Test a flow on your phone

For agents

Guide: Test a flow on your phone

This page: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/flow-builder/test-a-flow-on-your-phone

Topic: Flow builder

Time: about 3 minutes

Who can do it: Owner, Administrator or Manager

Author: https://anantgupta.xyz (Anant Gupta, founder of CommentWatchDog)

Start in the app: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/inbox

Result when done: You have run the saved flow on your own Instagram or Messenger before anyone else gets it.

Context: Test gives you a QR code and a link that open your chat with the page and run the saved version of the flow for you only, even while the flow is off. Nobody else gets anything. The link works for 30 minutes and can be renewed. It runs flows that start in the chat (a message, a link, a new conversation); a comment flow is tested by commenting on your post from your own account.

Before you start

1. Save first: a test runs the last saved version, never unsaved changes.

2. Use your own Instagram or Facebook account on your phone, not the page's.

3. Only people who can edit the page's automations can test.

Steps

Step 1 of 4: Save the flow, then press Test.

Where: Test is in the bar at the top right of the canvas, the button with the phone, right after Build with AI. It is greyed (Save the flow to test it) until the flow is saved, and on a flow that starts from a comment, which a chat link cannot start.

Link: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/inbox (Open the app)

Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-template-ready.en.webp (Test, in the bar: the button with the phone.)

Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-template-ready-phone.en.webp (Test on a phone: the button with the phone.)

You should see: Test on your phone opens: a QR code, Copy link (Open in Instagram on a phone), and the time the link works until.

Step 2 of 4: Scan the QR code, or copy the link.

Where: Scan the QR with your phone's camera, or press Copy link and send it to yourself. On a phone, the green button reads Open in Instagram (or Open in Messenger) instead of Copy link: tap it and skip the scan.

Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-flow-test.en.webp (The QR code that opens your chat with the page.)

Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-flow-test-phone.en.webp (Open in Instagram, on a phone.)

You should see: Your chat with the page opens and the flow starts for you. In Runs it shows as Tested from the builder.

Step 3 of 4: Go through the flow as a customer would.

Where: Tap the buttons, answer the questions, follow the links. Each step runs as it will for real, on the saved version.

You should see: The messages arrive as your customers will see them.

Step 4 of 4: Renew the link when it runs out.

Where: The link works until the time shown in the window. New link makes a fresh one for another 30 minutes.

Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-flow-test.en.webp (The link's end time and New link.)

Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-flow-test-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)

You should see: A new QR and a new end time.

If something is off

Problem: Nothing arrives on Instagram

Fix: Send the page any message from your Instagram, then open the link again. Instagram passes a link into a new chat only while the page shows starter questions (ice breakers).

Problem: Test is greyed out

Fix: Save the flow first. A test runs the saved version, so a flow that was never saved has nothing to test.

Problem: The window says a comment flow starts from a comment

Fix: Test links run flows that start in the chat. For a comment flow, comment on your post from your own account.

Common questions

Question: Can my customers get the test?

Answer: No. The test runs the saved version for you only, whoever opens the link, even while the flow is off. Nobody else gets anything.

Question: How long does a test link work?

Answer: 30 minutes. New link makes a fresh one whenever you need it.

Question: Does the test use my unsaved changes?

Answer: No. It always runs the last saved version, and the window warns you when there are unsaved changes.

Question: How do I test a flow that starts from a comment?

Answer: Comment on your post from your own account. Test links are for flows that start in the chat: a message, a link or a new conversation.

Related guides

Follow a run step by step: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/flow-builder/follow-a-run-step-by-step

Build a flow with AI: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/flow-builder/build-a-flow-with-ai

Versions: compare and restore: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/flow-builder/versions-compare-and-restore

Plain text of this guide: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/flow-builder/test-a-flow-on-your-phone.md

All guides for assistants: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/llms.txt