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Preview Shows 0 Recipients with Target-Form Filters (Premium)

Sometimes the batch preview shows 0 recipients even when you know there should be matches. This is almost always due to merge tags in conditional logic.


Why It Happens #

  • The Mass Email Conditional section in feed settings lets you filter by target-form values.
  • If you use merge tags (like pulling a date from the control form), the preview engine can’t resolve them.
  • As a result, the preview estimate displays 0 recipients.

What Actually Happens #

  • At send time, those merge tags are filled in with real values from the control form.
  • The batch then queries the target form entries using those resolved values.
  • The correct recipients are included, even though the preview couldn’t show them.

Example #

  • Control form includes a date field: {EventDate:3}.
  • Target form filter: “Registration Date is after {EventDate:3:meff}.”
  • Preview shows 0, but once submitted, all matching entries are pulled.

Tips #

  • Don’t panic if you see 0 in preview with merge tags in filters.
  • Test with a simpler static filter first to verify logic works.
  • If unsure, create a small test form and run a sample batch.

This is a known limitation of previews — actual sending always uses the proper recipients.