Google Web Designer provides different ways for you to view your work, depending on your purpose.
Authoring documents
When you're working on a project in Google Web Designer, you can see your work on the stage in Design view. The files generated during authoring are the source files (also called author files), and should be stored in a separate folder for each project.
Although the main source file is an HTML file, you cannot preview your document by directly opening this HTML file in your browser, as it doesn't contain the full functionality of your project.
Don't traffic source files as ads.
Instead, publish the document in Google Web Designer, then use the published file.Previewing documents
Previewing lets you see how your project would look and behave to the end user. A temporary snapshot of your work opens in a browser, where you can set preview mode options (such as viewing different-sized versions of a responsive ad) and interact with the preview. You can preview your document as often as you like while you're working on it.
You can also preview animation on the Web Designer stage with some limitations (for example, events don't get triggered), and preview responsive documents in multiple sizes within a panel beside the stage.
To see how your ad appears on a mobile device, you can send a preview directly to a phone or tablet with the Creative Preview app installed.
Previewing in your browser or in the Creative Preview app is disabled for video ads and image ads.
Discrepancies in preview
If elements that you included in your document don't appear in the preview, they may be guide layers.
Publishing documents
Once you finish authoring your document, you should publish it to create the finalized files. Publishing will streamline the source code, add the appropriate enabler code for Google AdMob, Google Ads, and Display & Video 360 ads, and let you configure additional settings.
Anyone can view the published files in their browser without needing to install Google Web Designer. If your document is an ad, you should provide the published files for trafficking.
For video ads, publishing lets you export MP4 video files that render all the content and animation in your document.
Sharing documents
The best way to share files depends on why you're sharing them.
- To collaborate on a document, share the source files. You should also share the source files if you're trying to troubleshoot an issue with your project.
- To share the finished project, you can create a shareable link from the Preview menu (available for supported ad types), or you can publish the document. Use the publish dialog option to create a .zip file, then send the .zip file to your reviewers. This option is unavailable for video ads.