Import preview sheets

When you need to preview creatives using hundreds of dynamic filtering values, you may find it easier to import a custom preview sheet.

Studio provides a CSV template, unique to each profile, which you fill out with the preview parameters you want. After you fill out the template and import it, Studio automatically generates a preview sheet containing all of the previews. The CSV file can be used to preview using either forced and filtered values, per creative.

Step 1: Download the preview sheet template

You can only import preview sheets in your dynamic profile. The import option isn't available when you preview from the Creatives tab.

Open your dynamic profile and click Preview.
Click Import . The Import preview sheet window opens.
Click Download the CSV template. A CSV template designed specially for your dynamic profile is downloaded.

Step 2: Add values from your feed to the template

Open the template file. The template contents vary based on your dynamic strategy, the number of feeds in your profile, and the type of filtering you're using. In the first row, you'll see:
- A column header with the label feednameforforcedpreview:, followed by your feed name (in lowercase with no spaces), followed by your feed element's unique ID. For example, feednameforforcedpreview:yourfeedname:12345678. Leave this column blank when you're using filtering values (for example, Placement ID, location, and so on.)
- If you have multiple feeds, you'll see column headers for each feed, separated by commas. You can preview one or more feeds, as long as the values you enter in the template match the filtering rules for each feed.
- Next, you'll see one or more column headers with the label request:, followed by the type of filtering used in the feed. For example, request:dfadynamictargetingkey.
Create a new row, then add a value from your feed's filtering column to preview the matching creative content. For example, the first row of a template for a feed that uses a geo-targeting strategy might look like this: feednameforforcedpreview:yourfeedname:12345678,request:location. You'd add a row, then enter a canonical location name from your feed, such as: "San Francisco,California,United States" (use quotes around values that include commas, otherwise each word between commas in a row will be read as a separate column).
1. The values you use should be identical to the values in your feed. These values may not be the same as the values that appear in the filtering drop-downs in the Preview tab, because some of these values include friendly names or labels.
2. To include more than one filtering value, separate values with a comma and use them in the same order as they appear in the first row. Note: You cannot use both a forced preview value and a filtering value in the same row.
3. Dates/times must be formatted as follows: YYYY-MM-DDTHH:mmZ. For example, if you want to preview creative content for January 13th, 2020, 2:39 PM Mountain Standard Time (MST), you'd enter: 2020-01-13T14:39-07:00.
  1. MM is the two-digit month (in the example above, 01 for January).
  2. DD is the two-digit day (in the example above, 13 for the 13th).
  3. YYYY is the 4-digit year (in the example above, 2020 for the year).
  4. HH:MM is the time in 2-digit hour (in 24 hour format) and minutes (in the example above, 14:39 for 2:39 PM).
  5. Z is for the time difference from the UTC time (in the example above, -07:00 for MST). See a list of UTC offsets.
Add a new row for each filtering value you want to include in your custom preview sheet.
(Optional) To make it easier to identify, rename the template file, giving it a descriptive name for the group of previews you want to appear in your preview sheet.
Save the template file in CSV format (.csv).

Example preview sheet template

For example, with a geo-targeting feed, the first row of your CSV template may look something like this:

request:location,feednameforforcedpreview:geotargetingfeed:12345678

Let's say you want to preview two specific locations from the feed side by side in a preview sheet. In this sample feed, we want to preview Los Angeles and New York, so we'll use the exact location values from the feed: Los Angeles,California,United States and New York,New York,United States. You'd add 2 rows, leaving the forced preview column blank, resulting in a CSV template that looks like this:

request:location,feednameforforcedpreview:geotargetingfeed:12345678
"Los Angeles,California,United States",
"New York,New York,United States",

Because there are commas in the geographic location values, the values are wrapped in quotes so that Studio can recognize them as a single column value.

Step 3: Import the template

If you closed the Import preview sheet window, click Importagain.
Check or uncheck the appropriate boxes for the creative sizes you wish to preview.
Drop your CSV template file in the file upload zone, or click Browse to find it on your computer.
If there are any formatting problems, you'll see details in the import window. Otherwise you'll see "Ready to import".
Click Import to create your custom preview sheet. Your custom preview sheet can be found in the Preview sheets tab. By default, its title is your CSV template's file name followed by the date and time you imported it. For example, "Custom tearsheet.csv - Mar 14, 2020 03:14 PM".

Note: Custom preview sheets cannot be added to existing preview sheets. Instead, first import the custom preview sheet, then click Add to preview sheet to add a group of previews to another preview sheet.

Using imported preview sheets with forced preview

When the CSV template is generated, it will include a column header for forced preview, which allows you to preview a unique row ID, ignoring any filtering rules. Fill out the forced preview column in the CSV with the unique IDs you wish to preview, then import the file.

If both forced preview and filtering values (for example, Placement ID, Location, etc.) are filled out in the CSV file, you'll see a warning, and these rows will be skipped. If every row includes both value types, you won't be able to import the file. Edit the CSV to include only forced OR filtering values on each row, then import again.

Example preview sheet template

For example, with a geo-targeting feed, the first row of your CSV template may look something like this:

request:location,feednameforforcedpreview:geotargetingfeed:12345678

Let's say you want to preview creatives for first two locations from the feed, along with the creative for New York, in a single preview sheet. In this sample feed, the unique IDs for the first two locations are location_01 and location_02. You'd add 2 rows, leaving the location filtering column blank. Then you'd add a third row with the canonical location name for New York, leaving the forced preview column blank, resulting in a CSV template that looks like this:

request:location,feednameforforcedpreview:geotargetingfeed:12345678
        ,location_01
        ,location_02
        "New York,New York,United States",

FAQ

What's the maximum number of rows and file size for the CSV template?

Your CSV template can include up to 6000 rows and the maximum file size is 100 KB. If you need more rows, create additional CSV templates and import them separately.

Can I delete or change the order columns in the CSV template?

Yes, as long as the CSV file imported to Studio contains at least one column header that matches the preview parameters for that profile, the preview sheets can be successfully generated. Therefore, you can change the order of the columns or delete columns if desired.

Can I create preview sheets by importing Excel files?

You can edit the CSV template using Excel, but you'll need to export the file in CSV format before importing it into Studio.

How can I use custom preview sheets for campaigns that use dependent selection?

When using multiple feeds with dependent selection, we recommend only inputting values for the child feed. If you input values for both parent and child feed, the preview will show related content for rows in the child feed that would never get triggered based on the input from the parent feed. Dynamic preview does not understand the dependency between feeds, so in order for a proper preview to be generated, ignore the parent feed and only choose values for the child feed, e.g. using forced preview values.

If you upload preview sheets that only have values assigned for the filterable column from the parent feed, then you might miss out on all eligible content that could be shown in the preview from the child feed.

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