Is it possible to edit a standard page, asset listing, etc, even a design in a way that the users still see the live version while i'm currently editing it to create a new version.
For instance if i have a design that is used for my whole site and i decide to change it, like adding a search box, is it possible to place Under Construction and for me to edit it and test but the users only use the previous live version.
Or do i have to create a copy of it and work on it that way then copy the design back and make it live.
Or is it easier to have a copy of your site, perhaps not all the content, on a different server or as just another site on the current server and do your development in there.
Any suggestions are very much appreciated.
You can do this with most assets, excluding designs, by using the Safe Edit status. When an asset is in Safe Edit, the public version of the asset does not change while its being edited. Only once the asset is made live again are the changes apparently.
This does not work for designs and should NOT be attempted. 
There is no perfect way to test designs. I like to load the design onto the same site and use the User Defined design system to test it.
So would i see the latest version of the asset (the one in safe edit) by logging into the site?
How do i switch to the user defined design when viewing the site?
If you have write access or above and are logged in, you will see the edit version. If you only have read access, you will see the live version.
To switch to a User Defined design for a single page, add [font=“courier”]?SQ_DESIGN=design_code[/font] (where design_code is the code you set for the user design) to the URL of the page. If you want to switch your entire session to the new design, use [font=“courier”]?SQ_DESIGN=design_code&SQ_ACTION=set_design_name[/font]. After you use that URL, all pages that have that design code set will display using that design.
If you have write access to the asset, you will see the most current version. If you dont, you see the Live version before you started editing.
As for design switching…
If you user defined design code is "new_design", and the URL of your site is www.example.com, enter the URL as:
www.example.com/?SQ_DESIGN_NAME=new_design&SQ_ACTION=set_design_name
This will change the design of the Site to new_design for the duration of the session.
Edit: beat me again Miller!!
Jinx. Magic Jinx. Name Jinx. Birthday Jinx.
(Now, I'll find out that Jinx is a South African thing, and none of you will have the slightest idea what I'm talking about).
No, Jinx is more universal than that
And I'm on leave too. I really should work out what that means some day.