A trail is a short list of clicks on a live page. It fits when someone needs to do the thing themselves, soon, on that same site.
01
Where do I click
“Where's the export button?”
Someone is stuck in the app. Click the path once and send the link in the reply. They follow the numbered marks on their own screen, in their own account, and press the buttons themselves.
Someone is stuck in the app. Click the path once and send the link in the reply. They follow the numbered marks on their own screen, in their own account. A video would show your data. A trail shows their page.
A video would show your data. A trail shows their page.
02
Hand off a task
“Can you rotate the API key before Friday?”
Rotate the key. Publish the report. Invite the user. Record those clicks, pick how long the link lives, and send it.
Rotate the key. Publish the report. Invite the user. Record those clicks, pick how long the link lives, and send it. They move at their own pace, page to page.
They move at their own pace — including from one page of the site to the next.
03
The path to a bug
“It breaks after Settings, then Advanced.”
Record that route so the next person hits the same controls. The trail does not include what was typed.
Record that route so the next person hits the same controls. Nothing typed is included — it's the way to the screen, not a copy of the form.
It's the way to the screen, not a copy of the form.
Case 01, live
This is what they see.
Their own page, three numbered marks, and a path that carries on to the next screen.