Public Subscriber Website Customization - Page Preview
This screen assists you while working on the customization of a subscriber page or email by showing a slightly different layout of the area on the top of the screen.
Customization Workflow Phases
Phase 1: System Default - No Customization
Without customization, the page or email is provided to subscribers in the system default. In this state, the upper area shows the text Production Version Preview. This is the initial state of any element that is not customized and is therefore provided to subscribers as system default.
Phase 2: Editing/Saving a Draft
To begin customizing, click the [Edit Draft] button. This opens the customization editor. Saving your draft returns you to the preview screen, which now looks slightly different: To reflect the presence of a draft version that is not yet deployed (and is thus different from what subscribers see), the upper area shows the text Draft Version Preview.
This state of the customization can exist indefinitely to allow you to work on a draft for longer periods of time without affecting what your subscribers currently see. LISTSERV Maestro considers your draft version to be a normal part of the system data and includes it in its automatic backup, similar to other system data. While you are refining your draft (i.e. clicking the [Edit Draft] button, making changes and saving the new draft), click the icon in the upper right area of the preview screen to see the difference between your draft and the current public version.
Phase 3: Deploying a Draft
The decision if and when to deploy a draft customization should be considered carefully. As described above, a draft can exist safely in parallel to a current public production version. You can make use of this for example to discuss details of the draft with colleagues, outside contractors or other 3rd parties. Eventually, however, you will reach confidence that the draft is actually supposed to replace the current public production version. In LISTSERV Maestro, this means that you now have decided to Deploy your draft. See here for details about how to deploy one or many drafts.
Phase 4: Editing/Saving a New Draft
After having deployed a previous draft, the screen reflects this and now looks similar to "Phase 1" above. You can now continue editing your draft (and save it repeatedly because LISTSERV Maestro stores the draft separately from the deployed public version). At any time during your edit session(s), you may want to either undo your edits or to simply check how far your edits differ visually from the currently deployed public version:
Reverting your draft edits: If you want to undo all or parts of the edits you made to your draft (even before saving them), click the icon in the upper right area of the screen. The Select Revert Source screen appears. By employing previews of the currently deployed public version and the system default version, you can pick the desired version to revert to visually.
Comparing your draft to the public version: To do this, click the icon in the upper right area of the screen. The Compare screen appears and allows you to compare your draft with the version that you previously deployed to the public.