Start by identifying the content, workspace, destination page and affected user. Establish how the content should appear: through a placement, a Candu CTA, a text hyperlink or application code. The required checks depend on that route.
1. Check the content’s live state
For published content, confirm the intended version and audience are live. A saved edit or a title containing campaign dates does not establish the published state. Programmatic triggers have different behavior; use the trigger guide for that route.
2. Check placement or trigger settings
Inline placements need an insertion point on the host page. A Candu CTA can open a target overlay published without a placement. Tour tooltips and hotspot beacons may still need anchor selectors. Distinguish the element that starts an experience from the element it points to.
3. Check audience and conditional views
Compare the affected user’s traits and events with the complete segment rules. Check Conditional Blocks inside the content; publishing to Everyone does not remove those conditions.
4. Check the destination URL where applicable
For placement-based delivery, compare the actual page URL with the URL targeting rules. For code or URL-triggered content, follow the documented settings for that trigger type.
For publishing steps, see Publish Candu Content.
Before you continue
Try these first, they solve many issues:
Verify Candu is installed on the page: To check both the workspace and installation status, open the Candu Chrome Extension.
Clear cache: Use the shortcut Ctrl+Shift+Delete (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+Delete (Mac) to open the "Clear browsing data" window in most browsers
Wait 5 minutes: Content can take up to 5 minutes to appear after publishing
Check browser extensions: Ad blockers or privacy extensions may block Candu content. You can try disabling extensions temporarily or open an incognito/private window.
Check for console errors: Open your browser console (F12, or Ctrl+Shift+J on Windows, Cmd+Option+J on Mac). If you see any errors, take a screenshot and contact support.
If content still isn't showing after these checks, use the diagnostic guide below.
Most Common Issues
Common checks include:
Dismissal or frequency settings: Previous interactions may affect whether this user sees the content again.
Selector issues: The HTML element your content is attached to doesn't exist on this page.
URL doesn't match: You're on a different page than where content is configured to show.
Segment issue: You're not in the target audience for this content.
Content was dismissed
Check the affected content type, its frequency or dismissal settings, and the user’s recorded interactions. A remembered dismissal can explain why an otherwise eligible user does not see content again, but the result depends on the configuration.
How to check this:
Open the content in the editor.
Go to Analytics.
Look for dismissed events for the affected user.
Compare with a separate eligible test user before changing the live setup. Do not assume duplicating a segment resets content dismissal history. For a deliberately recurring modal, see Make a Dismissible Modal Reappear Later.
Check selectors
Go to Settings > Placements in the Candu editor
Copy the HTML selector
Open the Console (F12 or right-click > Inspect > Console tab)
Type:
document.querySelector("div.my-selector")(paste your actual selector)If pasting doesn't work, type
allowand press Enter first
Press Enter
If the console returns null, your selector doesn't exist on this page.
💡 New to these concepts? Check out our full guide on troubleshooting selector issues.
Check URL targeting
Look at the URL in your browser address bar
Go to Settings > Placements in the Candu editor
Look for "Test a URL"
Paste the full URL of the page where you want content to appear
Candu will show whether that URL matches your current rules
URLs often contain dynamic values like user, account, or workspace IDs that need to be replaced with wildcards. Double check that your rules are correctly configured.
💡 New to URL targeting? Check out our full guide on setting up URL rules.
Check segment targeting
Always check that you match the segment criteria.
Go to Analytics > Users
Search for your user ID or email
Go to Segment Membership
If a segment doesn't appear for the user ID, it means it does not meet the segment conditions. Review your segment conditions, then:
Go to User Feed
Search for your user ID
When your user meets the conditions, the Match Status will update to "Matched"
💡 New to segmentation? Learn more about creating your first segment.
Quick Reference Cheat Sheet
If you're already familiar with Candu's troubleshooting process, use this table to quickly identify and fix common issues.
Problem | What to Check | Fix |
Selector doesn't exist | Run | |
Targeting wrong URL | Compare browser URL to placement URL rules | Update URL rules or navigate to correct page |
User not in segment | Segment > User Feed | Verify user traits match segment criteria |
Looking in the wrong workspace | Check Chrome Extension to confirm workspace | Switch environments or republish to correct workspace |
Content was dismissed | Check "Until dismissed" setting | Review the settings available for this content type and compare with an eligible test user before changing live frequency |
Content not published or updates not confirmed | Check button says "Published" | Click green "Publish" or Update button |
Browser extension blocking Candu | Open incognito mode | Disable extensions temporarily |
Z-index issue | Inspect element's z-index value | Increase or decrease Z-Index value on overlays, tours, or hotspots from the toolbox |
Installation Issues
Candu not installed on the right page or workspace
Always ensure the workspace matches where you created content. Also, sometimes Candu might not be installed on a specific page in your product. To check both the workspace and installation status, open the Candu Chrome Extension:
Navigate to a page where Candu is installed
Click Page Status
From the dropdown, select the workspace
Under "Current page status" section to confirm:
"SDK installed" shows a green checkmark
"Is SDK up to date" shows a green checkmark
CORS errors
If you see CORS errors in the console, there are two potential causes:
Domain not whitelisted in Candu: Go to Settings > Whitelisted Domains and add all domains where your content will be embedded.
Your site is blocking Candu: Your site's security settings may be preventing Candu from loading. Work with your IT team to whitelist Candu domains in your security settings:
https://api.candu.ai/https://cdn.candu.ai/https://media.candulabs.com/
Not sure if Candu installed? If this is your first time setting up Candu, check out our Installation Guide.
Other Issues
Content showed before but now it's gone
Check dismissal/frequency settings, recent audience changes and the currently published version. Separate a recorded interaction from a verified explanation of why this user no longer sees the content.
My tour/hotspot/modal trigger isn’t working
Identify the trigger first: a Candu component action, native app click, text hyperlink or code. Use the trigger guide and the guide for the target content type. Overlay click controls, tour Start Settings and hotspot launch methods are not interchangeable.
For a text hyperlink, use the actual destination page and target slug with the documented URL trigger parameter. Check that the application retains the parameter during navigation. Do not use an example host or Candu editor URL as the customer’s destination.
For a native click trigger, verify the configured click selector exists on the actual host page:
Check overlapping placements or content
Review the configured placements against the actual destination page. Distinguish multiple placements, multiple content items and conditional views within one item. Do not remove placements or assume a universal priority rule without checking the relevant configuration.
The page shows an old or unexpected version
Confirm the workspace and content being edited match the installation and content on the destination page.
Check whether the intended changes were published. Compare available publish history with the time of the reported behavior; editor titles and status dots alone are not sufficient evidence.
Inspect Conditional Blocks and the view in which you made the edit. Changes inside one view may not be present in the default view. Conditions are evaluated in order; see Create Dynamic Content Variations.
Preview the intended view, then test with an eligible user in the actual application. Selecting a preview view does not prove that the real user qualifies for it.
Content disappears after a click
Inspect every action on the source component and its order, including Change Content, trigger, redirect and dismiss actions. Check both the source and target audience and whether the click changes a condition used to display the content. Record the visible result before proposing a change; do not remove audience rules or duplicate content as a default fix.
Activity appears after a campaign was stopped
Compare the actual publish/schedule history with event timestamps and the affected users. Check whether the report concerns a new delivery, content already open in a session, or a later-recorded event. These are different possibilities, not automatic explanations. Use the documentation for the delivery route: unpublishing and removing an application’s trigger code are different actions.
Content is present but clipped, blank or showing a login page
Distinguish preview from the live host page. For clipping or scrolling, record the viewport and inspect the relevant parent layers’ size and overflow settings. For an iframe, distinguish a blocked frame from a loaded login screen or an application error. Capture the actual error and host context before changing Candu or the host configuration.
Contact Candu Support
If you've tried all these steps and your content still isn't showing, reach out to Candu Support via chat or email at [email protected] and include the following:
• A link to the content in the Candu editor
• A short description of the issue and the steps you’ve already taken
• Screenshots or a short recording that shows the behavior
• The host page, affected user ID, approximate time and relevant error messages. Arrange test access through your team’s approved process; do not include passwords or private keys in the report.