Litmus Extension

What is the Litmus Extension?

The Litmus Extension is a Chrome extension that easily allows you to preview and test HTML emails on your desktop and inside your email service provider. 

Litmus Extension is available on the following ESPs:

Plus & Above:

• Mailchimp
• Pardot

Enterprise:

• Salesforce Marketing Cloud (formerly ExactTarget)
• Acoustic Campaign (formerly IBM Watson Campaign Automation)
• Marketo
• Eloqua
• Responsys
• Adobe Campaign Standard

Table of contents

• Installing the Litmus Extension
• Testing local HTML files on your desktop
• Testing inside your Email Service Provider
• Switching Litmus accounts
• Editing email client selection
• Email Previews usage
• FAQs

Installing the Litmus Extension

• Visit the Litmus Extension in the Chrome store
• Click Add to Chrome
• Click Add extension
• Go to the extension settings in Chrome and be sure to select On all sites under Site Access, as well as Allow access to file URLs 
• Click on the Litmus Extension icon which will walk you through onboarding steps
• Use the Litmus Extension when viewing a local HTML file or inside your ESP by clicking on the icon!

✏️ Note: You will need to refresh the page if trying to use the Litmus Extension in the first session of installing it.

Testing local HTML files on your desktop

The Litmus Extension works alongside any editor—Dreamweaver, Sublime Text, Atom, Coda, Brackets, etc.—because it works in the browser.

Once you have the Litmus Extension installed, open a .html file in your browser and click on the Litmus Extension to activate it. The Litmus Extension will slide out as a sidebar and automatically generate Email Previews in your default selected email clients.

You can easily resize the Litmus Extension for complete flexibility of your testing environment.

You can dive into detailed view—even at full screen—to get a clear view of your rendering. Just like the Litmus web app, you can seamlessly toggle through Email Previews by using the left/right arrow key shortcuts.

The Litmus Extension also has images off view support for email clients.

If you ever encounter an error with Email Previews properly loading or capturing, you can easily recapture all Email Previews with the refresh toggle next to the Litmus logo or a single Email Preview with the keyboard shortcut ‘r’ key:

Additionally, the Litmus Extension also plays nicely with localhost and static site generators, as well as your task runner of choice, such as Grunt or Gulp. The Litmus Extension is automatically reloaded and regenerates Email Previews on every page reload with these build systems.

Testing inside your email service provider

Once you have the Litmus Extension installed, simply open your email campaign in your email service provider (ESP) and click on the Litmus Extension to activate it. You will get a full Previews & QA test for your email—first impressions, image check, link check, tracking check—living right alongside your ESP.

We currently have support for Mailchimp, Salesforce Marketing Cloud (formerly ExactTarget), Pardot, Acoustic Campaign (formerly IBM Watson Campaign Automation), Marketo, Eloqua, Responsys, and Adobe Campaign Standard.

You can dive into detailed views—even at full screen—to get a clear view of your rendering. Just like the Litmus web app, you can seamlessly toggle through Email Previews by using the left/right arrow key shortcuts.

If you ever encounter an error with Checklist or Email Previews properly loading or capturing, you can easily recapture a full Checklist with the refresh toggle next to the Litmus logo or a single Preview with the keyboard shortcut ‘r’ key.

To view your Checklist inside the Litmus web app, simply click on the View in Litmus button at the bottom:

Switching Litmus accounts

To change the Litmus account you are using, simply click on the dropdown menu at the top left and select Switch accounts. From there, you can select a different account to use the Litmus Extension with.

Editing email client selection

To edit the email clients you wish to test in, simply select the dropdown menu at the top left and select Configure email clients. This will bring you to your Email Client Settings page in your Litmus account where you can customize the default email clients you’d like to test in. These default email clients will appear in the Litmus Extension, Builder, and Previews & QA any time you test and are personalized by the user (not account-level).

If you are testing, you can also click on the Configure email clients link at the top of the Email Previews section:

Email Previews usage

All Email Previews generated via the Litmus Extension (both testing local HTML files and inside ESPs) are counted as usage in the Litmus account you are logged into and are added to your total allowance. For example, let’s say you have generated 100 Previews via Builder in-app and 100 Previews via an in-app Previews & QA test for a total of 200 Previews. If you generate 100 Previews through the Litmus Extension, that will add to your usage for a total of 300 Previews for your account.

FAQs

I’m having trouble getting tests to run with the Litmus Extension. What do I do?

Don’t worry!

• First, be sure that you have enabled the Allow access to file URLs option in the extension settings in Chrome. 
• Second, if this is your first time using the Litmus Extension, please refresh your local HTML file or ESP campaign page and try restarting the Litmus Extension by clicking on the icon.
• Do you have the setting enabled to block third party cookies? Blocking third party cookies also blocks sessionStorage, which is required for the extension to work. Please turn that setting off and allow third-party cookies for the extension to work.
• If you are still having problems, please email our friendly support team at hello@litmus.com.

Is the Litmus Extension available in other browsers besides Chrome?

No, currently the Litmus Extension is only available in Chrome.

Can I use the Litmus Extension with my email service provider?

We currently have support for Mailchimp, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Pardot, Acoustic Campaign (formerly IBM Watson Campaign Automation), Marketo, Eloqua, Responsys, and Adobe Campaign Standard for testing inside ESPs with the Litmus Extension.

Are my Email Previews or Previews & QA tests stored in my Litmus account?

Your Previews & QA tests generated inside your ESP via the extension are stored in your Litmus account, but Email Previews generated when testing local HTML files are not (deleted after your Litmus Extension session is over). Any edits and refreshes to Previews & QA tests are saved as new versions inside the Litmus web app.

Are Email Previews generated via the Litmus Extension counted against my total allowance?

Yes, all Email Previews generated via the Litmus Extension (both testing local HTML files and inside ESPs) are counted as usage in the Litmus account you are logged into and are added to your total allowance.

Can I use multiple Litmus accounts with the Litmus Extension?

Yes, you can use as many Litmus accounts as you would like with the Litmus Extension. To switch an account, simply use the account dropdown menu in the top left.

Can I share Email Previews or Previews & QA tests generated via the Litmus Extension?

Yes, Previews & QA tests generated via the Litmus Extension can be shared by clicking the Open in Litmus button to view the full email in Litmus, which includes sharing options.

Previews generated from testing local HTML are not shareable currently.

Does the Litmus Extension work with dynamic content?

Yes, read more about how to test dynamic content with the Litmus Extension.