Copy UC4 workflows from TEST client to Production Client

[Anon Anon]

I would greatly appreciate any tips or directions  or where to find in knowledge base how to copy the workflows created in one client to another client.  

I need to have this done before Monday Dec. 14, 015 . Thanks you. 

[Anon Anon]

I use the Export and Import functions that are available from the User Interface's Explorer or Search dialog.  These functions are also available from the script language.  There is also the Transport utility that may or may not be appropriate to your needs.

Regardless which method you choose realise that you must copy not only the workflow itself but all of the individual objects (tasks) within it.  

Use the search function in the Knowledge Base with a term of "explorer" for additional guidance.

[Jim Griffith]

+1 on using Export -> Import. I use this ALL the time. You can also use this to do mass changes to jobs. Just highlight all of the jobs and the workflow(s), right click -> External & Printing -> Export. It'll ask you where you want to save the uc4_export.xml file. Save it then go to the destination client and to the destination folder in the explorer, right click -> External & Printing -> Import. Select your uc4_export.xml and hit okay. If you're moving up changes and going to replace existing objects, click the "Replace existing objects" check box. 

Good luck!

[Anon Anon]

>@</p>Jim Griffith"

While I use Export/Import almost exclusively for my development process its real downside is its lack of "awareness" of Folders unlike Transport.  Depending the structure chosen, especially if using sub-folders, the Import must be performed into the desired folder.  

There are some techniques that can be employed to assist the process if good and consistent standards exist to make the movement between clients a bit less of an effort but that is for a discussion all by itself.

[Michael A. Lowry]

AE v11 and later is capable of including folder structure XML exports.

[Michael Pirson]

We use the transport case along with the DBChange utility to make modifications that are required for the workflow to begin running in production. Generally we use hostgroups and the same login object names so we do not have to change those but sometimes we have variables that are specific to environments that we need to change enroute to production.

 

EDIT: I should add that our test client and production client are in different AE Systems

[Tim Quakulinsky]

Hi Michael,

 

we try to avoid the DBChange utility. Instead, we use VARA objects in two different ways (but to achieve the same):

• The client title is in the name of the VARA object, e.g. VARA.APPLICATION_A.CONFIG@DEV and VARA.APPLICATION_A.CONFIG@PROD
• The keys in the VARAs contains the client title or a combination of systemname and client number. Below is an example for the combination (QA_1 and PROD_1 are the systemnames and 0001 is the client numer):
  PROD_1-0001@PATH | /opt/
  QA_1-0001@PATH | /tmp/

Perhaps you find (and others) find this useful.

 

Best

Tim

[kreth02]

Their is also an Consulting Solution available to manage all requests around deployment. 

[Tim Quakulinsky]

If you're advertising, I do advertising as well:

There are also solutions from other companies like System Partners or best-blu

[Carsten Schmitz]

I won't dismiss that consultancy or external solutions may be a useful solution to the copy requirements of the original poster.

 

However, every time this comes up, I'm also thinking that for an enterprise software of Automic's proportions (and price range), the current state of affairs is a rather sad one.

 

Neither the export feature (though recently beefed up with some clearly bolted-on additions like recursive exports and folder support), nor the somewhat cumbersome transport case (with it's various shortcomings, arbitarily limited field replacement options and proprietary, needlessly convoluted terminology) are, in my books, anything to write home about.

 

Copying things between clients or also UC4 systems should not be this cumbersome and unintuitive for AE new-comers, and the fact that so many issues come up time and time again is clearly testament to this fact.