Preview and Review Lessons
The Studio Previewer opens a Lesson in the mode and device size you choose, and its Share button copies a no-login review link that carries that exact view to your reviewer.
How do you open the Previewer?
Step |
Action |
|---|---|
| 1 | Open the Lesson in the Lesson Builder. |
| 2 | At the bottom left, click the caret on the right side of Preview. |
| 3 | Choose what you want to preview. The list holds the Lesson's modes plus Quick Reference Guide. |
| 4 | The Previewer opens in a new browser tab. The Lesson Builder stays open in the tab behind it. |
Note: Once you are inside the Previewer, the dropdown at the bottom left switches between Talkthrough, Walkthrough, Practice, Knowledge Check, and Video without going back to the Lesson Builder.
Can you preview a SCORM Lesson?
Yes, and it is simpler than previewing a standard Lesson.
A SCORM Lesson has no modes, because SCORM is the whole Lesson rather than one way of delivering it. So the Preview button on a SCORM Lesson carries no caret and there is no list to choose from. Click Preview and the Previewer opens on the SCORM package itself.
Inside the Previewer the difference carries through: there is no mode dropdown in the bottom bar at all. Everything else works exactly as it does for any other Lesson. You can set the device preset, change the zoom, switch between Light Mode and Dark Mode, set an exact width and height, save a preset, open the comment panel, and click Share to copy a review link.
What can you change while you preview?
Every control sits in the bar along the bottom of the Previewer.
Control |
What it does |
|---|---|
| Mode dropdown | Switches the Lesson to another mode without leaving the Previewer. |
| Device preset | Sets the frame to a real device. Opens on Custom. |
| Zoom | Scales the frame with a minus button, a percentage, and a plus button. Opens at 100%. |
| Light Mode dropdown | Switches between Light Mode and Dark Mode. |
| Device Width and Device Height | Sets an exact frame size in pixels. Opens at 680 by 1280. |
| Save as Preset | Saves the current width and height as a preset you can reuse. |
| Share | Copies a review link to your clipboard. |
Which device presets can you choose?
Group |
Presets |
|---|---|
| Desktop | Desktop 720p, Desktop 1080p, Desktop 1440p, MacBook Air 13" |
| Handheld | Google Pixel 8, iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Pro Max, Samsung Galaxy S24, Zebra TC-77 |
| Tablet | iPad Air (5th generation), iPad Mini (6th generation), iPad Pro 12.9", Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 |
The group names are labels, not choices. Presets you save yourself appear in the same list.
How do you send a Lesson to a reviewer?
Step |
Action |
|---|---|
| 1 | Open the Lesson in the Previewer. |
| 2 | Set the view you want your reviewer to see: the mode, the device preset or an exact width and height, the zoom, and Light Mode or Dark Mode. |
| 3 | Click Share. The review link is copied to your clipboard. There is no dialog and nothing else to fill in. |
| 4 | Paste the link into an email or a message and send it. |
Note: The link records the view at the moment you click Share. Mode, language, and device size all travel with it, so your reviewer opens the Lesson in the frame you chose rather than one of their own. If you change the view afterward, click Share again to copy a new link.
Does a reviewer need a Skyllful login?
No. The review link opens the Lesson for someone who has no Studio access at all, which is what makes it useful for a subject matter expert, a manager, or anyone outside your content team.
If your organization needs previews kept inside the company, Skyllful offers Authenticated Preview, which requires a reviewer to sign in before the preview opens. It is a feature flag Skyllful enables on your instance, not a setting you will find in Studio. Your Local Administrator can request it through a support ticket.
How do comments work in the Previewer?
Comments are left in the Previewer in Studio, and each one is anchored to the step you are standing on.
Step |
Action |
|---|---|
| 1 | Click the comment tab on the left edge of the Previewer. |
| 2 | Move to the step you want to comment on. The panel header follows you, showing which step you are on, for example Step 1 of 17. |
| 3 | Type in the comment box at the bottom of the panel. |
| 4 | Click Send. |
Two controls make the panel more than a notepad. Open in Lesson Builder, at the top of the panel, jumps to that exact step in the Lesson Builder, so feedback lands where the fix happens. The Complete radio closes out a comment once someone has handled it.
Why does the preview say there are no steps to display?
The Lesson has no finished step yet. The Previewer shows an empty device frame reading "No steps to display. To preview lesson, you must have at least one complete step in it." Finish a step in the Lesson Builder and preview again.
Frequently asked questions
Does previewing change the Lesson?
No. Previewing is read-only. Nothing you do in the Previewer is saved to the Lesson.
Can you preview a mode the Lesson does not use?
You can open any mode from the list, but a mode with nothing built in it has nothing to show.
Where do device presets come from?
The catalog above ships with Studio. Presets you create with Save as Preset are added to it, and Device Presets in Learning Program Settings is where they are managed.
Your reviewer says the Lesson looks wrong on their screen.
Ask which device the link opened in. The review link carries the device size you set when you clicked Share, so the two of you should be looking at the same frame.
Skyllful Knowledge Base | Content Developers, Instructional Designers, Subject Matter Experts