Introduction

Artshell's App Preview is a tool designed to allow you to consult and present your artworks in a simple, organised, and controlled way. Unlike the Artworks section of your account — which is the place where you manage and store all the information — the Preview is designed as a display space, ideal to use with clients, collaborators, or during fairs and events. Its main advantage is that it allows you to show only part of the available information, keeping all the more sensitive or internal data such as valuations, insurance, or notes hidden. This way you can show your catalogue on iPad or other mobile devices professionally, avoiding exposing content unsuitable for the audience. For this very reason, the Preview app is not a copy of the Artworks section: the visible fields are fewer and have been selected to ensure a clear, fast reading suitable for a presentation context.

How the Preview app works

When you access the Preview app, you are automatically shown the set of artworks present in your account, organised in a grid view. This mode is designed to offer you an immediate overview and facilitate navigation, especially on mobile devices. It is important to know that what you see in the Preview depends on two elements:

1. the settings you configure within the Preview app itself;
2. the content you have decided to make visible in the Artworks section (through the open padlock). This means you always have control over what is shown and what remains hidden.

App Preview for multiple users

By default, the Preview app shows all the artworks present in your Artworks section. However, it can also be used as a tool to limit content visibility when multiple users access the same account. In these cases, you can use the Preview app to offer a view-only mode (without the possibility of editing), showing exclusively the information you want to share. This is particularly useful, for example, for collaborators or users who should not have full access to your database. To properly configure this mode, you can refer to the dedicated article (COMING SOON).

Access and first view

To access the Preview app, click on the icon  in the left side menu. Once opened, you will see the artworks arranged in a grid. The sorting of artworks in the grid follows the alphabetical order of the artist's surname. Each artwork is presented with essential information:

• the cover image;
• the artist's name (first and last name, pseudonym if present);
• the title;
• the year;
• the price with VAT indication. Hiding the price in the Artworks section does not imply that the price is hidden in the Preview app.

This setting makes consultation immediate and allows you to orient yourself quickly even in very large catalogues. By clicking on a single artwork, you can access the detail sheet and view further information.

Navigation and use

To orient yourself within the Preview, you have several tools that allow you to quickly find artworks and work on specific selections.

Below you will find the explanation of the icons:

Settings - configuring the Preview app

Before using the Preview app, it is essential to correctly configure the Settings to decide which information will be visible. Within the settings you can configure:

1. Language - the language in which the content will be shown (Italian, English, or French).

   Attention: the language actually shown depends on how the artwork sheets were compiled in the Artworks section of the account: if content is only available in Italian, it will be shown in Italian even if you select another language.
2. Permissions - you can manage the visibility of the price, deciding whether to always show it, show it only in the grid view of the artwork or hide it completely. This allows you to adapt the presentation to the context, for example distinguishing between internal consultation and a presentation to a client.
3. Filters - you can choose which filters to make visible and which not, thus simplifying the browsing experience. If you disable a filter, it will not be visible in the interface, but free search will still work.
4. Content - you can intervene on the content visible in the artwork's sheet. Here you have the possibility to further limit the visible fields, so as to build a coherent presentation and protect any confidential data.

Viewing a single artwork

When you open a single artwork, you access a sheet that collects the main information useful for consultation. The image is accompanied by the main data: artist, title, year, technique and dimensions.

If you want to view more information, you can click on the icon  to expand the details or on the − icon to reduce them. If some content is not visible, check the Preview app settings or verify that they have been filled in the artwork sheet in the Artworks section of your database. Compared to the Artworks section of your account, some information is not present: this choice is intentional and serves to keep the display clean and focused on the elements really relevant to those consulting. Within the sheet you can navigate between artworks using the arrows ( and ), without having to return to the grid.

Price and view on wall

If in the Preview app settings the price display is enabled, you will find the dedicated icon (), which you can use to show or hide it during consultation. This icon always remains euro even if the currency is different (e.g. dollars).

Another icon you find in the artwork view is the icon . By selecting it, you can view the artwork (pictorial or photographic) hanging on the wall of a simulated environment, useful to better understand its proportions and how it looks in space. If the icon is not active, it means that for the artwork you are viewing no image has been configured for the view on wall mode. In this case, you can refer to the dedicated article to find out how to enable it.

Filters 

Within the Preview app you can decide which artworks to display by applying the available filters. By clicking on the dedicated icon, you open a side panel on the right from which you can set the selection criteria. You can filter artworks based on different parameters: List (manual or automatic), Artists, Artwork Status or Location.

Filters can be combined with each other: this allows you, for example, to display only available artworks by a specific artist and belonging to a specific list.

Once you have set the desired criteria, click Apply to display the results. At the top right you will see a counter showing how many filters are active. If you want to return to the full view, you can remove all filters by clicking Clear filters.

Sharing and export

One of the most useful aspects of the Preview app is the ability to quickly share selected artworks. You can export artworks in different formats:

1. Link
2. Complete and customisable artwork sheet (PDF)
3. Quick artwork sheet (PDF) - this format is designed for quick sharing and contains images and main information of the artworks in a horizontal format, suitable for screen viewing.

This feature is particularly useful when you want to send a selection to a client immediately after a meeting or during a fair.

All exports are saved in the Export section of your account.

Conclusions

The Preview app is an extremely useful tool to transform your database into a ready-to-use presentation. It allows you to work more agilely, always maintaining control over what is shown. If used correctly, it becomes a real commercial support, capable of improving the quality of your presentations and the management of relationships with clients and collaborators.