Testing and recreating issues/workflows is one of the fundamental troubleshooting tools we use at support. Testing your issue allows us to gather information on resolving your problem. We then use that information to create support knowledgebase articles for all clients to share in hopes that the information assists in resolving similar issues. This provides a constant flow of information on issues or workflows that clients use everyday.

You can use this tactic of a Test Folder or Data to your own advantage! Say your company is looking to implement a new workflow or procedure that would ultimately change how your users interact with the software on a daily basis. Implementing those changes immediately without any type of testing may result in frustrated users, lack of preparation, unexpected barriers and overall failure of adoption by users. You can avoid much of that headache by simply creating an exact copy of your live data folder for testing! 

Using a test data folder allows you to take an exact copy of your data and make any type of changes you want without fear of affecting your live data. Our knowledgebase article 17240 "How do I copy my files to another data folder for testing?" outlines the details and steps to copying your live data folder. In summary:

• Open your live data folder
• Use File Tools to copy the folder
• Select the network location for your new folder to reside

With any changes such as this, your software administrator will have to do some if not all of these changes for you (Menu items may be restricted to non-admin users). Security settings, file locations, etc. will all need to be accounted for when creating your test folder.

Does your company use a test folder? If so, how do you use it or implement it into your company's business?

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