> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.tented.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Sending Sample Emails > Send a one-off test of any email or template to a real inbox before it goes to an audience ## Why send a sample? The editor's preview is faithful, but nothing beats the real thing: your actual mail client, your actual dark mode, your actual spam filter. **Send Sample** delivers one copy of an email — or an [email template](/email/email-templates) — to any address you choose, so you can look it over in a real inbox before a [blast](/email/email-blasts) or [flow](/email/triggered-flows) sends it to people who matter. ## Where to find it The same dialog is available wherever you work with emails and templates. For emails: * **Email editor** — the **Send Sample** button in the top bar, next to **Approve**. * **Emails list** — select an email, then choose **Send Sample** from the **Email Actions** dropdown. * **Email details page** — the **Email Actions** dropdown, top-right. A screenshot of the email editor's top-bar controls showing the Send Sample button between Preview as and Approve. A screenshot of the Email Actions dropdown on the Emails list with a Send Sample item. For templates: * **Template editor** — the **Send Sample** button in the top bar. * **Templates list** — select a template, then choose **Send Sample** from the **Template Actions** dropdown. Reviewing an old version in **Generation History**? The history toolbar has its own **Send Sample** — it opens the dialog with that generation pre-selected. This works in both the email and template editors. ## Send a sample 1. **Send to** — enter any email address. It doesn't need to belong to a contact. 2. **Version** — defaults to the latest generation. Pick any past generation from the dropdown; your approved version is marked **Approved**. 3. **Personalize as contact** *(optional)* — search by name, email, or phone — or paste a contact ID — and [personalization tokens](/email/personalization) render with that contact's real values. The sample still goes only to the **Send to** address, never to the contact. A screenshot of the Send Sample Email dialog with a recipient field, a version picker showing the latest generation, an optional contact personalization search, and a note that the subject is prefixed with TEST. Without a contact, tokens render the way they would for a contact with no data: defaults like `{{contact.firstName:default=there}}` kick in, and everything else renders blank. Click **Send Sample**, and go check the inbox. ## Drafts welcome Samples work for **drafts and approved emails** alike — no need to approve first. Two things to know: * If a draft doesn't have a from address yet, the sample falls back to your workspace's [default email headers](/email/email-setup). * A **verified sending domain** is still required. Samples travel the same delivery pipeline as real sends — that's what makes them a meaningful test — so an unverified domain blocks them too. See [Setting Up Email](/email/email-setup). ## Sampling a template Templates don't send to audiences, but a sample is a great way to check how one renders in a real inbox before your team builds emails on top of it. Since a template only carries optional [default headers](/email/email-templates), the sample resolves its subject and sender in two steps: 1. The template's own defaults — default subject, from name, from address, and reply-to — are used wherever you've set them. 2. Your workspace's [default email headers](/email/email-setup) fill in anything left blank. If neither the template nor your workspace defaults provide a from address, the send is blocked until you add one. Everything else — [personalization tokens](/email/personalization), sender-profile tokens, the version picker — works exactly as it does for email samples. ## How a sample differs from a real send A sample is built to match a real send as closely as possible — same footer, same link handling, same rendering. The differences: * **The subject is prefixed with "TEST: "** so nobody mistakes it for the real thing. * **Opens and clicks are never recorded.** Links are still rewritten through your click-tracking domain — so you can verify they work end to end — but nothing ever shows up in a results dashboard. * **The unsubscribe link is inert.** It's present and clickable, but leads to a page explaining that unsubscribe is not supported for sample emails. Clicking it never unsubscribes anyone. * **Nothing is counted.** Samples don't count toward your send usage, and they never appear in campaign metrics. ## What's next? Pick a list, pick a time, and launch your first email blast.