How to manually test experiment preview links in Chrome and other browsers

This article explains how to manually get preview links to work if the auto-generated link won't do anything.

You can generate preview links using the Web Editor, or from the Manager.

Evolv’s preview link functionality uses a session storage token that tells the browser which experiment variant to render. If the token doesn’t save, for whatever reason, here’s something you can try.

Option #1: Use the console (all browsers)

1. Open Dev tools.
2. Go to the Console.
3. Enter the following into the console and press enter.
   • Where {token_id} is the actual token.

sessionStorage.setItem('evolv:candidateToken','{token_id}'); location.reload();

The browser will automatically reload with the new token in place.

Option #2: Manually add the token to session storage (Chrome)

1. Open Dev tools.
2. Go to the Application tab.
3. Open Session Storage on the left and select the required website.
4. Enter a new session storage key named evolv:candidateToken.
5. Add the preview token ID as the value.
   • The token is the string of characters after the Evolv token name in the preview URL
6. Reload the test page.
7. Update the token value when you want to test a new preview link.