Preview the portal as a specific member

This guide shows you how to see the member portal exactly as a specific member sees it, so you can troubleshoot questions like “why can’t I see my history?” or “why doesn’t my profile look right?”

Who can do this: Admins whose role includes the preview-as-member permission. If your role doesn’t include it, the Preview as member button is not shown.

Seeing the button is not a guarantee. Some roles can see Preview as member but still can’t start a preview, and when that happens it will not start no matter how many times you try. See If something goes wrong below.

Before you start

Preview mode is read-only. You can navigate the portal but you can’t make changes on the member’s behalf.
The preview session lasts 30 minutes. There is no way to extend it — start a new preview if you need more time.

Steps

Start a preview session

Open the member’s detail page. See View a member record in detail.
Select Preview as member.
A dialog confirms the member’s name. Select Start preview.
The portal opens as that member would see it. A yellow “Previewing as {name} — read-only” banner stays at the top of the screen the whole time you’re in preview mode.

What you can and can’t do in preview

In preview mode, you can:

Navigate between all portal tabs the member has access to (Profile, Membership, Activity, Household, and others).
See exactly which fields the member can see — admin-only fields are hidden from the preview view, matching what the member actually sees.
See the suspension message if the member’s account is currently suspended.

You cannot:

Edit any of the member’s information.
Submit payments, renewals, or RSVPs on their behalf.
Access admin routes while previewing.

End a preview session

Select Exit preview and sign out in the banner at the top of the screen. This signs you out of MapleGather — it does not drop you back onto the member’s record. Sign back in and you’ll return to your own account with the preview ended, back on that member’s admin detail page.

Signing out is how you end a preview early today, which is why the button says so. While a preview is running, your own admin pages are unavailable — including the member record you started from — so there is nowhere to return you to until the preview is over.

The session also ends on its own after 30 minutes. If you’re still previewing with 5 minutes left, a countdown appears in the banner; when it runs out the preview ends and you’re returned to the member’s record. There is no way to extend a preview — start a new one from the member’s detail page if you need more time.

Verify

You’ll know the preview started when the yellow banner appears at the top of the screen and the portal shows the member’s name.

If you ended it with Exit preview and sign out, you’ll know it worked when you land on the MapleGather sign-in page. If you waited for the 30 minutes to run out, you’ll know it ended when the banner disappears and you’re back on the member’s admin detail page.

If something goes wrong

“Preview as member” button isn’t visible — your admin role does not include the preview-as-member permission at all. Contact your org owner. (If the button is visible but the preview will not start, that is the next entry, not this one.)
“Preview can’t be started for this member” — this is not a temporary glitch, and trying again will not help. Either your role doesn’t allow previewing, or that member is no longer available to preview. There is nothing you can change on this page to fix it — contact your org owner, who can check your role or the member’s record.
“Could not start preview — try again” — a genuine temporary error. This one is worth retrying; if it keeps happening, contact your org owner.
“Preview session has ended” — the 30-minute session expired. Select Return to member record in the dialog that appears. Start a new preview from the member’s detail page if needed.
You selected “Exit preview and sign out” and were signed out — that’s what the control does; it isn’t a fault. Sign back in to return to your own account.
An admin page shows “not found” while you’re previewing — expected. Your own admin pages are unavailable for the length of the preview. End the preview to get them back.