---
title: "Show two guide steps together (paired steps)"
slug: "/help/demos/edit/guides/paired-guide-steps"
topic: "demos"
last_updated: "2026-08-30T12:59:24.580Z"
---

## **About This Feature**

**Paired guide steps** let two guide annotations appear together (or one right after the other, automatically) instead of the viewer having to click **Next** between them. Great when a single moment on a screen needs two callouts — a label on a field and a hint above the submit button, for example — that would otherwise interrupt the flow if they were separate clicks.

### **Snapshot 📸**

**Feature Status:** Guides
**Role Access:** Admin, Editor
**Location:** Editor → guide step → **Display trigger**

---

## **How pairing works**

Every guide step has a **Display trigger** that decides when it appears:

- **On click (default)** — the step waits for the viewer to click **Next**, the same as any guide step today.
- **With the previous step** — the step appears **at the same time** as the step above it. Both annotations are on the canvas together; the viewer clicks **Next** once to advance past the pair.
- **After the previous step** — the step appears **automatically after** the previous one, with a short pause, without waiting for a viewer click.

Pair as many steps as you like by chaining "With / After the previous step" — Walnut renders the whole run without asking the viewer to click.

---

## **Create a paired step**

1. In the editor, open the guide step you want to pair.
2. Open its **Display trigger** setting.
3. Pick **With the previous step** to show them together, or **After the previous step** to auto‑advance without a click.
4. Save.

Numbered indicators in the sidebar still count one step per **viewer click**, so a paired pair shares a number — the sidebar reflects what the viewer will actually experience, not the raw list of authored steps.

---

## **When to use each trigger**

- **With the previous step** — two callouts on the same screen that belong to the same moment (e.g., "This is the search bar" + "Try typing 'invoice'").
- **After the previous step** — a short reveal you want the viewer to see without touching anything (e.g., a hint that appears a beat after the first annotation lands).
- **On click** — everything else. Keep the default when the viewer's click is part of the story.

---

## **Playback**

- Paired steps enter the canvas at the same time (or in sequence for "After"); the viewer sees both together.
- The next viewer click advances past the whole paired run to the following step.
- Restart‑from‑step and step deep‑links still land on the first step of the pair.

---

## **FAQs**

**Can the first step of a pair itself be paired?**
Yes — chain "With / After the previous step" across as many rows as you like. The chain ends at the first step that keeps the default **On click** trigger.

**Do paired steps count against my step count in analytics?**
Every authored step is still counted as a step in analytics — pairing changes only how they play, not how they are recorded.

**Does zoom effect work on paired steps?**
Yes. Each step keeps its own zoom setting; if both steps zoom, the canvas holds the shared zoom for the whole pair.