Quote Originally Posted by shags38 View Post
Q1. when a Category status is turned to Off does that mean it is not crawled by the bots?
Correct. (Bots are little more than a web browser - If you can't see the disabled categories then neither will the bots)

Quote Originally Posted by shags38 View Post
I want to duplicate (copy) a category, turn off the duplicate, rework the meta tags and other data then switch it back on when ready - without being pinged for 'duplicate content'.
I'm not really understanding why you need to make a copy to do this. There is no harm to be had by reworking the 'metatags and other data' on a live site.

The only benefit I see to your proposal is if you plan to have a 'big reveal'.

Quote Originally Posted by shags38 View Post
Q2. in changing the title of a Category do existing links still resolve to the new name ? (I think they do, just want to be sure :) )

cheers, Mike
If you are using 'Native Zencart' code then yes, the existing links will resolve to the new names - HOWEVER, if you've opted to use one of the many URL rewriting modules (aka 'SEO mods') then no, they won't resolve. You will have to re-write the already re-written URL's in order to keep the links functional.

Cheers
RodG