Handing over product management

[wushudirect]

Hi,
I have been looking after an actinic installation for a customer for a while now and I have been administering the update of products as well as maintaining the code while the customer has just been using their installation for order processing.

What I want to do is to have them handle all the product updates now so I just look after the code.

Can someone advise how to go about this - is as simple a flicking the switches in the settings or do I have to give them a cd with Db, images etc.. on it.

Thanks

[leehack]

Get a snapshot off them, import just the orders off that, then change the settings in business settings to allow them to do what you want, take a fresh snapshot and send them that. That seems the most logical to me unless you take a snapshot, tell them to import it but not include the orders and then show them how to adjust the settings to allow maintenance.

[TraceyHand]

Sounds like a recipe for disaster to me!

so you're going to make design changes but the client is going to be updating products?
You'll both be needing to upload changes and things are going to get messed up!

If they are constantly making product changes then you are going to have to get a new snapshot from them every time a design change is needed so you can import, make the change and upload without overwriting any updates they have done to their products.

Of course, while you're doing that, they can't then make any changes to the site as your upload will just overwrite those too.

It'll be fine if design changes are few and far between but, if it's a constant thing, it's going to involve a lot of snapshot exchanges

editted to add : re. the initial changeover itself, just get them to import a snapshot, from you, but to opt NOT to overwrite orders, when prompted.
That's the easy bit!

[jont]

What I want to do is to have them handle all the product updates now so I just look after the code.

Sounds like a recipe for disaster to me!

Design snapshot only overwrites the code and not database data. Once the client has a synced copy as per Lee's instructions all you need to do is design snapshot the changed layout and they import over the top.

Caveat : v8 was flaky with layout lists but it is unlikely these will be changed once designed

[TraceyHand]

Well yeh. Of course you can use a design snapshot but, well, I don't. You're right, of course, about there being less margin for error (bugs!) if you're overwriting an existing site rather than a 'from scratch' design snapshot import each time.
Tbh, I still wouldn't want to do it but, hey, it ain't my site
Design snapshots give me the eebie jeebies!