Migrating from a 2.5 Forms tool

This version of Microsoft Office Groove no longer supports Groove Forms tools created using Groove 2.5. If you select a Groove 2.5 Forms tool, you are prompted to export the tool design and records for importing into a new Forms tool. Once exported, you will have a Forms Database Template (.fdt) file that contains the Forms tool design, and a Binary XML file that contains the data records.

Note the following caveats about the migration process:

• In addition to no longer supporting the Groove 2.5 Forms tool, this version of Groove also no longer supports adding new Groove 2007 Forms tools to a workspace. As a result, to migrate a Groove 2.5 Forms tool, you will need to work with another workspace member who has not yet upgraded beyond Office Groove 2007.

• Design updates made in an external HTML editor are not retained. For example, if you rearranged the layout of form fields in an external HTML editor, these changes will be lost when you import the design into the 3.0 Forms tool.

  The migration will retain all design objects, including all fields, forms, and views. Thus, you can restore your original design by selecting and laying out fields in the Microsoft Office Groove 2007 Forms tool.

• Form scripts may not work correctly and may need to be re-created.

Importing the 2.5 Forms design into a new Forms tool

1. Create a new workspace.

2. Make arrangements for adding a Forms tool to the new workspace and importing the design.

   You will need to ask a member who is still running Groove 2007 to add the Groove 2007 Forms tool for you. If there are no members in the workspace who are running earlier versions of Groove, you will need to find one to invite to the workspace.

   The workspace member will also need to import the exported .fdt file. You can send the .fdt file as a file attachment or the member could export the design and create a new one.

3. To import the design, the member who's assisting you clicks the File menu, clicks Use 2.5 Template, and then selects and opens the exported .ftd file.

Importing the 2.5 Forms tool data records into a new Forms tool

Once another workspace member has added a new Forms tool for you and imported the tool design, you can import the data records.

1. Go to the Forms tool that contains the imported 2.5 design.

2. Click the Workspaces tab, click Import, click Forms 2.5 XML or Binary, and then select the XML file you exported from the 2.5 Forms tool.

   All original data records should now appear in the data view.

You can now re-invite members to the new workspace. Note that all members will retain all associations with records they had originally created or updated.

Caveats for importing 2.5 Forms records into a new Forms tool

If the 2.5 Forms tool design you are importing contains fields that are not currently in the Forms tool design, new fields will automatically get created for these missing fields. However, all "text-based fields" (such as Text, Option Buttons, Check Box, List Box, and Drop-down List) will be re-created as Multi-line Text fields.

Additionally, if a field you are importing has the same name as an existing field in the 3.0 Forms tool design, but is a different data type, an error message will display and the Forms tool data will not get imported.