Preview creatives

In the Preview step of the Creatives tab, you can review how your final creative will look, adjust display settings, and test events.

If you're previewing a dynamic creative, keep in mind that preview works differently. In addition to previewing the creative template, you also need to preview the creative variations provided by feed data or profile fields. Use the Preview step in the Dynamic Content tab for dynamic creatives.

See how your final creative will look

When you first preview a creative, it will display automatically on a blank screen in Desktop mode. Use the drop-down menus at the top to change how the preview is displayed.

If you see errors while previewing your creative, try the creative troubleshooting guides to help fix the issue.

Desktop preview mode

Use the desktop preview mode to test creative events and preview how the creative will look in a desktop browser.

Display creatives

While in desktop preview mode, you can customize how the preview is displayed using the Website menu:

• To view the creative on a blank page, select Blank.
• To view the creative on a sample website and adjust desktop positioning, select Sample website.
• To view the creative on any website, select Custom URL. This URL can be any website, but the creative preview can only be shown if that website has an ad placement that's the same size as the creative you're previewing.

When previewing on a custom URL, scrolling may not work correctly. Instead, use your keyboard's Page Up and Page Down keys (Windows) or fn + Up arrow and fn + Down arrow (Mac).

Video creatives

When previewing a video creative, you can customize the preview using the Video resolutions menu:

• Select a preset resolution to see the video in that size.
• To see it in a custom resolution, click Add new size.
  • Enter the width and height you want to preview the video in. Custom-sized previews are for preview only and have no effect on the actual serving size of the video.
• To send a preview to a mobile device, select a device from the Preview location menu. Your device name will only appear in the menu if the Creative Preview app is installed and you've signed into the Google account you use with Display & Video 360.
• If the creative has a companion, play the video to see a preview of the companion creative. It will appear below the video player only while the video is playing.

Mobile preview mode

Use the mobile preview mode to test creative events and preview how the creative will look on a mobile device. This preview mode will show your creative framed by a device.

To change the context (either within a mobile app, or in a mobile browser), use the Context menu:

• To view the creative in a mobile app, select In-app.
• To view the creative in a mobile browser, select Mobile web.

To change the device, use the Device menu:

Select a device by name (for example, iPad or Nexus 7) to show your creative on that device. To rotate the device into landscape or portrait mode, click Rotate device .

To send the preview to a phone or tablet, install the Creative Preview app or scan a QR code.

Send a preview to a mobile phone or tablet

There are two options for sending a preview to a device: you can install the Creative Preview app on your device to see an accurate preview of mobile in-app creatives or you can scan a QR code with your phone to open a preview using your mobile web browser.

Step 1: Get a QR code

1. Open a creative in Studio and click the Preview step.
2. Open the Preview location menu, then click Scan QR code. A QR code appears on screen.

Step 2: Scan the QR code

To open the preview in the Creative Preview app:

1. Open the Creative Preview app on your mobile device.
2. Tap Open creative  then select the type of creative you're about to preview.
3. Tap Scan QR code. Scan the QR code on your computer screen (see Step 1). When the code is scanned successfully, the creative's name and other details are filled in automatically in the app.
4. Tap Save. You're taken back to the list of creative previews. Tap the creative's name to preview it.

To open the preview in your mobile web browser:

1. Open the camera app on your mobile device.
2. Scan the QR code on your computer screen (see Step 1). A confirmation message appears. Tap it to open the URL in your web browser.

Change the creative's position and other display options

To adjust a creative's position on the page, click Show details , then click Display properties.

Note: The changes you make in the Display properties screen are applied to the live creative.

The available display properties vary depending on the creative format type. For more details on the properties for different formats, see:

• Expanding
• Interstitial
• Banner
• Push-down

Test custom event tracking

Test any custom events you wish to record in your creative to make sure they're recording at the right time. This ensures that the right metrics will be included in your campaign reports. To test events, use the Event summary panel, which logs standard and custom events. Events are displayed at the bottom of the event summary panel.

Test creative event recording

1. Click Show details , then click Event summary.
2. Play around with your creative preview. Click on any buttons that should trigger custom counters, exits or timers. If your creative has video, play the video and try out the video controls to make sure video events are logged.
3. If events don't fire when expected, check your creative code to make sure the appropriate custom event code has been added.

See a list of events with counts

The Event summary displays the total number of events in your creative, and real-time event logging as you interact with your creative preview. You can also see a count of how many times each event is triggered.

Here are some tips for using the panel as you review events:

• Enter an event name in the "Event name" field to search for a specific event.
• Make the event list easier to review by applying filters to the event list:
  • Type: Filter the display by event type:
    • All: List all events.
    • Custom: List only custom events added by the creative developer.
    • Standard: List Studio standard events, which are automatically added to the creative.
  • Show: Filter the display by triggered or untriggered events, depending on whether you tested them in the Preview tab.
    • All: List all events.
    • Triggered: Show only events that have been triggered in the current preview session.
    • Untriggered: Show events that haven't been triggered in the current preview session.

See a log of events with timestamps

Click Event log (below Event summary, you may need to scroll down to see it). The Event log shows real-time logs for standard and custom events. Events include a time stamp, event type, and event name. As events are triggered in the preview, each new event is displayed at the top of the list.

Click Clear log if you need to clear out the list and start over. Only the log display is cleared; counts in the summary will not cleared.

When you've finished previewing your creative, click Next to proceed to the Publish step.