The Simulator lets you test and preview how dialogues, listeners, and other elements behave on a webpage in real-time. This helps you understand how BlueConic will interact with visitors based on your settings for segments, dialogues, variants, and profile properties before going live.
Before you begin
To use the BlueConic Simulator, make sure the web page you want to test meets the following requirements:
It is part of a defined channel in your BlueConic implementation.
It contains the BlueConic script.
It is available over HTTPS.
It is allowed to open in an iframe.
Navigate to the Simulator
To use the Simulator:
Click More > Simulator in the main navigation menu.
Enter the URL of the page you want to view.
Once the page has loaded in the Simulator, you will see all associated BlueConic objects in the side widgets.
If the URL entered is not part of your channels, the URL bar will display an orange border and a warning sign. In this case, you will not be able to manipulate the content of the page using the widgets.
Context widget
The context widget allows you to simulate user scenarios by setting:
Device: Different screen sizes and device properties (resolution, OS)
Good for testing device-specific dialogues.
Persona: Predefined user profiles and properties
Good for simulating different user roles and permissions.
Personas can be imported and exported in zip files for sharing.
Date and Time: Specific dates and times
Good for testing time-sensitive dialogues.
Add a persona
To add a persona in the Simulator, you have a few options:
Create a new persona: Select the Show full profile in the Profile widget and select Save as Persona. Enter a name and select an image for that persona. You can pick the persona image from a predefined list or upload your own image.
Import an existing persona: Select Import and choose the zip file with the persona definition. Then, click the persona definition to activate it in the Simulator.
After creating a persona, you can:
Export it and save it for later use in the Simulator by clicking the Settings icon and choosing Export. This creates a zip file with the persona definition.
Delete it by clicking the Settings icon and choosing Delete.
Profile widget
The profile widget in the Simulator shows the properties of the current visitor based on your simulated behavior:
Watched properties: Pinned properties that are always shown. You can mark properties for watching by clicking the "glasses" icon that appears when hovering over it.
Changed properties: Properties altered in the last action (such as a click or refresh), marked with a blue dot.
Show full profile: Opens a detailed view of a profile (property, current, previous values). In this window, you can also select another permission level to adjust the simulated legislation and objectives.
Selecting a profile property in this widget will show its details, including:
Property name
Permission level
Current value (Selecting this value lets you set or add a value manually)
Previous value
Watch this property toggle
Timeline events widget
The Timeline widget shows all Timeline events on the current profile's timeline.
Select Show all Timeline events to see a list of BlueConic Timeline events.
Segments widget
The Segments widget provides an overview of segments:
Watched segments: Pinned segments that are always shown. You can mark segments for watching by clicking the "glasses" icon that appears when clicking it.
Entered or exited segments: Segments that you either just entered or have just left, based on the latest changes in the profile.
Show all segments: Opens a lightbox showing all segments.
The green or red indicator to the right of a segment shows whether the current profile is part of that segment. Selecting a segment in this widget will show its details:
If you are not part of the segment you are inspecting, you can automatically adapt the profile property to fit into this segment. This is helpful in situations where you want to be able to quickly test dialogues or interactions for a specific segment. In the following example, the current profile does not meet the criteria for the "Engaged subscribers" segment.
Dialogues widget
The Dialogues widget displays all dialogues, grouped by position, and variants active on the page you are viewing.
Select a dialogue to show all other dialogues defined in that position, highlighting the position on the page.
Hover over a position on the page to highlight the position.
Use the search to narrow down the list of dialogues and find specific dialogues or variants.
All dialogue variants not listed are available under Show other dialogues link.
Selecting a segment in this widget will show its details, including:
A link to the configuration page of that dialogue.
A link to the position that dialogue is using.
Information on why this dialogue is not shown on the page.
For example, because the start date is not yet reached or the status is off.
Testing a dialogue
You can manipulate the simulation of dialogues on the page in two ways:
Click the eye symbol in front of a dialogue to preview that dialogue or variant in that position.
Toggle the switch to the right of each dialogue to change its status in the simulation. A change in the status of a dialogue will be effective at the next page refresh or click.
Listeners widget
The Listeners widget displays all listeners that are configured to work on the page you are viewing. To the right of each listener is a colored toggle that indicates whether the listener is currently active.
To change the status of a listener in the simulation, toggle the switch. An "S" will appear indicating that the change is only applicable for this simulation. The status change is effective at the next page refresh or click.
Click a listener to see its details, including a direct link to navigate to the settings of that listener, and add it to your watchlist.
Add or hide listeners by togging between the Show other listeners and Hide other listeners settings found at the bottom of the widget.
Connections widget
The Connections widget shows all connections configured to run on the current channel or page.
Use the sliders to enable or disable connections.
Clicking on a connection opens a window showing:
The connection name
A link to its configuration page
The connection type
A watch this connection toggle
Clean data from the Simulator
During simulations, you can use the widgets in the sidebars. Once every 24 hours, the views, clicks, and conversions will be removed for simulator profiles so it does not affect your long-term reporting data. However, profiles keep variants in profile properties that track clicks, conversions, and views of variants.
To clean up simulation data:
Click the Clean up button next to the URL address bar. This deletes profiles that were used in the simulation. It also deletes all views, clicks, and conversion data generated during simulation.
FAQs
Why am I seeing a "Loading HTTP content" warning?
To maximize the security of your profile data, the Simulator runs in HTTPS mode. If you try to open an HTTP site, your browser might block it by default. To resolve this, click the shield icon in the right corner of your browser's address bar and click the "load unsafe script" option to enable BlueConic to load the requested web page and proceed safely.
Why am I seeing a "Something went wrong" error?
Some websites have security settings that prevent them from being embedded in an iframe. This results in an error pop-up that reads "This page doesn't allow embedding in other websites/applications such as BlueConic." However, you can still view and interact with the site by clicking Open the page in a pop-up window. This will open the site in a new window that is connected to the Simulator. You can still use all the Simulator's widgets to interact with the page in the pop-up window.
Why isn't the Simulator loading?
If the page you're trying to load doesn't contain the BlueConic script, you won't be able to use it. After trying to load the page for more than 5 seconds, the loading window will stall.
If you're sure the script is on the page, the slow loading could be caused by other issues or you might have a slow connection to the site.
How often is the simulation data cleaned up?
The views, clicks, and conversions for simulator profiles are removed every 24 hours.
Why am I seeing "BlueConic script cannot be found" on this page in the Simulator?
Ensure that you have the BlueConic Chrome/Firefox extension installed and that ad blockers or other privacy extensions are disabled.
Can I save the changes I make in the Simulator?
No, the Simulator is for testing purposes only, and changes are not saved.