> ## Knowledge Base Index
> Fetch the complete knowledge base index at: https://help.getzendo.io/sitemap.xml
> Use this file to discover available pages before exploring further.
> Pure-Markdown content can be obtained by appending a '.md' suffix to the content URLs listed in the sitemap (without the trailing slash).

# View the portal as a client

**View as client** shows you the client portal exactly as one client sees it. What a client sees depends on four settings — the theme, the sidebar, the dashboard and the onboarding cards — and each can be limited to particular clients, so this saves you working out which of them applies. Zendo also calls this impersonating a client. You find it in the **⋯** menu on the client's profile, and in the same menu on the client's row in the clients list. While you view the client portal as a client, you can also act on their behalf, as they would.

## Open the client portal as a specific client

1. Open **Clients** and select the client. You can also start from the panel on one of their requests, on one of their orders, or in **Messages**.
2. Select **View as client**.
3. While you impersonate a client, a blue border surrounds the client portal and a **Back** button sits at the bottom. Select it to return to Zendo as yourself.

![Viewing the client portal as Maya Chen. The blue border and the bar at the bottom show that you are viewing as the client.](https://getzendo.io/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/kb-c6-view-as-client-v2.webp =764x496)

## Each part of the view comes from its own setting

- The look comes from **Settings › Brand › Appearance**, or from the client's own theme under **Settings › Brand › Client themes**. See [Set your workspace appearance](https://help.getzendo.io/en/article/set-your-workspace-appearance-wobsc5/) and [Create a client theme](https://help.getzendo.io/en/article/create-a-client-theme-u3u3fz/).
- The sidebar comes from **Settings › Portal › Sidebar content**, including items limited for this client. See [Change what is in the client sidebar](https://help.getzendo.io/en/article/change-what-is-in-the-client-sidebar-19vnb7p/).
- The dashboard comes from **Settings › Portal › Dashboards**. See [Build a dashboard](https://help.getzendo.io/en/article/build-a-dashboard-1dy17xy/).
- Onboarding cards come from **Settings › Portal › Onboardings**, including cards restricted to a service the client bought. See [Create an onboarding card](https://help.getzendo.io/en/article/create-an-onboarding-card-j508us/).
- The request types come from each type's own settings, plus whatever the client's purchases unlocked. See [Decide who can submit a request type](https://help.getzendo.io/en/article/decide-who-can-submit-a-request-type-1m352cm/).

Unlike a preview of a sidebar or a theme, **View as client** shows the client's real client portal, with their real requests, orders and documents. Clients never see internal notes on requests, your notes on their profile, anything under **Settings** or your other clients.

## View as client does not show emails, notification settings or a checkout

**Emails.** You cannot see what the invitation or a notification looks like in the client's inbox, or whether it arrives. To see this, add a second email address of your own as a client and go through the steps as that client.

**Notification settings.** Every client notification has a default, and each client can change their own, so you cannot see with **View as client** which notifications a client actually gets. See [Every notification your clients can get](https://help.getzendo.io/en/article/every-notification-your-clients-can-get-16mqbme/).

**A complete purchase.** You can look at the Front Desk and the order page, but you cannot go through a Stripe checkout; a checkout with a manual payment method works. For a Stripe checkout, use a second email address of your own, or the **Sandbox**, where nothing reaches your real clients. See [Try things out in the Sandbox](https://help.getzendo.io/en/article/try-things-out-in-the-sandbox-18e137x/).

## Check again after every change

Use **View as client** before you invite a client, to see their first sign-in. You can also use it when a client says they cannot find something.

## Related

- [Show different things to different clients](https://help.getzendo.io/en/article/show-different-things-to-different-clients-td4yka/)
- [Create a client theme](https://help.getzendo.io/en/article/create-a-client-theme-u3u3fz/)
- [Change what is in the client sidebar](https://help.getzendo.io/en/article/change-what-is-in-the-client-sidebar-19vnb7p/)
- [A client sees the wrong sidebar, dashboard or theme](https://help.getzendo.io/en/article/a-client-sees-the-wrong-sidebar-dashboard-or-theme-sbdlmy/)
- [Try things out in the Sandbox](https://help.getzendo.io/en/article/try-things-out-in-the-sandbox-18e137x/)