Content Matrix 9.10 - SharePoint Edition

Customized Form Pages Migration

It is possible to migrate your SharePoint Designer (SPD) customized Form pages when migrating a SharePoint list, library, site, or Site Collection.

When migrating between the same versions of SharePoint, Content Matrix will copy the customized Form page to the target environment, and all customizations will be preserved.

If migrating between two different versions of Content Matrix will only migrate the contents of the Content Area - PlaceHolderMain on the Forms page. This is because not all of the file content is compatible between SharePoint versions. Each Forms page only has one Content Area, so Content Matrix will search the page for the Content Area tag, and will migrate the contents of "PlaceHolderMain" to the target.

The Content Areas are marked with the tag:

<asp:Content ID="Content7" ContentPlaceHolderId="PlaceHolderMain" runat="server">

NOTE: Depending on the Form page customizations in your source environment, the Content Areas tags may appear different from the tag listed above.

If content is found under the tags in the content area, then Content Matrix will move that data to the same section of the content area on the target SharePoint Form page. Only the content of these tags are migrated to the target, instead of migrating the actual page itself. If any of the customizations actually block Content Matrix from finding these tags on the source page, then the contents will not be migrated because Content Matrix will not be able to find anything to migrate (but the web parts will still be migrated).  In fact, when the Copy Customized For Pages option is selected, Content Matrix will automatically select the Copy Web parts on Form Pages check-box option (under the Classic Web Part Options tab) because web parts must be copied if migrating Form page customizations.

InfoPath Forms Migration

InfoPath forms can be migrated through the same process as migrating a SharePoint list.

IMPORTANT:  InfoPath forms can only be migrated to the Enterprise edition of SharePoint 2019.

NOTE:  Currently, if Microsoft 365 OAuth with MFA Authentication is used on the source or target, Content Type InfoPath forms will not be migrated.

Criteria for Link Correction

When migrating InfoPath forms, Content Matrix will automatically try to run link correction, provided the Enable Link Correction option in the General Options tab is enabled, on any items that meet the below criteria:

·If the BaseTemplate for the list is a FormLibrary.

·If the item contains ".XML" in its FileName field.

NOTE: If an XML file is manually uploaded to a forms library it will undergo this link correction process as well. However, since these XML files will not actually have the necessary InfoPath form links to correct, no links will be corrected for the file. No logging will occur for the link correction in these types of files.

If the item does not meet both of these requirements, then the link correction process will not try to correct the link data for InfoPath forms.

If the Verbose logging option under the General Options tab is not enabled, then this link correction will not be reported in the migration logs. However, if the Verbose option is enabled, then any successfully corrected links in the InfoPath forms will be reported in the migration logs.

NOTE: A mandatory InfoPath Item Content Link Corrector transformer for this InfoPath link correction ability can be found in the Transformations tab, under the SharePoint Items transformer definition.

SharePoint Workflow Migration

Before continuing into the SharePoint workflow migration process, it is a good idea to have a better understanding of what each of these workflow pieces are.

·A workflow association contains all the data necessary to run the workflow at a given level (i.e. all the variables). For example, they contain all the parameters for a workflow Instance, default values, a list of steps that need to be taken, and other tasks (such as sending email to specified users). Workflow associations can be present in the following:

§In SharePoint 2007, they can be found in lists, libraries, and content types.

§In SharePoint 2010, they can be found in sites and site collections.

§SPD 2010 platform workflow associations can be found in sites and site collections, and SPD 2010 platform and Out-of-Box workflow associations can be found in lists and content types.

§SPD 2013 platform workflow associations can be found in sites, site collections, and lists.

Only the most recent version of the workflow associations will be migrated.

·Content Matrix can also migrate the workflow template, so long as the template is defined locally on the source SharePoint server (and is in a hidden list called "Workflows") and is not defined at the server level. This is usually the case for SharePoint Designer (SPD) workflow templates and  Nintex workflow templates. Basic Out-of-Box (OOB) templates are not defined locally (they are not listed in this "Workflows" folder), so OOB Templates are not supported for migration. However, Content Matrix will look for these OOB templates on the target, and while it cannot migrate the OOB templates themselves, it will activate the required features to enable them.

·Content Matrix is also able to migrate workflow instances.

EXCEPTION: Migration of SPD 2013 platform workflow instances is not supported.

The instances are the actual running processes of a workflow, and are only present on items. Each instance is attached to an association, so if the associations are not migrated, the instance cannot be migrated either. Additionally, only the running or completed workflows that are associated with the latest workflow instance version will be migrated.

IMPORTANT:  For workflow instance migration to be enabled, migration of workflow associations and a switch that allows Content Matrix to write the data directly to the database must be enabled.  

·Workflow histories are currently always migrated from SharePoint 2010 and never migrated from SharePoint 2013 and later, regardless of whether workflow instances are migrated.

Pre-Workflow Migration Considerations

If you are performing workflow migration, it is highly recommended you have a general understanding of their workflows and where the data is located to ensure that data integrity is preserved after a migration.

Consider the following questions:

·What type of workflows are being used?

§Are there out of box (OOB) workflows?

§Are there SharePoint Designer (SPD) or  Nintex Workflows?

§Are there other third party workflows?

Depending on the answer to this question, there can be different steps that need to be taken, or even a slightly different approach to the migration. The following are some general responses to this question:

·If there are OOB workflows - OOB workflows are installed as a SharePoint solution file, and are deployed across the entire farm. As a result, they are defined at the server level. In this case, Content Matrix will not migrate the template definitions, but will instead activate the features on the target side to allow the OOB workflow templates to be used. If migrating at the site collection level, these templates will be activated by Content Matrix, and only the features will be activated. If migrating at a site or list level (and not the site collection level), you must ensure that the templates are already activated at the site collection level before a migration is run so that the features can be activated. This is especially notable when migrating from SharePoint 2007 to SharePoint 2016 or later.

NOTE: In some cases, you may need to manually activate the SharePoint 2007 Workflows feature on a SharePoint 2016 or later target environment before the workflows can be properly migrated.

·If there are SharePoint Designer or Nintex workflows - SharePoint Designer and Nintex workflows have a local install of the workflow template (WFA) definition. This definition is usually held in a hidden list called "Workflows." If the Preserve workflow associations for SharePoint Designer and Nintex Workflow option is enabled, then Content Matrix can migrate the template as well. As long as the workflow templates are defined locally, Content Matrix should be able to migrate them.

NOTE:  If you are performing a list-level migration that includes SPD workflows, the "Workflows" list must already exist on the target. You should migrate the "Workflows" list first, then migrate the list containing the workflow(s). (It will be part of a site collection- or site-level migration.)

·If there are third party workflows - The answer here can vary depending on the workflow in question. If the third party workflow works in the same way as a SharePoint Designer or a Nintex Workflow, then the workflow can be migrated using the same steps as SPD and Nintex Workflows.

If the third party workflows are set up in a different way from OOB or SPD and Nintex Workflows, then migration of those workflows is currently not supported.

Once you have a better understanding of what type of workflow is being migrated, the actual migration process can begin.

For additional Nintex workflow-specific considerations, see Additional Considerations for Nintex Workflows.