Release Objects to Another Environment › Exporting and Importing

Exporting and Importing

To move the following items from the Library on one Orchestrator to the Library on another Orchestrator, use the export and import processes:

• Objects
• Folders
• Packages
• Content packages

For example, you can copy from a development environment to a production environment or copy from one Orchestrator to another Orchestrator in the same environment. The export process creates an XML file that the import process uses. After you export objects, you import them on the destination Orchestrator.

Consider the following points before you export and import:

• The export file preserves complete information, including hierarchies and paths, for each exported object. During export, you can either save the full absolute folder hierarchy from the root folder, or only the relative paths starting in the selected folder.
• When you import an xml file that was exported as Absolute or Relative paths to an automation library, CA Process Automation reconstructs the path information (absolute or relative) in the file from the exported folder structure.
• When you export the root folder, the product exports the entire automation library. Be aware of size constraints before you export the root folder.
• You can open an export file in any XML text editor.
• You cannot modify the release version of an exported content package. The export process encrypts the XML export file to prevent modifications.
• When you export a folder or object outside of a content package, the object itself determines the state of the imported object. For example, if you export a nonmodifiable process outside of a content package, then the process remains nonmodifiable after import.

Exporting

The following topics explain the export process.

What is the Difference Between Exporting an Object, a Folder, a Content Package, or a Package?

CA Process Automation lets you export objects and folders in various ways. Every export option creates an XML file that you can import to a different environment.

You can export the following items:

An object by itself

You can only export an object in a modifiable mode. You can add a release version to the object, but it is not required. After you import an object to a new environment, you can modify the object directly.

A folder and all of the subfolders and objects in it

Exporting a folder exports the folder and its contents, including any subfolders. The contents can include any object available in the CA Process Automation Library.

You can export a folder in a modifiable mode so that you can modify the folder and its contents directly in a new environment. The product does not require objects that you export through a folder to have a release version.

The product preserves the path to the folder and the hierarchical structure of objects and subordinate folders in the export file.

A folder as a content package

A folder becomes a content package upon export and you cannot modify it in the new environment. The product preserves the path to the folder and the hierarchical structure of objects and subordinate folders in the export file.

You can add release information to a folder to export as a content package. The release version attribute is required for all folders, but you can add other relevant information about the folder or the objects in it.

It is good practice to export a folder as a content package when you are transitioning a new process with its components from the design environment to the production environment. The recipients in the production environment cannot modify the contents of the content package.

Important! If you do not set the release version of the content package or the child objects in the folder, the product aborts the export task.

A package

The package object is only supported for backward compatibility in CA Process Automation 04.2.00. You cannot reference packages in interaction request forms, start request forms, custom operators, process watches, or datasets. You can still export a 04.1.00 package, but you cannot modify the package after you import it to a new environment. You can, however, modify the package objects.

To bundle similar objects and export them to a new environment, use a content package instead.

Packages that you migrate from release 04.1.00 to release 04.2.00 export the same way as an object.

Note: You cannot export multiple folders or automation objects simultaneously. Instead, create a folder and then assemble all the objects to export as a single content package. You cannot export a folder that already contains a content package as a content package.