Considerations for Partial Copy sandbox creation and refreshes

Before You Begin: Create a Sandbox Template

A Partial Copy sandbox requires that you create a sandbox template first; otherwise, you will not be able to see the 'Create' button. For steps to create a template, review  Create or Edit Sandbox Templates.

What a Partial Copy Sandbox Contains by Default

A Partial Copy sandbox includes the following by default:

• Reports
• Dashboards
• Price books
• Products
• Apps
• Documents
• All customizations under Setup (plus all metadata)

As defined in your sandbox template, a Partial Copy sandbox can also include standard and custom object records and Attachments up to 5 GB, with a maximum of 10,000 records per selected object.

Portal and Community User Records May Not Be Included

Portal or Community (external) User records are not copied to Partial Copy sandboxes during a refresh. This is expected behavior for performance reasons and may result in Cases or other object records associated with external users being inaccessible or showing layout-related issues.

• Records created or last modified by a Portal or Community User may be visible in Lightning Experience but show "Insufficient Privileges" or "Data Not Available" messages when accessed via Salesforce Classic.
• To identify potentially affected records, run the following query in your sandbox. Replace <ObjectAPINameHere> with the API name of the affected object (for example, Case or Contact):

SELECT Id FROM <ObjectAPINameHere> WHERE LastModifiedBy.UserType = '' OR CreatedBy.UserType =''

There is no fix currently available for affected records. It is advised to ignore them in affected sandboxes.

Sandbox Refresh Interval

If the 'Refresh' button is not available in the action column under Setup | Sandboxes, the sandbox refresh interval has not elapsed or the sandbox is not yet due for refresh.

• You can refresh a Partial Copy sandbox every 5 days.
• A Partial Copy sandbox is smaller than a Full sandbox and has a shorter refresh interval.
  
  
  

See Also:

Salesforce Support YouTube video:

How to Create a Sandbox Template