See what a test email looks like
4 minute read · Email
Check the actual email your app produced: its wording, layout, text alternative and attachments. Select the message and confirm whether it came from local or cloud capture.
- Read the message through several views
- Interpret the checks honestly
- Keep test evidence useful
- Build a small template checklist
- Inbox and message viewer controls
Read the message through several views
Start with sender, recipient, subject and time. Open rendered HTML to inspect layout, then compare HTML source, plain text and raw MIME when something looks wrong. Mobile/tablet/desktop preview widths help catch overflow and spacing problems, but they are not a rendering farm for every mail client.
Check a fictional welcome message with a long name, a missing optional field and a narrow width. Read the plain-text version too: a message that looks attractive in HTML can still have unusable fallback text. Download an attachment only when you intend to inspect or save it. The HTML preview iframe omits script permission; viewing a message should not execute its scripts.
Interpret the checks honestly
Spam Analysis uses local heuristics such as subject presence, capitalization, trigger phrases, unsubscribe text, text/HTML balance, shortened links and attachment/sender information. It is not a mailbox provider's spam score and does not verify SPF, DKIM or DMARC.
HTML Check inspects document metadata, image alt text, links, tables, viewport/media queries, deprecated tags, size, background images, scripts/forms and language. Use a finding as a prompt to inspect the template. A clean heuristic report does not guarantee delivery or identical rendering across clients.
Keep test evidence useful
When a template fails, capture the specific view and explain the input that produced it. “The button label is clipped at mobile width when the name is long” is more actionable than a generic score. If the agent fixes the template, send a new captured message and compare the actual result.
Search and clear messages through the source-appropriate local/cloud operation. Check retention before relying on the catcher as a permanent archive. Store an authorized export when you need lasting evidence, and remove private links or addresses before sharing it. See retention.
Build a small template checklist
Send a welcome email with representative fictional data and a second message with a long name or missing optional field. Compare HTML, text and raw MIME; use narrow and wide preview widths. Verify links, alt text, wrapping and attachments rather than judging only the initial desktop view.
Spam Analysis uses local heuristics such as subject text, common phrases, capitalization, links and HTML/text balance. HTML Check highlights structural issues such as metadata, image alt text, viewport rules, deprecated markup and scripts/forms. A passing check is not an inbox-placement guarantee, verified SPF/DKIM/DMARC result or a test in every email client.
The HTML preview does not grant script execution. Download an attachment only when you intend to inspect it. When sharing captured evidence, remove reset links, account tokens and private recipient information. Keep an authorized export if the message must survive cloud retention.
Related guides: local capture, cloud capture.
Inbox and message viewer controls
| Control | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Local / cloud inbox selection | Chooses which capture source you are inspecting. Local and cloud SMTP use different connection details. |
| Search mail | Filters messages using the supported search fields. |
| Message row | Opens the captured message; it does not deliver it to the intended real recipient. |
| SMTP setup | Shows the settings needed to send development mail into this capture source. |
| HTML | Displays the captured HTML body in the email preview. |
| Text | Displays the plain-text alternative, when present. |
| HTML Source / Raw | Shows the HTML source or raw captured message representation. |
| Spam Analysis | Runs the available heuristic checks; it does not guarantee inbox placement with a real mail provider. |
| HTML Check | Lists HTML/template checks for the capture. |
| Tech Info | Shows technical metadata used to diagnose the message. |
| Mobile / Tablet / Desktop | Changes the preview width. This is a layout preview, not a test in every real email client. |
| Total Size / HTML Size / Text Size | Reports captured message/body sizes. |
| Attachments | Lists captured attachments for inspection/download. A filename alone does not prove the file's content is correct. |
| Delete email | Removes the selected captured message through the delete flow. |
| Clear inbox | Clears messages in the selected inbox scope after confirmation. Check the source and scope first. |
For a password-reset template, inspect recipient, subject, text alternative, HTML at narrow width and the actual reset URL. Use only a fictional or expired token when sharing a capture with an agent. See local setup and cloud SMTP.