Need to show content when users click a button or complete an action, rather than automatically on page load? Here's how!
Choose how the content should open
A Candu component with an Interactions panel: select the CTA in the Editor and use Trigger Overlay, Trigger Tour, or Trigger Hotspots in the Interactions panel. For a target overlay, publish it without a placement, then choose it in the source CTA’s action.
A button or link already in your app: first check the content type. For overlays, configure Click to trigger in Placements. For product tours, use Tour Start Settings. These methods identify the app element users will click. For hotspots, follow the hotspot-specific trigger guidance; a developer can connect your app button to the hotspot JavaScript trigger. Do not apply overlay or tour controls to a hotspot group without checking that those controls are available.
An event handled by your application: use a programmatic trigger with your developer. See the JavaScript API section below.
Example: To open a help modal from a Candu card, publish the target modal without a placement and add Trigger Overlay to the card’s CTA. You do not need to invent a selector just to publish that target. Check the intended audience for both the source content and the target overlay, then test the click in your app.
Trigger buttons and content anchors are different
The trigger determines what starts the experience. An anchor selector identifies the element a hotspot beacon or tour tooltip points to. Publishing a CTA-triggered hotspot without a placement does not remove its anchor selectors: its beacons still need the intended elements on the destination page.
When finding a selector, start with the page URL and the button’s visible label or purpose. Inspect the actual destination page or its captured snapshot. Editor toolbar controls and the page shown inside the editor are different surfaces, even when you use Candu to provide help inside Candu itself.
Before you get started
Most Candu content requires a placement to determine where and when it appears. For overlays and hotspots triggered by another Candu CTA (or used as ‘Change Content’), publish the triggered content without a placement. For tours, use the tour’s Start Settings to put it in trigger mode, then publish.
When to publish without a placement
You should publish content without a placement when it will be:
Triggered by Candu CTAs
When one piece of Candu content launches another (for example, a button in a modal that starts a product tour), the triggered content doesn’t need its own placement. You’ll trigger it using Trigger Overlay, Trigger Tour, or Trigger Hotspots, depending on the content type.
Used in "Change Content" interactions
Overlay content that swaps in when users interact with existing content doesn't need a separate placement, it inherits visibility rules from the parent content.
Triggered programmatically
Modals, tours, and hotspots can be triggered when specific events occur in your app using Candu’s JavaScript API. Inline content can also be rendered programmatically. See our developer documentation for implementation details. Note: JavaScript-triggered tours can still be accessible after being unpublished, so remove trigger code when the campaign is over. See our developer documentation for implementation details.
URL parameters let you launch tours, modals, and hotspots automatically when users click a link. Learn more about Candu's built-in URL parameters.
How to Publish Without a Placement
Click Publish in the Editor
Select your target segments
Note: Segmentation rules still apply. Only users matching your segments will see this content when triggered.
When prompted to add a placement, click Publish without a placement
Your content is now ready to be triggered.
How to Trigger Your Content
From a Candu CTA (opens new content):
In your triggering content, select the call-to-action (button/link)
In the Interactions panel, choose the right trigger action: Trigger Overlay, Trigger Tour, or Trigger Hotspots.
Select the published content you want to trigger from the dropdown.
From a "Change Content" interaction (swaps content):
In your parent content, select the call-to-action (button/link)
In the Interactions panel, add the "Change Content" action
Select the published overlay, tour, or hotspot group you want to trigger from the dropdown
Trigger from code (JavaScript API)
Use this when the trigger is an in-app event (purchase completed, project created, etc.).
Placements/URL targeting rules do not apply when you trigger programmatically; segmentation still does.
Heads up: JavaScript-triggered content can bypass publish state, so remove the trigger code when you’re done with the campaign.
window.Candu.triggerModal({ slug: 'your-modal-slug' })
window.Candu.triggerTour({ slug: 'your-tour-slug' })
window.Candu.triggerHotspotGroup({ slug: 'your-hotspots-slug' })For more details, review our JavaScript API docs.
Open content from a text hyperlink
If you are editing a text hyperlink that only accepts a URL, use a trigger URL rather than looking for a button’s Interactions panel. Start with the actual page in your application where the experience should appear, and copy the target content’s slug from Settings > General. The slug is not the editor content ID.
Choose the parameter for the target type: canduTour for a tour, canduModal for an overlay/modal, or canduHotspot for hotspots. See Triggering Tours with URL Parameters for supported query and hash formats.
Use your real destination page, not a Candu editor or dashboard URL unless Candu itself is the intended host. Preserve existing query parameters and application routing. On a single-page app, check that navigation retains the trigger parameter. Confirm the intended audience, content setup and any tour or hotspot anchors, then test the link as an eligible user.
Troubleshooting
Can’t find the content in the dropdown: confirm it’s published (and for overlays/hotspots, published without a placement).
Triggered content doesn’t show: check segment targeting (segmentation still applies).
Triggering tours across pages: use URL parameters or programmatic triggers.
Checklist guides and blocked video embeds
For a checklist that launches guides, test the source CTA, minimized state, target tour and return path together in the installed application. Preserve the user’s current record when a guide is contextual rather than linking to a builder’s private example.
If linked video content works externally but its embedded player is blocked, inspect the browser’s reported cause. The host application’s frame-src policy and the provider’s embedding restrictions are separate checks. Ask the responsible owner to review the specific required origin or provider setting; do not disable the security policy. Keep a clearly labeled external link until inline playback has been verified.
See Build a checklist that launches contextual tours for a complete setup and live validation recipe.