> ## Knowledge Base Index
> Fetch the complete knowledge base index at: https://molsoft.crisp.help/sitemap.xml
> Use this file to discover available pages before exploring further.
> Pure-Markdown content can be obtained by appending a '.md' suffix to the content URLs listed in the sitemap (without the trailing slash).

# Preview Mode: Test your limits before activating them

**Preview Mode** applies your **Draft** limits to your own cart and checkout, so you can test them before switching them to **Live**. Your customers see no change, and your Live limits keep working as usual.

![storefront home page with the dark "MinCart preview mode" banner at the top](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/4/d/d/3/4dd3899948d8e000/image_11wlsoa.png)


||| A limit's **Status** is either **Live** or **Draft**. A draft is never enforced on your customers: it's there for you to preview and test before switching it to Live. See the **Status** section of [General Limit Settings](https://molsoft.crisp.help/en/article/general-limit-settings-vhuijo).
---

## Table of Contents
1. **Starting a preview**
2. **How previewed drafts behave**
3. **The preview banner**
4. **Exiting Preview Mode**
5. **Frequently asked questions**
---

## Starting a preview

**From the limit editor:** set **Status** to **Draft**, press **Save**, then press **Preview on my store** at the top of the page. The button only appears once the limit is saved.

![the limit editor with the "Preview on my store" action at the top and the Status dropdown set to Draft](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/4/d/d/3/4dd3899948d8e000/image_h892ew.png)


**From the limits list:** select one or more drafts and choose **Preview selected drafts**. Live limits in the selection are skipped, since they're already enforced.

![the limits list with five drafts selected and the "Preview selected drafts" action visible](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/4/d/d/3/4dd3899948d8e000/image_1n0yis0.png)


Either way, your store opens in a new tab with Preview Mode on.

||| **The preview link** looks like `https://your-store.myshopify.com/?mincart=preview&preview-limits=<id>`, with several limit ids separated by commas. You can bookmark it or send it to a colleague. Each person previews on their own browser.
---

## How previewed drafts behave

Previewed drafts are enforced on your cart exactly as they will be once Live: the storefront popup, the disabled checkout button and the checkout block all apply.

Each draft's **Enforce on the storefront** setting and **Activation Dates** still apply. **Activation Rules** that reference a previewed draft react to it, so you can test limits that depend on each other.

Drafts you didn't select stay hidden. Previewing never changes the draft itself.
---

## The preview banner

While you preview, a dark **MinCart preview mode** banner stays at the top of every page, including the cart and checkout. It has two buttons:

- **What's being previewed (N)** opens the selection. Remove drafts on the **Previewed** tab, add them from **Available drafts**, then press **Apply**. You can preview up to 50 drafts at once.
- **Exit preview** ends Preview Mode.

Each previewed draft shows its state:

| State | Meaning |
| ---- | ---- |
| Enforced now | Blocks carts that break it. |
| Not enforced (rules only) | **Enforce on the storefront** is off. It blocks nothing but can still satisfy another limit's Activation Rule. |
| Not started yet | Its start date is in the future. |
| Ended | Its end date has passed. |


![the dialog on the Previewed tab, one draft listed with its state, Remove button, and the Available drafts tab](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/4/d/d/3/4dd3899948d8e000/image_dhvspv.png)

---

## Exiting Preview Mode

Press **Exit preview** in the banner. The page reloads with only your Live limits.

Closing the tab or reloading the page doesn't end the preview. It's remembered on your cart until you press **Exit preview**.
---

## Frequently asked questions

**I switched a draft to Live while previewing. What happens?**
It's enforced for every visitor from the next page load. Nothing is left to preview for it.

**Why does the editor ask me to confirm when a Live limit's Activation Rule points at a draft?**
Your customers never see drafts, so that rule is ignored until the draft is Live, and a limit with no other activation rules is always active. Keep both limits as drafts and preview them together to check the rule, then switch them to Live.

**The banner covers my store's header.**
Themes with a header pinned to the top of the window can sit under the banner. It goes back to normal when you exit.

**Can Sidekick give me a preview link?**
Yes. Once the drafts it prepared are saved, ask Sidekick for a preview link.
---

||| **Related articles:** [General Limit Settings](https://molsoft.crisp.help/en/article/general-limit-settings-vhuijo) (Status and Enforce on the storefront) · [Activation Rules](https://molsoft.crisp.help/en/article/activation-rules-1tz94vr)