Prerelease FAQ

Last Updated: Mar 11, 2025

What is Vault Prerelease?

Vault prerelease is a four-week period prior to the general availability of a new version. During this period, customers have an opportunity to explore the new version in a “prerelease Vault” based on their production configurations. The primary purpose of the prerelease Vault is to ensure current configuration behavior works the same in the new version. Any user acceptance testing (UAT) or validation testing should be done in this period. Optionally, customers can also use their prerelease sandbox to explore the features that are not automatically enabled and decide which of these they want to use in their production Vault.

When is prerelease?

See the most recent “About the Release” page for dates.

What is the prerelease version number?

Prerelease Vaults will initially have the same version number as the last limited release, which has the same set of features and functionality as the general release. For example, the prerelease version for 21R1 is 20R3.5. The following version (21R1.0 in this example) will contain the same functionality, plus fixes for issues identified during prerelease. Prerelease Vaults will be upgraded to the latest version when the release becomes available, typically two to three days before the Limited-release/early PODs are upgraded.

How long are prerelease sandboxes available?

Prerelease sandboxes remain available for four (4) weeks after the General Release. For example, the 21R2 prerelease sandbox would be available until four (4) weeks after the final 21R2 release.

Which customers can participate?

Any customer with a production or preproduction Vault can participate. A prerelease sandbox entitlement is automatically available for customer production and preproduction Vaults.

How do I get a prerelease sandbox?

Prerelease sandboxes are self-service. This means that each organization will need to create their own prerelease sandbox.

New Prerelease Vaults

For full details on creating sandbox Vaults, see Adminstering Sandbox Vaults.

To create a new prerelease sandbox Vault:

1. In your parent Vault (production, preproduction, or sandbox Vault), navigate to Admin > Deployment > Sandbox Vaults.
2. Under Available Sandbox Vaults, you should see the Prerelease Available column. If this column shows “1”, your prerelease entitlement is available. If it shows “0”, a prerelease Vault may already exist.
3. Under Active Sandbox Vaults, click Create.
4. Enter a Name for the new sandbox. See details for Vault names.
5. Select Configuration as the Type. At this time, this is the only sandbox type available.
6. Select Prerelease as the Release.
7. Select the Domain for the prerelease sandbox.
8. Optional: Clear the Vault Owner: Current User checkbox to set all Domain users as Vault Owners.
9. Click Finish. The creation process generally takes less than one (1) hour but may take up to eight (8) hours. When complete, Vault sends you a notification.

When you create a prerelease sandbox like this, you can log into it using your production (or existing sandbox) login details. Vault sets you up as a cross-domain user for accessing the sandbox.

Existing Prerelease Vaults

In some cases, a prerelease sandbox already exists from a past general release. If that’s the case for your organization, you’ll see the prerelease Vault listed in Admin > Deployment > Sandbox Vaults under Active Sandbox Vaults.

To get the latest configuration from your Vault, you will need to refresh the prerelease sandbox. If you need to see the creation date of the prerelease sandbox, you can add the Created Date column to the Active Sandbox Vaults grid.

In this situation, you can log in to the sandbox Vault using your login credentials from the previous release. If you have an account on the existing prerelease Vault, you can also access the sandbox from the Admin > Deployment > Sandbox Vaults page by hovering over the sandbox name Active Sandbox Vaults, opening the Actions menu, and clicking Log in. If you prefer to set up access using cross-domain users, you can do that once you’ve logged in.

How do I refresh or delete a prerelease sandbox?

Prerelease sandboxes can be managed like other sandboxes. See Administering Sandbox Vaults for details.

Is participation required?

No. Customers do not have to create a prerelease sandbox or complete any testing. However, we do encourage it to ensure the system continues to meet your expectations.

What’s in my prerelease sandbox?

Prerelease sandboxes work just like other sandboxes. We copy only the configuration of your source Vault. For details on what items are included or excluded, see How Configuration Copying Works.

How do I log into my prerelease sandbox?

If you chose the option Vault Owner: Current User when creating your sandbox, you are the Vault Owner; otherwise, all Domain users are set as Vault Owners in the Sandbox.

Groups are copied from your production Vault, but they are empty because the users are not copied. When you add users in your prerelease sandbox, you can add them to the copied groups as desired.

For customers that create a prerelease sandbox using the new self-service steps, Vault sets up access using cross-domain users. In this situation, users can log in using their existing credentials and navigate between the production Vault and prerelease sandbox using the Vault selector.

How do I learn about new features?

See the most recent “About the Release” page.

How do I enable and configure features?

Many features must be intentionally enabled by an Admin. In some cases, enablement is as simple as selecting a checkbox in Admin > Settings. In other cases, enablement requires more involved configuration of lifecycles, workflows, document fields, etc. There are some enhancements that Veeva enables automatically. See the “About the Release” page for details.

What happens after prerelease?

When the release occurs, Veeva will upgrade your Vaults to the new version. The upgrade will not adversely impact existing documents or work in progress.

The visible impact of the upgrade will generally be the same as what you observe in your prerelease Vault. The set of enhancements that are automatically on will immediately be visible, and some features will require action by an Admin or Veeva Support to enable or configure before they become visible to end users.

How do I get the prerelease version of a Vault mobile app?

Prerelease versions of mobile applications for Vault are available during the same period as the Vault prerelease:

• Station Manager for iOS: The prerelease version is available via Apple Testflight.
• Station Manager for Android: The prerelease version is available via the Google Play Store for approved accounts. To have your account approved, submit a support ticket to Veeva Product Support including your Google Play Store account email address to receive access. Alternatively, you can download the prerelease version of Station Manager for Android as an APK file.
• Vault Mobile (iOS): The iOS prerelease mobile build is available through Apple Testflight. To download the prerelease build, you must first install the TestFlight app. The prerelease build uses a different app icon and shows the text Prerelease on the Vault Selector list within the app to help you differentiate. When you have completed prerelease testing, revert back to the production mobile build, which will override the prerelease build downloaded from TestFlight.
• Vault Mobile (Android): The Android prerelease mobile build is available through Google Play Store Open Beta Testing. To get there, navigate to the app store listing on your Android device, scroll down, and select Join the Beta. After a few minutes, an app update will be available, which will update your app to the prerelease build. The prerelease build uses a different app icon and shows the text Prerelease on the Vault Selector list within the app to help you differentiate. To revert to the production mobile track when you have completed prerelease testing, return to the app store listing and select Leave the Beta.