Absorb LMS provides access to a Sandbox Environment, a near-exact replica of your Live Production Environment at the time of Sandbox creation. Some organizations call this a Stage or Staging Environment. Use it to test updates, new content, User imports, and similar changes in a production-like environment before deploying them live.

Live data feeds do not exist between the two environments. You can request a Sandbox refresh from our team to create a new, up-to-date copy of your Live Production Environment. A Sandbox Refresh updates the Portal with the previous night's backup, so changes made on the refresh date are not captured in the data.

Important Details

Keep the following details in mind when working in a Sandbox Environment:

• Sandbox Environments do not send emails: This lets you test features and course setups without Users receiving test messages.
  • The Forgot Password feature will not send the usual email when initiated from a Sandbox Environment.
  • Reach out to our team if you need assistance with a manual password reset.
    • If you are currently onboarding, email your Implementations Project Manager.
    • All other requests can be sent to Absorb Support or your Client Success Manager.
• Due to the nature of a Sandbox Environment, we cannot guarantee performance standards, uptime guarantees, or disaster recovery procedures.
• Not all content from your Production Environment is copied to the Sandbox Environment. Specifically:
  • SCORM, TinCan (xAPI), and AICC courses will not launch.
  • Videos will not launch.
  • E-Commerce settings are not copied to Sandbox Environments.
  • Single Sign-On (SSO) settings are not copied to Sandbox Environments. See Single Sign-On (SSO) in a Sandbox Environment below for details.
  • Files, including images added to your Production Environment, are not copied to the Sandbox Environment.
• If you have a Salesforce integration, a Sandbox Refresh stops the integration from running. To test the integration in the Sandbox again, uninstall and reinstall it.
• Your Sandbox Application Programming Interface (API) key matches your production API key, unless you use API v1.5, in which case the keys differ between environments.
• No data is ever moved from the Sandbox Environment to production. Any work you complete in the Sandbox must be recreated in your Live Production Environment.
• A Sandbox Refresh erases all Sandbox data and replaces it with a copy of the production data. There is no option to perform a partial refresh.
• Before requesting a Sandbox or a refresh, confirm that the production data you need (for example, custom fields, Users, or content) is finalized, since the Sandbox copies production as of the creation or refresh date.
• Sandbox Environments are deleted automatically after six months or more without any activity.
• If you received a Demo Portal during the Sales process, it is different from the Sandbox Environment, and the Demo Portal will eventually be archived.
• Only Courses that were created in the Sandbox Environment, or that do not have files associated with them, can be duplicated.
• Absorb Create is not available for enablement on Sandbox Environments.

How to Access Your Sandbox Environment

Once an Absorb staff member has created your Sandbox Environment, they will provide the unique URL used to access it (for example, company.sandbox.myabsorb.com). You sign in using your Live Production Environment credentials. A Sandbox Refresh updates your Sandbox password to match the current password used in production.

Because Sandbox Environments do not send emails, the standard Password Reset workflow and automated password emails do not work in the Sandbox. This does not prevent access management by Admins that have the appropriate User management permissions. These Admins can:

• Reset a User's password by assigning a temporary password.
• Add new Users or update existing User profiles to ensure access is available.

If you still need assistance with Sandbox access and no Admin in your organization can manage the affected User, your implementation or support resource can provide assistance:

• If you are currently onboarding, work with your Implementations Project Manager.
• For all other requests, work with Absorb Support or your Client Success Manager.

Single Sign-On (SSO) in a Sandbox Environment

Single Sign-On (SSO) settings are not copied from your Live Production Environment to the Sandbox Environment. Unless a Sandbox SSO connection has been set up, you must log in to the Sandbox with your Absorb-specific credentials.

A Sandbox Environment is not required to set up SSO, but you can request one if you want to test your SSO configuration before deploying it to production.

To connect to the Sandbox using SSO, you must configure a separate Sandbox SSO connection. The Sandbox uses its own SSO metadata, which differs from your production metadata and includes a separate SAML certificate. Reach out to your implementation or support resource to obtain the Sandbox metadata.

Note: If you use incoming Single Sign-On (SSO) to access your Live Production Environment, confirm that you know your production password and reset it if needed before requesting a Sandbox Environment. Changing your password in production does not affect incoming SSO.

For more information about configuring SSO, see Absorb LMS & Single Sign-On (SSO) and Incoming SAML 2.0 Single Sign-On.