Unleashed's Sandbox feature allows you to create a copy of your current Unleashed account in a separate environment. This Sandbox environment allows you to develop, test and learn more about Unleashed's functionalities and behaviours without affecting the data in your live Unleashed account. Upon creation, the Sandbox will replicate your live account but any changes made to your Sandbox will not apply to your live account, and vice versa.
Points to note
Please read these notes carefully to avoid accidental data loss or inadvertent changes to your account:
Only the Account Owner can create or delete a Sandbox environment.
You can only have one Sandbox per account.
A Sandbox is created using a back-up of your live account from up to 24 hours ago.
The Sandbox account will expire and be deleted 21 days after being created. The expiration date cannot be extended and a deleted Sandbox cannot be restored.
All existing users in your live account are automatically included with access to the Sandbox upon it's creation.
New users must be manually invited to an existing Sandbox as well as the live account, with maximum of 5 users per Sandbox.
Any changes made to a Sandbox account will not and cannot be synced to the live version of the account.
Before creating or working in a Sandbox environment, ensure all other web browser windows or tabs logged into Unleashed are closed.
You cannot use the live account and Sandbox account at the same time on different browser tabs on the same device. If you create a transaction for your Sandbox environment while a browser tab is open for your live account, there is a chance that the transaction will be saved to your live account. Ensure all tabs in your browser are logged in to your Sandbox when testing.- If a user is added to your account after the Sandbox is created, they must be manually invited to the Sandbox. However, note that invited users may also gain visibility of the live account.
To ensure efficient user onboarding, plan and include all necessary users before creating the Sandbox environment. This practice can minimize disruptions and access management overhead.
Each Sandbox account will have a unique API ID and Key to test third-party integrations. We strongly suggest not connecting a Sandbox to live third-party integrations in the interest of preserving data integrity.
A Sandbox's API usage limit will replicate the API usage limit of the live account at the point of creation.
File Library documents, e.g. product images are not copied to the Sandbox environment. If you perform any action which attempts to export images from the Sandbox to another system, it will fail to retrieve the image, as the images are not stored in the Sandbox. This would include using our Shopify integration to export the Default Image to Shopify, this would fail to occur and an error would appear in the connection log.
If you delete the current Sandbox and create a new one immediately, in the majority of cases it will restore the data from the previous one, however, this is dependent on the amount of data in the Sandbox and cannot be guaranteed. We recommend you export any data you need to keep from your current Sandbox, to re-import into the new Sandbox if needed.
The B2B Portal cannot be tested in the Sandbox account.
Email functionality is not available in Sandbox accounts.
To test the Advanced Shipping Module or Ecommerce Hub integrations in a Sandbox before adding them to your live account contact support.
Setup the Unleashed Sandbox tutorial video
Create a Sandbox
To create a new Sandbox environment:
Close all other web browser windows or tabs of Unleashed.
As the Account Owner, go to your name's dropdown menu in the top right of Unleashed.
Select My Account.
Click Create Sandbox in the top right of your page.
In the confirmation dialog box, click Yes to continue or No to exit. A notification is displayed after the Sandbox is successfully created.
Delete a Sandbox
To delete a Sandbox, before it expires:
As the Account Owner, go to your name's dropdown menu in the top right of Unleashed and select My Account.
Select your live Unleashed account and click View.
In the live Unleashed account, go to the My Account page.
Click Delete Sandbox.
In the confirmation pop-up, click Yes.
You will receive a notification confirming the Sandbox deletion.
Use a Sandbox
When you're viewing the Sandbox version of your account, you can test using and integrating with an Unleashed account without it affecting your live account's data. The Sandbox's expiration date will be displayed in the banner across the top of your Unleashed page.
To access an existing Sandbox account:
Go to your name's dropdown menu in the top right of Unleashed and select My Account.
Select the Sandbox account and click View.
An orange banner is displayed at the top of the screen to indicate that you are using the Sandbox.
You can use the same process to access your live account from a Sandbox, too.
Managing User Access in a Sandbox Environment
To manage user access effectively in your Sandbox environment:
Manual User Invitation: If a user has been added after the Sandbox creation, manually invite them to the Sandbox through the Sandbox account's Settings > Security > Users > Invite Users.
Plan Ahead: Include all necessary users before creating a Sandbox whenever possible. This reduces the administrative effort related to post-creation invitations.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I test Unleashed University steps and challenges?
Where can I test Unleashed University steps and challenges?
We recommend using a Sandbox when completing the tasks and challenges set in the University course. A Sandbox is the perfect place to experiment with Unleashed and try out its features, without it impacting your live data.
Can I restrict a user to only the Sandbox without live account access?
Can I restrict a user to only the Sandbox without live account access?
Yes, you invite a user to only the Sandbox and they will not be able to access your live account.
What happens if I exceed the 5-user limit in the Sandbox?
What happens if I exceed the 5-user limit in the Sandbox?
When a Sandbox is created all existing users in your live account will be given access to the Sandbox, and this can exceed the 5-user limit. Sandbox access will not be hindered for any users already included, but you will not be able to invite any further users to the Sandbox. To invite new users, you must delete existing users from the Sandbox until the 5-user limit can accommodate the new users.