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Journey Canvas Visualization

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Ask the AI to "show me the onboarding journey" and it renders a full visual canvas — stages flow left to right, decision points branch into paths, and every node is clickable to reveal the segment rules, wait conditions, or activation configs underneath.

Note

The journey canvas renders from the same YAML definition that gets pushed to production. What you see on the canvas is what will execute. This makes the canvas a validation tool, not just a visualization — you can catch misconfigured branches, missing activations, or incorrect wait durations before a single customer enters the journey.

Objective

Use the journey canvas to visualize customer journeys, understand branching logic, inspect step configurations, and validate journey definitions before deployment.

Prerequisites


Why Visual Journeys Matter

Journey YAML definitions are powerful but dense. A 200-line YAML file with nested decision points, A/B tests, and merge steps is hard to reason about in text form. The canvas solves this:

  • See the full flow at a glance — Every stage, branch, and merge is laid out spatially
  • Validate before you launch — Spot missing activations, unreachable stages, or illogical branch conditions visually
  • Communicate with stakeholders — Show a marketer or executive the journey without asking them to read YAML
  • Debug live journeys — Understand why customers are taking unexpected paths by tracing the flow

How to Request a Journey Canvas

Ask the AI to visualize any journey — one you've just built, one loaded from your Treasure AI account, or one you're designing from scratch.

Example requests:

You: Show me the welcome series journey

You: Visualize the journey I just created

You: Preview this journey before I push it to production

The AI renders the canvas in the file panel. For journeys you're building in conversation, the AI automatically offers a preview after generating the YAML definition.


Reading the Canvas

The canvas reads left to right. Each journey is composed of stages, and each stage contains a step tree — a flow of steps connected by dashed lines.

Stages

Stages are the top-level containers. Each stage displays:

ElementWhat It Shows
Stage titleThe stage name in large gray text
Entry criteria badgeThe segment condition that gates entry into this stage
Exit criteria badgeConditions that remove customers from the stage
Milestone badgeThe event or condition that marks stage success

Stages flow left to right, and customers progress through them sequentially (unless a jump step redirects them).

Step Types

Within each stage, steps are the individual actions and decisions. Each step type has a distinct visual identity:

Step TypeShapeColorWhat It Does
EntryCircleBlueStarting point — where customers enter the stage
WaitCircleRedPauses the customer for a duration or until a condition is met
ActivationSquareGreenSends data to an external system (email, webhook, Salesforce)
Decision PointDiamondYellowBranches customers based on segment membership
A/B TestDiamondYellowSplits customers into test variants by percentage
MergeDiamondYellowReconverges branches back into a single path
JumpDiamondPurpleRedirects customers to a different stage
EndDiamondPurpleTerminates the customer's journey

Connecting Lines

  • Dashed horizontal lines connect steps in sequence within a path
  • Branching lines split downward from decision points and A/B tests into sub-paths
  • L-shaped merge lines bring branches back together at merge points
  • Vertical dotted lines span the height of multi-branch sections

Inspecting Step Details

Click any step node or branch badge to reveal its configuration in a detail panel.

Activation Details

Click an activation step to see:

FieldWhat It Shows
ConnectionThe external system (e.g., Salesforce Marketing Cloud, SendGrid)
Connector configField mappings and settings for the activation
ColumnsWhich customer attributes are sent

Wait Condition Details

Click a wait step to see:

FieldWhat It Shows
DurationHow long customers wait (e.g., 7 days)
ConditionThe segment condition that ends the wait early
Timeout behaviorWhat happens when the wait expires without the condition being met

Decision Point / A/B Test Details

Click a branch badge to see:

FieldWhat It Shows
Segment ruleThe condition that determines which branch a customer takes
Percentage (A/B test)The traffic split between variants
Branch nameThe label for each path

Entry Criteria Details

Click the entry criteria badge on a stage to see the full segment definition — including nested conditions and operators — that gates entry.

Pro Tip

Use detail panels to validate your journey logic. Click through each decision point to confirm the segment rules match your intended targeting. This is faster and more reliable than reading YAML.


Canvas Layout and Navigation

Scrolling

Large journeys with many stages or deeply nested branches extend beyond the visible area. Use horizontal and vertical scrolling to navigate the full canvas.

Visual Hierarchy

The canvas uses a consistent spatial grammar:

  • Horizontal position = sequence (left is earlier, right is later)
  • Vertical position = branching (branches stack downward from decision points)
  • Indentation = nesting depth (sub-branches indent further from their parent)

Theme Support

The canvas adapts to your Studio theme:

ElementLight ModeDark Mode
BackgroundWhiteDark slate
Connector linesLight grayMedium gray
Stage titlesMuted grayLight gray
Badge textIndigoLight indigo
Node colorsPastel palette (green, blue, red, yellow, purple)Same pastel palette (consistent across themes)

Common Journey Patterns on the Canvas

Linear Journey

The simplest pattern: Entry leads to a sequence of wait steps and activations.

Entry

Wait 3 days

Send Welcome Email

Wait 7 days

Send Follow-up

End

Entry

Wait 3 days

Send Welcome Email

Wait 7 days

Send Follow-up

End

Decision Branch

A decision point splits into two or more paths based on segment membership, then merges back:

Entry

Decision

Visited Pricing

Send Pricing Email

Merge

Excluded

Send General Email

End

Entry

Decision

Visited Pricing

Send Pricing Email

Merge

Excluded

Send General Email

End

A/B Test Split

An A/B test divides traffic by percentage:

50%

50%

Entry

A/B Test

Email Template A

Merge

Email Template B

End

50%

50%

Entry

A/B Test

Email Template A

Merge

Email Template B

End

Multi-Stage Journey

Stages flow sequentially, each with its own entry criteria:

Stage 3: Conversion

Stage 2: Consideration

Stage 1: Awareness

Entry

Ads

Wait

Entry

Email

Wait

Entry

Offer

End

Stage 3: Conversion

Stage 2: Consideration

Stage 1: Awareness

Entry

Ads

Wait

Entry

Email

Wait

Entry

Offer

End


Using the Canvas for Validation

The journey canvas is a validation tool. Before pushing a journey to production with tdx journey push, use the canvas to check:

CheckWhat to Look For
Complete pathsEvery branch reaches either an End step, a merge, or a jump — no dead ends
Correct activationsEach activation step connects to the right external system with proper field mappings
Logical branchingDecision point conditions match your targeting intent — click each branch to verify segment rules
Reasonable waitsWait durations align with your campaign timing — no accidentally long or short delays
Proper mergesBranches reconverge where expected — customers don't get stuck in a branch indefinitely
A/B test percentagesVariant splits add up correctly and the control group is accounted for

Workflow:

  1. Build or modify the journey in conversation using the journey skill
  2. Ask the AI to "preview this journey"
  3. Review the canvas — click through decision points and activations
  4. If something looks wrong, describe the fix: "Change the A/B split to 70/30" or "Add a 3-day wait before the second activation"
  5. Preview again to confirm
  6. Push to production: ask the AI to run tdx journey push

Verification

After reading this guide, you can:

  • Request a journey canvas visualization from the AI
  • Read the canvas layout — stages flow left to right, branches stack vertically
  • Identify step types by their shape and color (circle, square, diamond)
  • Click a step node to inspect its configuration (activation details, wait conditions, segment rules)
  • Use the canvas to validate journey logic before pushing to production

Troubleshooting

IssueSolution
Canvas doesn't renderVerify the journey YAML is valid — ask the AI to "validate this journey" or ask it to run tdx journey validate
Steps are missingCheck that all steps are connected via next references. Orphaned steps won't appear on the canvas
Branches don't mergeAdd a merge step that references the branches. The canvas shows unmerged branches as open-ended paths
Canvas is very wideLarge journeys with many stages scroll horizontally. Use the scrollbar or trackpad to navigate
Detail panel doesn't openClick directly on the step node shape (circle, square, diamond) — not the label text

Next Steps