---
title: "Workflow Preview"
description: "See a workflow before anyone submits to it: the form previews live while you build, and the routing walkthrough shows exactly which steps would run and who would approve for the values on the form — before a single real request exists."
category: "Building workflows"
updated: 2026-08-27
canonical: https://approvethis.com/docs/manuals/workflow-preview
---

# Workflow Preview

Workflow Preview answers two questions while a workflow is still being built: what will the form look like to whoever fills it, and who would actually get asked to approve. Administrators editing a workflow see the form render live in the Form tab's right-hand panel, and can run a routing simulation from the form itself against whatever values are currently entered. Nothing is written to the database and no request is created — the routing walkthrough is a simulation with no saved artifact. You'll need a workflow with at least one field and a routing condition already set up.

**Who this is for:** an Administrator.

> **Prerequisite:** Sign in as an Administrator.

> **Getting here:** Open the workflow and click its Form tab — the right-hand panel is the live preview. The routing walkthrough lives on the form itself, behind the admin-only Preview approvers button.


## Edit a field beside the live form preview

Field labels read differently to a requester than they do in the builder. Editing a field with the preview panel open shows the rendered result immediately, so wording and layout get fixed before anyone submits.

1. Sign in as the admin.
2. Click the item field to open it for editing.

   ![Click the item field to open it for editing.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/workflow-preview/screenshots/workflow-preview-s1-01.png)

3. Type the label you want requesters to read on that field — `Item or service` in the example screenshots.

   ![Type the label you want requesters to read on that field — Item or service in the example screenshots.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/workflow-preview/screenshots/workflow-preview-s1-02.png)

4. Press `Tab` to commit the change and re-sync the preview panel.

   ![Press Tab to commit the change and re-sync the preview panel.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/workflow-preview/screenshots/workflow-preview-s1-03.png)


> **Success cue:** The right-hand preview panel redraws with the new label, reading **Item or service** in the example.

## Preview who will approve before submitting

Conditional routing is easy to get wrong in ways that only show up after a real request goes to the wrong person. Running the preview against sample values shows which steps fire, which are skipped, and who resolves as approver for each one. The **Preview approvers** button appears only for members of the owning team who have update permission on the workflow; public fillers never see it.

1. Open the workflow's form at `@artifact:form_url`.

   ![Open the workflow's form at @artifact:form_url.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/workflow-preview/screenshots/workflow-preview-s2-01.png)

2. Enter a value in **Amount** that represents the spend you want to test — the example uses `800`.

   ![Enter a value in Amount that represents the spend you want to test — the example uses 800.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/workflow-preview/screenshots/workflow-preview-s2-02.png)

3. Enter a description in **Item or service**, such as `Standing desk`.

   ![Enter a description in Item or service, such as Standing desk.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/workflow-preview/screenshots/workflow-preview-s2-03.png)

4. Click **Preview approvers** to simulate routing against the values currently on the form.

   ![Click Preview approvers to simulate routing against the values currently on the form.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/workflow-preview/screenshots/workflow-preview-s2-04.png)

5. Change **Amount** to a value on the other side of your routing condition — the example uses `200`.

   ![Change Amount to a value on the other side of your routing condition — the example uses 200.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/workflow-preview/screenshots/workflow-preview-s2-05.png)

6. Click **Refresh preview** to re-run the simulation with the new value.

   ![Click Refresh preview to re-run the simulation with the new value.](https://approvethis.com/docs-assets/manuals/workflow-preview/screenshots/workflow-preview-s2-06.png)


> **Success cue:** The step that no longer qualifies is marked **Condition(s) not met**, confirming the routing changed with the value.

> **What happens next:** Both previews are simulations — nothing is submitted and no request is created. The routing walkthrough re-runs against whatever values are on the form, so trying an amount under and over a step's threshold shows the step dropping in and out ([Conditional & Threshold Routing](https://approvethis.com/docs/manuals/conditional-threshold-routing.md) covers building those conditions). To exercise the workflow for real before going live, submit a test request instead — that's [Workflow Testing](https://approvethis.com/docs/manuals/workflow-testing.md).