Guides can be presented to users using several different methods, automatic, badge, target element, and programmatic activation. A guide can have multiple activation methods to achieve the desired behavior. For example, a badge-activated tooltip can open automatically the first time the user sees it but only activate when the badge is clicked after that. If no activation options are selected, the default is programmatically which means the guide can be activated from the resource center, launched by another guide, by using the permalink, or with the agent API. Programmatic activation options are still available if other activation options are selected.
Automatic, badge, and target element activation are setup under activation settings in the action bar. Element Contains rules are setup in Location settings for the first guide step.
Automatic
Automatic activation displays the guide as soon as all of the conditions for displaying that guide are met. The requirements for segment, page, target element, device type, guide throttling, and localization settings must all be fulfilled for the guide to deploy.
An automatic guide displays until it is dismissed by the user, either via the ‘X’ close button in the upper-right corner or a button with the dismiss action in the guide, or the Esc key when using keyboard navigation. You should expect your users to see a guide set to automatic activation multiple times until they dismiss it. Automatic guides can be reactivated for users that have dismissed them using repeat guide display.
If activation is set to automatic and has another activation method, the logic for automatic activation overrides the other activation. Once a visitor advances or dismisses the guide, they will no longer be eligible to activate the guide via the second activation.
Repeat Guide Display
Repeat guide display shows a guide that a visitor has completed or dismissed again. Settings control how often and how many times a visitor may see the guide. The visitor must still be eligible to see the guide according to the target segment and location criteria to see it again. The guide still adheres to snooze, ignore throttling, and scheduled expiration behavior as expected.
Repeat guide display is configured in the Visual Design Studio in Activation Settings when a guide is set to activate automatically.
- Repeat every - Set how often the visitor sees the guide. The repeat interval starts when the visitor sees the guide. They are eligible to see the guide again when it has elapsed. Intervals can be set at a range of 1 - 10,000 hours or days.
- Expiration Type - Limit how many total times a visitor sees the guide or set it to never expire. The number of dismissals controls the maximum number of times the visitor may see the guide at the repeat interval. Guide behavior still follows normal automatic guide activation behavior and additional views are possible if a user does not interact with a guide. If a guide is active, it continues to display until the visitor completes or dismisses it. A repeating guide that never expires shows again on the repeat interval until the guide is disabled or the visitor is no longer in the target segment.
Tip: Use repeat guide display carefully and sparingly. Visitors can get guide fatigue if they receive a constant stream of guides while using your product. Repeating in-app messaging can contribute to this. It may be tempting to show a guide again until a user takes action but it should only be done when absolutely necessary. If visitors aren't taking action after seeing a guide reconsider your guide design, messaging, or friction in your app before spamming them with the same message over and over again.
Using a combination of activation and targeting settings can help show the guide when appropriate and remove the visitor from the segment when it's no longer relevant. For example, repeat a guide until a user updates a critical setting, but add a rule in the segment that only shows the guide to visitors who have never used that feature and target the element in Location settings on step 1 so the guide only shows when that element is visible.
Badge
Badges (2) let you place a small icon next to an element on your page. When your visitors click that element, the guide will be shown. This is a fantastic way to add inline support to your web application - your users can request information at the moment they need it.
Badge Target Element
When you choose the badge option, you will be in "Target Mode" to choose the element. The badge will appear next to the chosen element.
If the guide is a walkthrough, the badge location will be determined by the target element and location determined by the first step of the guide so you will see this warning message:
Badge Icon
Choose from one of our provided badge icons or upload one of your own. The color of our provided icons can be modified with the color input below the icon dropdown.
Badge Position
This determines where the badge appears in relation to the target element. Choose Top-right, Top-left, or inline.
Badge Offset
The Top and Right offset allow you to adjust the positioning of the badge in relation to the target element. Both positive and negative pixel values are accepted.
Badge Guide Behavior
"Show on badge hover or click" will display the Guide if the badge icon is hovered over or clicked. "Show only on badge click" will not display the Guide when the badge is hovered over.
Badge Behavior
"Always show badge" will display the badge next to the target element no matter what the user is hovering over. "Show badge only on element hover" will only display the badge when the mouse is hovering over the targeted element.
Badge Frequency
"Always show" will leave the badge in place even if a user has seen the guide before, allowing them to reference the information again and again. "Show only once" will cause the badge to disappear for a user if they have already seen the guide.
Target Element
This method (3) will launch a guide when a user clicks on a designated element within your application.
Location
The location is inherited from the first step of the Guide. To change the location, edit the location from Step 1.
Guide Behavior
"Show on badge hover or click" will display the tooltip if the badge icon is hovered over or clicked. "Show only on badge click" will not display the tooltip when the badge is hovered over.
Frequency
"Always show" will leave the badge in place even if a user has seen the guide before, allowing them to reference the information again and again. "Show only once" will cause the badge to disappear for a user if they have already seen the guide.
No Activation Method
By choosing none or deselecting all options, you will see this message:
Other than launching the Guide via API, it can also be activated via the Guide permalink or if it’s added to the Resource Center.
Scheduling
Regardless of activation method, if you want a guide to display for a specific period of time, you have the option of adding a "Guide Start Date" and "Guide Expires" date and time from the Guide Details Page.
If you select a start date for a guide, the guide status must be set to Scheduled in order for the guide to publish on the selected date.
Element Contains Rule
Guides display conditionally based on the contents of the target element using an Element Contains rule. Element Contains rules recognize text or numbers and can only be set on the first step of a Guide. Only one Element Contains rule can be configured per Guide.
Setup an Element Contains Rule
1. Target the element containing the value you want to validate on the Location tab of Step 1.
2. Use selectors that contain dynamic or user-entered content, elements like input, div, or span. Avoid :contains() rules. These force an exact content match to display the Guide Step and may prevent an Element Contains rule from working as intended.
3. Toggle Enable Element Contains Rule to configure the rule. This will display the current content contained in your target element. Adjust the target element if needed.
4. Select Content Type, matching option, and value. This can be text or a number with different matching options for each.
Text is not case-sensitive. Rules include punctuation and symbols. Text can be used to read input fields on user-entered text in a form. For example, the rule Does Not Contain "@" on an email field could validate if the user entered a valid email address and present a Guide if they did not.
Validation Options treat the element contents as a string and look for matches within the collected value.
- Contains
- Does Not Contain
- Exactly Matches
- Does Not Match
Number recognizes the value as a float and does not recognize certain formats such as date, time, currency, or punctuation other than decimals. For comparing values, one period following a number and a leading minus sign indicating a negative number are recognized. Commas are ignored. Any other leading punctuation is ignored. Punctuation or symbols after a number are treated as the end of the number.
- Equals
- Not Equal To
- Is Greater Than
- Is Less Than
Supported Formats
| Element Contents | Value Used for Comparison |
| 1234 | 1234 |
| -1234 | -1234 |
| 12.34 | 12.34 |
| 0.1234 | 0.1234 |
| No value | |
| $1234 | 1234 |
| 12.34% | 12.34 |
| 1,234 | 1234 |
| 001234 | 1234 |
Unsupported Formats
| Element Contents | Value Used for Comparison |
| .1234 - No leading 0 for decimal | 1234 |
| 12/34 - Fraction | 12 |
| 12:34AM - Time | 12 |
| 12/12/21 - Date | 12 |
| 1.2.3.4 - IP Address | 1.2 |
| €12,34 - Comma used in international currency | 1234 |
| (123)456-7890 - Phone Number | 123 |
| 12, 34, 56 - Space-separated | 12 |
5. The Rule builder validates the current content of the target element with the current rule. Remember the current content should be a dynamic value. It's ok if the rule does not pass when setting it up. It allows you to verify that your rule works as intended.
- If the rule passes the Guide will display
- If it does not pass, the Guide will not display
6. Value is a required field. The Element Contains rule cannot be saved unless a value is entered.
7. Click Done to save the Element Contains rule. Don't forget to save changes to the Guide in the Action Bar.
FAQ
"System User" is changing my guides?
That status is set when a guide is scheduled to end. The system sets the guide to disabled and that is the status that shows. "System user" then becomes the last editor of a guide.