How to read this guide
Every page of this guide is built from the same few parts. Learn them once and you can find the answer on any page quickly.
Diagram The four parts you meet on page after page. A is the plan block, B a picture with numbers on it, C the label that says whose screen the picture shows, and D a problem card.
The plan block says who a page is for
Onflow Ads has six plans. From the first rung of the ladder to the last, they are Free, Lite, Plus, Elite, Master and Ultimate.
Every page about a product opens with a plan block. It tells you which plans can use what the page describes, and it looks like this:
This is a plan block. This one says all six plans can use the feature, so every rung of the ladder beside the title is lit.
The title of a plan block always takes one of these forms. Plus and Elite stand in for any plan here.
| The block says | What it means |
|---|---|
| Available on every plan | All six plans can use the feature, in the same way. |
| Available on every plan — limits differ | All six plans can use it, but a limit, a fee or an allowance changes with your plan. The page has a table headed What your plan changes. |
| Available on Plus and above | Plus, Elite, Master and Ultimate can use it. Free and Lite cannot. |
| Available on Elite only | Elite can use it. No other plan can. |
| The same on every plan | The page describes a rule, a policy or an account basic, and no plan changes it. |
"And above" always follows the ladder. A feature that starts at Plus looks like this:
An example. On a real page, this sentence tells you what a member on Free or Lite sees instead, such as a locked button.
When a feature is open to everyone but its numbers change, the block says so and the page carries the table:
An example. On a real page, this sentence names what changes from plan to plan.
FAQ pages and troubleshooting pages have no plan block. Each problem card on them names the plans it affects instead.
Plan chips and plan tables
In a table, a plan is shown as a small coloured chip. A plan always has the same colour, so you can spot your own plan in any table.
| Plan | Chip | Rung on the ladder |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | 1 |
| Lite | Lite | 2 |
| Plus | Plus | 3 |
| Elite | Elite | 4 |
| Master | Master | 5 |
| Ultimate | Ultimate | 6 |
A table that compares the plans lists all six, in ladder order, from left to right. A dash means the plan does not have the feature. Unlimited means there is no cap.
| Free | Lite | Plus | Elite | Master | Ultimate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rung on the ladder | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| Covered by "Plus and above" | — | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Covered by "Elite only" | — | — | — | Yes | — | — |
Comparing the six plans is the real table, with every published difference between the plans.
Screenshots show one member's screen
The dashboard does not look the same for everyone. It changes with your plan, with your side of the marketplace, and with what you have done so far. So every picture carries a label that says whose screen it shows.
Elite plan · Channel owner The Telegram dashboard home of a channel owner on Elite. 1 The sidebar that opens each product. 2 Four totals for the account. 3 One card for each product. 4 Add a channel. 5 The header tools: the reliability score, the wallet balance, the bell and the account picture.
The label is the first words under the picture. It always opens with the plan. After the dot it may add the side of the marketplace, Advertiser or Channel owner, or what the screen is showing. A picture taken before signing in is labelled Signed out.
Here is the same page from a different account, on a different plan and on a phone:
Lite plan · Advertiser The same page for an advertiser on Lite, on a phone. 1 The menu button replaces the header tools. 2 The sidebar is one row that you swipe sideways. 3 The number tiles sit two across.
If your screen does not match a picture, do not assume something is broken. Check the label first, then the plan block at the top of the page.
The accounts in the pictures are sample accounts. Their names, balances and totals are not yours, and yours will differ.
Numbers on a picture point at what matters
Most pictures carry numbered red marks. Each mark sits beside the part of the screen it points at, often with a red outline around that part. The caption under the picture explains every number, in order.
The first picture above has five marks and the second has three. Find a number on the picture, then read the sentence after the same number in the caption.
Diagrams and illustrations are not screenshots
A picture labelled Diagram explains an idea, such as where your money is while an order runs. The picture at the top of this page is a diagram.
A picture labelled Illustration · Telegram bot shows a chat with the bot. The words in it are the bot's real words, but it is a drawing, not a photo of a phone. Your chat can look a little different, because Telegram draws it in your own theme.
Steps are numbered, one action each
A task is written as numbered steps. Do them in order. Words in bold are the exact words on your screen, so you can match a step to a button.
Here is how to look up an error message in this guide:
- Copy the exact words of the message on your screen.
- Press the search box at the top of any page of this guide and paste the words.
- On a phone, press the magnifying glass first.
- On a computer, you can press Ctrl and K together instead. On a Mac, press Command and K.
- Open the first result. The message is the heading of a problem card, and the fix is the last line of the card.
Every problem card is headed by the message exactly as the product shows it. Pasting the message finds its card faster than describing the problem in your own words.
Coloured notes add what the steps leave out
You have met two kinds already, a note and a tip. There are five kinds, and each has one job.
A tip is a faster or better way. A note clears up something that is easy to misread. An info note gives background that helps you understand why something works the way it does:
One plan sets your limits across every product. That is why the same six names appear in every section of this guide.
A warning marks something that costs time or money if you skip it:
An example. On a real page, a warning names the cost and tells you how to avoid it.
A danger note is rarer. It marks something that cannot be undone:
An example. On a real page, a danger note names the permanent result before you reach the button that causes it.
Problem cards answer one message each
Wherever a task can fail, the page ends with a section headed If something goes wrong. Each card in it covers one message, and has the same four lines:
- Where you see it tells you the page, or the bot message, where the problem shows up.
- Plans affected tells you whether your plan is involved.
- Why it happens gives the cause in one or two sentences.
- How to fix it tells you what to do next.
A card is headed by the message in double quotes, word for word. When a message contains something that changes, such as an amount or a name, the card shows that part in italics. A problem with no message is headed by what you see instead.
Where the problem cards are collected
You do not need to know which page a problem belongs to. There are three places to look.
- The search box. Paste the exact words of the message. This is the fastest way.
- The section's troubleshooting page. Every product section has one, and it collects all of that section's cards under the task they belong to. Large sections split theirs into two or three pages by task.
- The Error message index. It lists the messages that can appear on any page of the website or in the bot, such as a sign-in that ended or a site that is busy.
If none of them has your message, open onflowads.com/support. It opens the support chat, and you do not need an account.
If something goes wrong
The three cards below are real ones, for this guide itself. Each is headed by what you see and ends with what to do about it.
"This page isn’t in the guide"
-
Where you see it:
In this guide, after you follow an old link, an old bookmark, or a link from an old message.
-
Plans affected:
Every plan.
-
Why it happens:
The page was renamed or joined to another page when the guide was reorganised. The information is still in the guide.
-
How to fix it:
Use the search box on that page to look for the subject. You can also start again from the guide's home page.
The search finds nothing for my message
-
Where you see it:
In the search box at the top of every page of this guide.
-
Plans affected:
Every plan.
-
Why it happens:
The search looks for the words you typed. A long message with a name, an amount or a date in it can be too specific to match.
-
How to fix it:
- Search for the first four or five words of the message only.
- Leave out names, amounts and dates.
- If nothing matches, open the troubleshooting page of the section you were working in, then the Error message index.
My screen does not look like the picture
-
Where you see it:
On any page of this guide that has a screenshot.
-
Plans affected:
Every plan.
-
Why it happens:
The picture was taken on the plan named in its label. On another plan, a button can be locked, a limit can be different, or a tab can be missing. A phone also arranges the same page differently from a computer.
-
How to fix it:
Read the label under the picture, then the plan block at the top of the page. If the page says your plan has the feature and you still cannot see it, open onflowads.com/support and say which page you are on.
The guide on paper
The guide is also available as one PDF. It is made from these same pages, so it has the same words, tables and pictures. Two things are left out: the changelog, because it changes too often to print, and the page with the email form.
You can download the PDF or have it emailed to you from Get the complete guide. On paper there is no search box, so use the contents page at the front.
The blog is a separate site
The Onflow Ads blog, at blogs.onflowads.com, is a separate site of articles and ideas. This guide is the reference. If the two ever differ, the guide and your own screen are right. The Onflow Ads blog explains how to read and follow it.