Transferring changes using schema export and import

Introduction

One way to transfer changes between work environments or between configurations of the same work environment (usually a development environment) is by exporting and importing schemas.

The schema export and import is used in the following cases:

1. Transferring “work-in-progress” schemas from one developer to another, as committing incomplete features to the version control system (SVN) is not a good practice.
2. Saving development results (if the SVN version control system cannot be used for this purpose).
3. Quick schema transfer between the environments.

Advantages:

Ability to replace contents of a schema quickly.

Disadvantages and limitations:

• The mechanism enables you to export and import only schemas. You cannot export or import packages. In addition, it is not possible to transfer data connected to the packages.
• Administrator access rights in the application are required.
• It is not possible to load several schemas at the same time.

Exporting schemas

To export a schema:

1. Go to the [Configuration] section of the system designer.
2. Select the package in which the schema is located.
3. Select a schema to export.
4. Click the [Export to file] on the [Actions] tab (Fig. 1,1).

Fig. 1. Configuration action for client schema export and import

A file with the schema name and *.md extension saved on your hard drive as a result.

Importing schemas

To import a schema:

1. Go to the [Configuration] section of the system designer.
2. Select the package in which you want to import a schema.
3. Click the [Import from file] on the [Actions] tab (Fig. 1, 2).
4. Select the file of the previously exported schema in the dialog box (Fig. 2).
5. Compile the configuration by selecting [Compile all items] on the [Actions] tab (Figure 1, 3).

Fig. 2. Import file selection window