# Preview a role safely

> PositiveForm guide · User roles · ROLE-002
> Canonical page: https://positiveform.com/guides/roles/preview-user-role/
> This Markdown: https://positiveform.com/guides/roles/preview-user-role.md

**Summary:** Preview a role with server-enforced read-only access. The preview clearly identifies the role, masks protected data when configured, prevents mutation, and…  
**Who can do this:** Studio owners, Organization owners  
**Required access:** `organization.owner`  
**Where in PositiveForm:** `/settings/roles`  
**Status:** Verified on 2026-07-29 against PositiveForm build `2ac7ef8`.

## Who this is for

This guide is for the **organization owner** who wants to see the console the
way a role sees it, before handing that role to a person.

A preview is read-only, and the server enforces that, not just the screen. You
cannot change anything while previewing, however the page looks.

## Before you begin

- Create the role first, in **Settings › User roles**; see
  [Manage reusable roles](https://positiveform.com/guides/roles/manage-user-roles/).
- Know that a preview expires on its own after a short window. You do not have
  to remember to end it, though you should.

## Steps

1. Click **Settings** in the left navigation, then click **User roles**.
2. Find the role you want to check and start its preview.
3. PositiveForm confirms with **Previewing <role> in read-only mode** and takes
   you to the dashboard as that role.
4. Move around the console. Navigation, pages, and actions appear as they would
   for someone holding only that role.
5. Read the banner across the top. It names the role you are previewing, says
   the access is server-enforced and read-only, and gives the time the preview
   expires. If the role masks protected data, the banner says that too.
6. Click **End preview** in the banner when you are done.

## Expected outcome

While the preview runs, the banner is on every page, so you can never mistake a
previewed console for your own. Attempts to change anything are refused by the
server, not merely hidden, so previewing cannot damage a record.

**End preview** returns you to your own access immediately. The preview also
ends by itself at the time the banner names, so a forgotten preview does not
leave you stuck.

Nothing about the role changes by previewing it, and no staff member is
affected.

## Screenshots

![User roles list; Front desk assigned to 1 staff member](https://positiveform.com/guides/media/ROLE-002/20260729T024100Z/001-roles-list.webp)

![Previewing Front desk with End preview banner](https://positiveform.com/guides/media/ROLE-002/20260729T024100Z/002-preview-front-desk.webp)

## Recovery

If the preview will not start, PositiveForm shows **Could not start that role
preview.** with the reason, and your access is unchanged.

If you are unsure whether you are previewing, look for the banner. No banner
means you are yourself.

If **End preview** fails, wait for the expiry named in the banner, or reload the
page and try again. Your own access returns either way.

If the console looks more limited than you expected, that is the point: the role
carries fewer permissions than you thought. End the preview and adjust the role
in [Manage reusable roles](https://positiveform.com/guides/roles/manage-user-roles/).

## Related guides

- [Manage reusable roles](https://positiveform.com/guides/roles/manage-user-roles/) — change the role once the preview shows you
  what it actually reaches.
- [Manage staff access](https://positiveform.com/guides/staff/manage-staff-access/) — give the role to a person once
  you are satisfied.

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Source: PositiveForm customer guides, https://positiveform.com/guides/. 
Every guide as one file for AI assistants: https://positiveform.com/llms-full.txt. 
Guide index: https://positiveform.com/llms.txt.