GF Live Preview

Preview Gravity Forms confirmations and notifications with real entry data — directly inside the WordPress admin.

Overview

GF Live Preview eliminates the guesswork from building Gravity Forms emails and confirmations. Instead of submitting test entries, sending yourself emails, and cross-referencing merge tags manually, this plugin renders a pixel-accurate preview of every notification and confirmation using actual entry data — all without leaving the WordPress admin.

Requirements

Installation

1. Purchase and download GF Live Preview from Freemius.
2. In your WordPress admin, go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin.
3. Upload the .zip file and click Install Now.
4. Activate the plugin.
5. Enter your Freemius license key when prompted (see License Activation).

License Activation

After activating the plugin, you'll see a Freemius opt-in screen. Enter the license key from your purchase confirmation email. Once activated, your license handles automatic updates and premium support access.

If you need to transfer your license to a different site, deactivate the license on the current site first via Forms → Settings → GF Live Preview → Account.

Entry Detail Preview

Navigate to any form entry (Forms → Entries → [any entry]). Below the entry details, you'll see a "Confirmation & Notification Preview" panel.

• A dropdown selector lists every confirmation and notification configured for that form.
• Each one renders with the current entry's merge tag data.
• The confirmation that would actually fire for the current entry is labeled "Active."

Notification Editor

When editing any notification (Forms → [form] → Settings → Notifications → [notification]), a "Live Preview" section appears at the bottom of the settings page.

• Select any existing entry from the dropdown to preview that notification with real merge tag values.
• Changes to the notification settings above are reflected in the preview after saving.

Confirmation Editor

Same experience as the Notification Editor, but for confirmations. Located at Forms → [form] → Settings → Confirmations → [confirmation].

• Message-type confirmations render their full HTML content.
• Redirect-type and Page-type confirmations display the resolved destination URL.

Form Settings Tab

A dedicated "Live Preview" tab is added under Forms → [form] → Settings. This provides the same full preview experience as the entry detail view, but allows you to select any entry from the form to preview against.

Merge Tag Resolution

All merge tags — {Name:1}, {:date}, {all_fields}, etc. — are replaced with actual values from the selected entry. GF Live Preview includes a fallback resolver that catches any merge tags Gravity Forms' native parser misses.

Merge Tag Inspector

An expandable table below the preview shows every available merge tag for the current form, along with its label and the resolved value for the selected entry. This is invaluable for debugging complex notification templates.

Device Preview

Toggle the preview viewport between three device sizes:

Email Client Simulation

Preview your notifications through simulated email client frames:

• Gmail — Standard Gmail web interface frame
• Outlook — Outlook web/desktop frame
• Apple Mail — macOS/iOS Mail frame

Each client frame includes a dark mode toggle so you can verify how your emails look in both light and dark themes.

Send Test Emails

Send any notification — or any message-type confirmation — as a real email to any address. This uses Gravity Forms' native send_notification pipeline, meaning your email template, routing, and headers are identical to what recipients would actually receive.

Conditional Logic

If a notification has conditional logic rules, GF Live Preview evaluates those rules against the selected entry and displays the result:

• Notifications that would send display normally.
• Notifications that would not send are flagged with a visible "Would not send" label.

On the Entry Detail page, the confirmation that would actually fire for the current entry is labeled "Active."

Toolbar Actions

Every preview includes a toolbar with these actions:

• Print — Send the rendered preview to your system print dialog.
• Copy HTML — Copy the full HTML markup to your clipboard.
• Copy Plain Text — Copy a text-only version to your clipboard.
• Open in New Tab — View the rendered preview in a standalone browser tab.
• Raw HTML — Toggle to see the raw HTML source for debugging.

Attachment display is also available: if a notification includes file upload field attachments, they're listed below the preview.

Technical Architecture

• Single PHP class (GF_Live_Preview) with static methods, initialized after the gform_loaded action.
• Freemius SDK integration for licensing, automatic updates, and premium code gating.
• Four AJAX endpoints — all nonce-protected and capability-checked (gravityforms_edit_forms):
  • Notification preview
  • Confirmation preview
  • Form-level preview
  • Send test email
• Frontend assets: assets/css/admin.css and assets/js/admin.js.
• No custom database tables. No stored settings beyond Freemius license data.
• Email content renders inside a sandboxed iframe to prevent WordPress admin CSS from interfering with the email's actual appearance.

Hooks & Filters

GF Live Preview respects the following Gravity Forms hook:

gform_html_message_template_pre_send_email

If your theme or another plugin uses this filter to wrap email content in a custom HTML template, GF Live Preview will render through that template so your previews match what recipients actually see.

FAQ

Does this work with multisite?

Yes. GF Live Preview functions on individual sites within a WordPress multisite network. Each site requires its own Freemius license activation.

How many entries can I switch between?

The entry selector dropdown loads up to 50 of the most recent entries for the current form. Switching entries re-renders the entire preview via AJAX without a page reload.

Will this slow down my admin?

No. Assets are only enqueued on Gravity Forms admin pages where the plugin is active. AJAX previews are loaded on demand, not on page load.

Does it work with custom notification templates?

Yes. If you use the gform_html_message_template_pre_send_email filter to apply a custom email wrapper, GF Live Preview renders through that template automatically.

What happens with redirect or page-type confirmations?

Since these confirmation types don't have renderable HTML content, GF Live Preview displays the resolved destination URL with any merge tags replaced by the selected entry's values.

Support

For bug reports, feature requests, or general questions:

• Email: hello@rocketstack.tools
• Freemius Support: Open a ticket via the plugin's account page in your WordPress admin (Forms → Settings → GF Live Preview → Contact Us).

Premium license holders receive priority support with a typical response time of one business day.