DocsBuilding tours
Launch behaviour
Auto-open, start minimised, auto-launch and per-visitor show limits.
By default a tour waits quietly: the launcher sits in the corner and nothing opens until someone clicks it. These settings, under Launch behaviour on the Setup tab, change that.
The options
| Setting | Field | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
Auto-open welcome card | auto_open | off | Opens the welcome card about a second after the page loads. In button-only mode, starts the tour instead. |
Start minimised | start_minimized | off | The launcher starts as a small tab on the edge of the screen instead of the full labelled button. |
Auto-launch tour | auto_launch | off | Drops the visitor straight into step 1 on page load — no welcome card, no tab. |
Always auto-launch | auto_launch_always | on | With auto-launch on: launch on every visit. Turn off to only auto-launch the first N visits. |
Switch back after N visits | auto_launch_count | 1 | With “Always” off: how many visits auto-launch before falling back to the welcome card/tab. |
Limit auto-shows per user | max_shows | unlimited | The most times the tour pops up on its own for one visitor. |
Common setups
| You want… | Set |
|---|---|
| A help button people open when they want it | Everything off (the default). |
| To greet first-time visitors | Auto-open on, limit auto-shows to 1. |
| A subtle hint that stays out of the way | Start minimised on. |
| A tab that opens straight into the welcome card when clicked | Start minimised and Auto-open both on. |
| To force the tour on the very first visit | Auto-launch on, Always off, switch back after 1 visit. |
Auto-launch details
- Single-page apps often render content after the script loads, so auto-launch waits up to 8 seconds for at least one step target to appear.
- If none appear, it falls back to the launcher/welcome card rather than starting an empty tour.
- Auto-launch never runs for visitors who clicked “Don’t show again” or who have hit the auto-show limit.
How show limits are counted
max_shows counts the times the welcome card opened on its own (or, in button-only mode, the tour started from the minimised tab) for that visitor. Clicking the launcher yourself is never blocked. Counts live in the visitor’s browser or device, so a new device or cleared storage starts again from zero.
Note
The splash carousel has its own, separate show limit.
Something missing or unclear? Tell us and we’ll fix the page.