Work XChange Migration

Owned by Brian Banet
Jan 30, 2020
4 min read

More often than not, customers migrating from Work XChange to GlobalAction should be considering objectives, and perform some level of process analysis and redesign, to correctly migrate workflows from one platform to another.  For customers who do wish to perform a like for like migration of workflow objects, Square 9 has built a utility to perform the migration with minimal user involvement.

The Work XChange Upgrade Utility allows users to migrate workflows in a like for like fashion.  Options are available, allowing the administrator to only convert workflows they consider to be "in production", or only from databases that are active.  Customers must be running version 4.5.2 or later before using the tool.  

Before Getting Started

You will need access to the SQL Server hosting your GlobalSearch databases. The utility offers two methods to authenticate to the database. If you are logged into Windows as a user with access to the database, no user credentials are required. Your logged in user will be used to authenticate automatically. Alternately, a SQL user account can be provided in the utility to authenticate with. Be sure you know what account credentials are required to access your GlobalSearch SQL Server Databases.

Using the conversion utility

A download link for the utility is available at the bottom of this document.  You must run the utility from the GlobalSearch server.  When the application starts, it attempts to determine where the GlobalSearch databases are and automatically specifies the SQL Server instance name.

The server and instance can be overridden if they are incorrect.  As noted above, if you are logged into Windows with a user that has database access, the application will use those credentials, or a SQL Server user name and password may be provided.

The application reads the license files and checks to see if you are licensed to use GlobalAction.  If you are not licensed for GlobalAction, workflows may be converted but can not be published.  If you are not licensed for GlobalAction, it is strongly recommended you stop now and contact your Square 9 Authorized Reseller or Regional Sales Director.  Also note the number of Workflows you are licensed to publish.  The application will not allow you to convert and publish more workflows that you are licensed for.

All GlobalSearch databases are evaluated once a valid connection has been made.  No assumptions are made about what databases are production, test, leftover from demos, etc. and all databases will display in the list.  As an administrator, you may choose what workflows from what databases are to be converted by selecting the corresponding Import checkbox.  You may also choose whether or not converted workflows should be published with the Publish checkbox.  

The list of workflows for each database will include a status that indicates current state.

  • Ok: This workflow can be converted.
  • Converted: This workflow has already been converted and would result in a duplicate.  Converted workflows will not be converted.
  • QB Not Supported: Legacy workflows that include a "QuickBooks Export" can not be converted. In the unlikely event you have workflows with this node that require conversion, please contact Square 9's software support team.
  • Invalid: Some workflow parameter would result in a conversion failure.

Workflow Validation

Each workflow is checked to ensure it's valid before being converted.  The following conditions can result in an invalid workflow:

  • MoveToArchive references an Archive that no longer exists.
  • A referenced field no longer exists.
  • Email are missing To, From, Subject, or Body values.
  • Email addresses that are malformed (missing @ for example).

Conversion Results

When the Import to GlobalAction button is clicked, all selected workflows are processed and the corresponding GlobalAction objects are created.   Note there are significant architectural differences between Work XChange and GlobalAction.  While functional parity is maintained, the configuration between the two is very different.  Be aware of the following points:

  • GlobalAction workflow names will match the name of the Work XChange workflow it was created from.
  • A Search is created to support every Initiator node.  The Search's name will be "Search for GA:" plus the workflow name.
    • Initiator Node Searches will be secured to the SSAdmin group.
  • When a Work XChange workflow contains a Checkpoint, a Search is automatically created to support the corresponding Condition Node.  Checkpoint Searches are named "Condition ID for " plus the workflow name.
  • A converted workflow's Initiator Node will include a description with helpful details:
    • Includes the text "Created by Document Workflow Upgrade Utility".
    • Includes the Workflow ID, Workflow Name, and Archive ID.

  • @TODAY variables are converted to {TODAY}.  Note, the variable is only converted to the intended value when the field being set is a Date field.

  • @USERNAME variables are converted to {LASTUSERMODIFIED}.  Note, the variable is only converted to the intended value when the field being set is a Character field.

  • Work XChange workflows that are user initiated (not marked as System Action) will be converted to a GlobalAction workflow that includes a Queue.  All View users of the parent Archive are granted access to the Queue.  Note: This is an area where process re-engineering might be applicable.  GlobalAction does not require that all users of an Archive can take the same actions on a document.

Download

The migration utility is available for download from this link.