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What are Preview and Non-Preview Sandboxes?
During the Salesforce major release transitions, sandboxes get upgraded on different timelines based on their release type. The two release types for sandboxes are preview and non-preview.
Preview Sandbox
A preview sandbox provides early access to new features and lets you test your configurations before the production upgrade. Preview sandboxes are upgraded approximately six weeks in advance of production orgs during every major release.
Non-Preview Sandbox
Non-preview sandboxes are upgraded as the major release upgrade completes. With a non-preview sandbox, you can continue testing changes on an environment that’s identical to your production org without potential issues from an early upgrade to the next release. Use non-preview sandboxes when building new changes for your production org.
View Preview and Non-Preview Sandboxes
To view which of your existing sandboxes are preview or non-preview, from Setup enter Sandboxes in the Quick Find box. Select Sandboxes, and then locate the Release Type column.
Create a Preview or Non-Preview Sandbox
Between the completion of a major release upgrade and the start of the next release upgrade, we attempt to create preview sandboxes by default when you create or refresh a sandbox. To create non-preview sandboxes during the transition between major releases, contact Salesforce Customer Support to enable this functionality. When this functionality is enabled, you create a non-preview sandbox by selecting Request Non-Preview when you create or refresh a sandbox during a release transition.
See Salesforce Sandbox Preview Instructions in Salesforce Help for more information on release transitions and timelines.
