Importing from Previous Versions
All of these notes apply to version 2.0 and later of BaseElements only.
Separation Model
Now in version 2 of BaseElements, we have separate UI and Data files, so it's possible for us to issue updated UI files and leave the data file intact. Plus we have a button on the setup layout that allows you to manually import from previous versions of BaseElements. So regardless of whether or not there are data changes, it's possible to bring all your data into new versions of BaseElements when changes are made to BE.
To keep track of what changes are made and what sort of import is required, this page will list any requirements and also say whether or not you can just replace the main and UI files.
Instructions
1 - Replace non Data File The BaseElements_2_Data file is unchanged and you can replace the other files ( BaseElements_2 and BaseElements_2_UI ) with the new versions from the download.
2 - Import From Previous There are changes to the data file, and you need to import any data you want to re-use using the button on the setup layout.
3 - Import Again From XML There are changes to the XSLT import process, and you need to re-import your XML files.
Note: This list assumes you're importing from the directly previous version. If you've skipped a particular release, you need to take the greatest action in all the versions in between your current and the new version.
| Version | Instructions |
|---|---|
| 2.6.8 | 1 - Replace non Data File |
| 2.6.7 | 1 - Replace non Data File |
| 2.6.6 | 2 - Import From Previous |
| 2.6.5 | 2 - Import From Previous |
| 2.6.4 | 2 - Import From Previous |
| 2.6.3 | 2 - Import From Previous |
| 2.6.2 | 3 - Import Again From XML |
| 2.6.1 | 3 - Import Again From XML |
| 2.6.0 | 3 - Import Again From XML |
| 2.5.2 | 2 - Import From Previous |
| 2.5.1 | 3 - Import Again From XML |
| 2.5.0 | 3 - Import Again From XML |
| 2.1.1 | 2 - Import From Previous |
| 2.1.0 | 3 - Import Again From XML |
| 2.0.9 | 3 - Import Again From XML |
| 2.0.8 | 3 - Import Again From XML |
| 2.0.7 | 3 - Import Again From XML |
| 2.0.6 | 3 - Import Again From XML |
| 2.0.5 | 3 - Import Again From XML |
| 2.0.4 | 2 - Import From Previous |
| 2.0.3 | 3 - Import Again From XML |
| 2.0.2 | 2 - Import From Previous |
| 2.0.1 | 3 - Import Again From XML |
| 2.0.0 | Initial Release |
Questions?
I really really need to keep old data : There is no reason that you can't keep the old data by importing into the new files, even if the details above suggest that you re-import from XML. However the reason we list the re-import as the suggested action is that you should be aware that there are differences in the import process, so the data will have changed between versions. Keep the old imports only for historical reasons, and note that any fixes introduced in the latest version won't be included in the old import.
For example, version 2.1.0 introduced a feature where there is a checkbox for whether or not a relationship is sorted. This data is generated by the XSLT. If you import data from previous versions into 2.1.0, the field will be there, but there will be no data for any relationship, sorted or not. So you just need to be aware of these sorts of things and plan accordingly.
Importing v1 data into v2
The short answer is no, there isn't a way to do this. We changed a lot of the data structure, added more tables that just didn't exist before (Calculations, TORefs, etc), and generally made lots of changes to the field names and methods of working. So there isn't a process to import from your BaseElements 1.x versions into 2.x. There is always the option of keeping 1.x around while you need it, and using 2.x for new imports, or re-importing any historical XML files into 2.x.