Importing Objects to the Repository
Overview
Automate is backward compatible with older versions of Automate Plus/Ultimate, Automate Enterprise, and Automate BPA. It is also cross-platform compatible and can interpret and use data created with Automate Desktop. Because of this, Automate supports the ability to import one or more file types depending on where the data originated from, whether from a legacy version of Automate or a separate Automate product line. For a list of supported file types, see Compatible file types.
Import methods
Use either of following methods to import file types into the Repository:
Drag and drop
To import files into the Repository using drag and drop, do the following:
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On the Server Management Console's navigation bar, select Repository.
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Drag the desired files from their original location and then drop them into the corresponding folder or the main panel. Newly imported tasks will subsequently appear in the Tasks folder and any associated triggers will merge in the Conditions folder. Additionally, any folder structures that existed during the export operation will remain in their respective Repository locations.
Import menu
To import files into the Repository using the Import menu method, do the following:
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On the Server Management Console's navigation bar, select Repository.
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Right-click the Workflows, Tasks, Conditions, or Processes main folder or associated subfolder you want to import files to, and then select Import.
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From the Import dialog, select the file type (default is Automate Package (.ampkg) and files you want to import. To select more than one file, hold down CTRL during selection.
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Select Open. The objects within the imported files will appear in their corresponding Repository location. Newly imported tasks will subsequently appear in the Tasks folder and any associated triggers will merge in the Conditions folder. Additionally, any folder structures that existed during the export operation will remain in their respective Repository locations.
Compatible file types
The list of compatible file types are as follows:
| File Type | Extension | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Automate Package file | .ampkg | The primary file type supported in Automate for the purpose of object migration. This type can contain all aspects of a workflow, including tasks, events, conditions, sub-workflows, and agents. |
| Automation Markup Language (AML) file | .aml | The primary file type used in Automate that contains the steps of a task and optionally, any triggers used to launch the task automatically. AML files are also created in Automate when individual tasks are saved directly from the Task Builder by selecting the Save As option. |
| Automate Task Database file | .atl | Used in Automate during a backup process to save all aspects of a task except for the task steps. This file can contain user defined settings and managed task properties such as logon, priority, and trigger settings. |
| Automate Archive file | .ama | File type used to store backup data designed for use in Automate. |
Import process behavior
While the steps to import data are the same, the behavior of the import process is slightly different depending on what type of file you are importing. For further details about each file type and their import behavior, see the following:
Importing Automate Package (.ampkg) files
An Automate Package file contains an .ampkg extension and is primarily the file type designed in Automate for the purpose of object migration. You create an Automate Package file when you export one or more objects from the Repository. Objects can include workflows, tasks, events, conditions, or custom folder structures containing such objects. A single Automate Package file can store multiple objects and include more than one object type during export.
When you import an Automate Package file into a Automate installation, all objects within in the file automatically appear in their corresponding Repository folders. For example, if a package contains tasks and conditions, the tasks will automatically import to the Repository’s Tasks folder and conditions will automatically import to the Conditions folder. Any folder structure contained within the package is recreated in the Repository as well. The folder structure created is relative to the folder currently displayed when the import begun. If an object with the same name already exists in the same folder path contained within the package, a dialog will appear prompting whether to overwrite the existing objects.
Automate supports importation of several file types from Automate Desktop and Automate. While the steps to import the data contained within the different file types is the same, the behavior of the importation process is a little different depending on what you import.
Importing Automation Markup Language (.aml) files
Automation Markup Language (AML) is the primary internal language used by Automate Desktop and Automate. aml files can contain task steps alone (created when the task is saved from the Task Builder) or it can include a "managed” task together with task steps (created when exporting a task from the Task Administrator).
Managed tasks contain additional information about how the task executes in an automated environment, such as priorities, failure handling, logon information and user provided details. A managed task may also include one or more triggers (known as Events or Conditions in Automate). During the import process, Automate performs a background conversion of Automate Desktop AML files imported to the Repository. What occurs during this process varies depending on the contents of the AML file you select.
If you are importing a .AML file which includes only the task steps, the following will occur:
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The steps contained in the AML file become a new repository task object using the same name as the AML file.
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A new workflow object is created and added to the repository under the Workflows folder. The workflow will contain the new task object and automatically assign it to execute on the default agent (if you select a default agent).
If you are importing an AML file which includes managed task information such as triggers and/or additional task properties:
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The steps contained in the AML file become a new repository task object using the same name as the AML file.
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The managed task's properties (that is, priorities, failure handling, logon, and user provided details) transfer to the applicable properties of the new task object.
NOTE: Only those features common between Automate Desktop and Automate are migrated.
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If the AML file contains any triggers, they are created as new condition objects and inserted into the Conditions folder in the Repository. The conditions use the same name as the managed task. If more than one trigger exists in the AML file, a unique number is appended to the condition name.
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A new workflow object is created and added to the Workflows folder of the Server Management Console. If the managed task did not contain any triggers, the workflow will only contain the new task object. If the managed task includes triggers, the workflow will contain all of the new conditions created from those triggers and automatically link each one to the task object. All objects are automatically set to execute on the default Agent.
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If a repository item of the same name already exists, the user will be prompted to ignore the object being imported, rename the object, or overwrite the existing repository object.
In this manner, each imported managed task becomes a new, self-contained workflow that will execute the same way in Automate as it did in Automate Desktop.
Importing Automate Task Database (.atl) files
The Automate Desktop Task Database (.atl) file contains managed tasks, properties for each managed task (that is, details, priorities, logon parameters, and triggers), folder structures created in the Automate Desktop Task Administrator in which to store managed tasks and references to the task steps contained in the AML file that the managed task executes. However, the steps of each managed task are not stored in an ATL file. Therefore, importing an ATL file into a Automate environment is only supported on those machines where an Automate Desktop installation exists.
This is because during the import process of the ATL file, Automate will attempt to locate the associated steps contained in the AML file for each managed task on the local machine. If the corresponding AML file cannot be found, the task object will be created, but it will contain no steps.
Importing Automate Desktop Archive (.ama) files
Automate Desktop Archive (.ama) files are created by the Automate Backup action located in the Task Builder or by the Backup option located in the Task Administrator. These backup files contain all managed task information created by Automate Desktop, such as task steps, properties, and triggers. It also includes system preferences, constants, and the folder structure of an Automate Desktop installation.
Unlike migration of an Automate Desktop AML file that may contain managed task properties but does not contain information about folder structure, an AMA file is able to fully reproduce the original folder structure of an Automate Desktop installation during the import process. Therefore, when an AMA file is imported into Automate, it can create a folder in each repository location for each managed task folder contained in the AMA file and places the imported objects into those folders. This is different than a managed task import, which simply places any referenced repository objects into the root of the proper folder.