence
- A preview always uses the template currently shown in the editor, not the version last saved to the opportunity. To preview a change, make it in the editor first; you do not need to save the opportunity before previewing.
- Rhythm does not check the address against your own sign-in address, and it does not validate that the address is properly formatted. If a preview does not arrive, double-check the address for typos.
Change Impact and How to Revert
Sending a preview does not change the opportunity or the sponsorship you preview from. You can safely send as many previews as you need while you refine a template.
Permissions
Sending a preview uses the same access as opening the opportunity for editing. There is no separate permission for previewing an email.
Validation and Errors
If you select Send Preview without filling in both Sponsorship ID: and Send Preview To:, Rhythm shows a form-errors list and does not send anything. Fill in the missing field and try again.
If the send fails, Rhythm shows an "Unable to preview email" message and keeps the dialog open. This can happen when the sponsorship ID does not match a sponsorship you can see, or when the sponsorship has no linked contact. Correct the identifier or address, then try again.