23 Exporting and Importing Group Spaces

Oracle WebCenter provides a set of export and import utilities that enable you to back up or move group space information between WebCenter applications, and stage or production environments. This chapter describes how to export and import group spaces and group space templates through WebCenter Spaces administration page. It includes the following sections:

• Exporting Group Spaces

• Importing Group Spaces

• Exporting Group Space Templates

• Importing Group Space Templates

Fusion Middleware Administrators can also export/import group spaces and group space templates using WLST commands. To find out more about these WLST commands, how to migrate the back-end data associated with group spaces, as well as how to export an entire WebCenter Spaces application, see Section 16.1, "Exporting and Importing WebCenter Spaces for Data Migration".

Audience

The content of this chapter is intended for WebCenter Spaces administrators. Users granted the WebCenter Spaces Administrator role or a custom role that grants the Application-Manage permission).

23.1 Exporting Group Spaces

WebCenter Spaces administrators can export group spaces and import them into other WebCenter Spaces applications. Group spaces must be taken offline, even if only temporarily, to prevent data conflicts during the export process. See, Section 22.3.1, "Taking Any Group Space Offline".

Group space information is exported into a single export archive (.ear file). The EAR file contains a metadata archive (.mar file) and, optionally, a single XML file containing group space security policy information. You can save export archives to your local file system or to a remote server file system.

For more information about what is exported, read Section 16.1.1, "Understanding WebCenter Spaces Export and Import"

The export process does not include data associated with external services such as Mail, Discussions, Announcements, Wikis, Blogs, Instant Messaging and Presence, and Documents, as all this data is stored on external servers. To learn how to move data associated with these services, refer to documentation for that product. See also, Section 16.1.7, "Migrating Back-end Components for Individual Group Spaces".

Note: No icons, skins, images, or personalizations are exported. Personalizations are changes that individuals make to their personal view of a group space. See also, "Personalizing Your Page View" in Oracle Fusion Middleware User's Guide for Oracle WebCenter.

WebCenter Spaces administrators can export group spaces through WebCenter Spaces Administration as described here. Fusion Middleware administrators can also export group spaces using WLST commands. For details, see Section 16.1.9.2, "Importing Group Spaces Using WLST".

You can also export group space templates but this is a separate process. You cannot export group spaces and group space templates into a single archive. For details, see Section 23.3, "Exporting Group Space Templates".

To export one or more group spaces using WebCenter Spaces:

1. Login to WebCenter Spaces with administrative privileges.

   See Section 17.1, "Logging into WebCenter Spaces as an Administrator".

2. Click the Administration link at the top of the application.

3. Click the Group Spaces tab.

4. Click the Group Spaces subtab.

5. Select the group space required by highlighting the row in the table.

   To select multiple group spaces, Ctrl-click or Shft-click multiple rows.

   Ensure that all the group spaces you select are offline. Group spaces must be taken offline, even if only temporarily, to prevent data conflicts during the export process. Unsaved changes are not exported. See also Section 22.3.1, "Taking Any Group Space Offline".

   
   

   Note: Members with the Group Space-Manage permission should avoid editing group spaces that are taken offline during the export process.

   
   

6. Click Export in the toolbar.

   The Export Group Spaces dialog box opens (Figure 23-1).

   Figure 23-1 Exporting Group Spaces

   
   

7. Change the Export Archive Name or accept the default name.

   To ensure uniqueness, the default .ear filename contains a timestamp: webcenter_spaces_ts_<timestamp>.ear

8. Set export options as required. For details, see Table 23-1:

   Table 23-1 Group Space Export Options

   Field	Description
   Include Data	Select to export data stored in the WebCenter repository for Lists, Events, and Links. For example, list items, group space events, and links/associations between objects in the group space. If the group spaces selected for export contain a large amount of data, consider using the database export utilities to move the WebCenter schema data instead. For example DB_OH/bin/expdp \"sys/password@dbhost as sysdba\" schemas=RCUPREFIX_WEBCENTER directory=data_pump_dir dumpfile=WC.dmp Deselect this option if you do not want to export any data associated with lists, events, and links. For example, when moving a group space from a test environment to a stage or production environment where test data is not required.
   Include Customizations	Select to export group space customizations. For information about which customizations are optional on export, see Table 16-1 and Table 16-2. If you deselect this option, WebCenter Spaces is exported without these group space customizations. Portlet and page customizations are always exported. See also Figure 16-1, "Information Exported with WebCenter Spaces".
   Include Security Policy	Select to migrate security information with the group space. When selected, an XML file is generated (policy-store.xml) containing the following security related information: Group space roles (and permissions assigned to each role). Group space members (and member role assignments). Deselect this option if you do not want to export group space security information. This option is useful when exporting group spaces between a stage and production environments, where: Members used during testing are not required in the production environment. The group space already exists on the production instance and you do not want to overwrite the security information. Note: When exporting a brand new group space, always select (check) this option as you cannot import a new group space without a security policy.

   
   

9. Click Start Export.

   Progress information is displayed during the export process (Figure 23-2).

   Figure 23-2 Exporting Group Spaces In Progress

   
   

10. When the export process is complete, specify a location for the export archive (.ear). Select one of:

    • Download - Saves the export EAR file to your local file system.

      Your Browser downloads and save the archive locally. The actual download location depends on your Browser set up.

    • Save to Server - Saves the export .ear file to a server location. For example, /tmp. Ensure that there are write permissions on the sever directory that you specify.

      After clicking Save to Server, enter the Server Location and then click Save.

11. Click Close to dismiss the Export Group Spaces window.

The export archive (.ear) is saved to the specified location.

23.2 Importing Group Spaces

WebCenter Spaces administrators can import a group space archive (..ear) into another WebCenter Spaces application.

On import, all group spaces included in the archive are created or re-created on the target application. Existing group spaces are deleted then replaced, and new group spaces are created.

Group spaces must have a security policy. When you import a brand new group space you must ensure that the group space's security policy is included in the export archive. Existing group spaces already have a security policy in place so in this case, it's up to you whether to overwrite the security information on import or maintain the existing security policy.

If data migration is important, group space documents, discussions, and wikis and blogs can be migrated for individual group spaces. Fro details, see Section 16.1.7, "Migrating Back-end Components for Individual Group Spaces".

WebCenter Spaces administrators can export group spaces through WebCenter Spaces Administration as described here. Fusion Middleware administrators can also export group spaces using WLST commands. For details, see Section 16.1.9.2, "Importing Group Spaces Using WLST"

WebCenter Spaces does not support concurrent import operations. To avoid potential conflicts, import and export operations are disallowed while an import is in progress.

To import one or more group spaces:

1. Login to WebCenter Spaces with administrative privileges.

   See Section 17.1, "Logging into WebCenter Spaces as an Administrator".

2. Click the Administration link at the top of the application.

3. Click the Group Spaces tab.

4. Click the Group Spaces subtab.

   Remember to take existing group spaces offline, before attempting to import a new version. For details, see Section 22.3.1, "Taking Any Group Space Offline".

5. Click Import in the toolbar.

   The Import Group Spaces dialog box opens (Figure 23-3).

   Figure 23-3 Importing Group Spaces

   
   

6. Specify the location of your group space archive (.ear). Select one of:

   • Archive Located on Local File System - Enter the File System Location. Alternatively, click Browse to locate the directory on the local file system where the .ear file is stored.

   • Archive Located on Server File System - Enter the Server Location. Any shared location accessible from this WebCenter Spaces application.

7. Click Import.

   If you try to import a group space that already exists in the WebCenter Spaces application, you must confirm whether you want to overwrite them. To delete existing group spaces and replace them with imported versions, answer Yes. Answer No to cancel the import process.

   An information message displays when all group spaces import successfully.

8. Click Close to dismiss the Import Group Space window.

Imported group spaces are offline initially because, in most cases, some additional work is required before they are ready for general use. For example, you may want to migrate data associated with back-end components. For details, see:

Section 16.1.7.2, "Importing Discussions for a Group Space"

Section 16.1.7.4, "Importing Wikis and Blogs for a Group Space"

Section 16.1.7.5, "Exporting Documents for a Group Space"

Once content and membership details are finalized you may bring the group space online, see Section 22.3.2, "Bringing a Group Space Online".

23.3 Exporting Group Space Templates

WebCenter Spaces administrators can export group space templates and import them into other WebCenter Spaces applications. Out-of-the-box templates, such as the Group Project and Community of Interest templates, cannot be exported.

While export and import utilities are primarily used to move information between WebCenter Spaces applications, the group space template export feature is also useful as a backup service, and for sharing and exchanging templates with others.

Group space template information is exported into a single export archive (.ear file). The EAR file contains a metadata archive (.MAR file) and a single XML file containing group space security policy information.

You can save export archives to your local file system or to a remote server file system.

WebCenter Spaces administrators can export group space templates through WebCenter Spaces Administration as described here. Fusion Middleware administrators can also export group space templates using WLST commands. For details, see Section 16.1.11.2, "Exporting Group Space Templates Using WLST",

Note: You can also export group space information but this is a separate process. For details, see Section 23.1, "Exporting Group Spaces". You cannot export group spaces and group space templates into a single archive.

To export one or more group spaces templates using WebCenter Spaces:

1. Login to WebCenter Spaces with administrative privileges.

   See Section 17.1, "Logging into WebCenter Spaces as an Administrator".

2. Click the Administration link at the top of the application.

3. Click the Group Spaces tab.

4. Click the Templates subtab.

5. Select the group space templates required by highlighting the row in the table.

   To select multiple group space templates, Ctrl-click the document rows.

6. Click Export on the toolbar.

   The Export Group Space Template dialog box opens (Figure 23-4).

   Figure 23-4 Exporting Group Space Templates

   
   

7. Change the Export Archive Name or accept the default name.

   To ensure uniqueness, the default .ear filename contains a timestamp: webcenter_templates_ts_<timestamp>.ear

8. Click Start Export.

   Progress information is displayed during the export process (Figure 23-5).

   Figure 23-5 Exporting Group Space Templates In Progress

   
   

9. When the export process is complete, specify a location for the export archive (.ear). Select one of:

   • Download - Saves the export EAR file to your local file system.

     Your Browser downloads and save the archive locally. The actual download location depends on your Browser set up.

   • Save to Server - Saves the export .ear file to a server location. For example, /tmp. Ensure that there are write permissions on the sever directory that you specify.

     After clicking Save to Server, enter the Server Location and then click Save.

10. Click Close to dismiss the Export Group Space Templates window.

The export archive (.ear) is saved to the specified location.

23.4 Importing Group Space Templates

WebCenter Spaces administrators can import a group space template archive (.ear) into another WebCenter Spaces application.

On import, all group space templates included in the archive are re-created on the target application. If a group space template exists on the target, then it is deleted and replaced. If a group space template does not exist, then it is created.

Newly imported group space templates are not immediately published for general use. To learn how to make imported templates available to everyone, see Section 22.6, "Publishing and Unpublishing Group Space Templates".

WebCenter Spaces administrators can import group space templates through WebCenter Spaces Administration as described here. Fusion Middleware administrators can also import group space templates using WLST commands. For details, see Section 16.1.11.2, "Exporting Group Space Templates Using WLST",

WebCenter Spaces does not support concurrent import operations. To avoid potential conflicts, import operations are disallowed while an import is in progress.

To import one or more group space templates using WebCenter Spaces:

1. Login to WebCenter Spaces with administrative privileges.

   See Section 17.1, "Logging into WebCenter Spaces as an Administrator".

2. Click the Administration link at the top of the application.

3. Click the Group Spaces tab.

4. Click the Templates subtab.

5. Click Import on the toolbar.

   The Import Group Space Templates dialog box opens (Figure 23-6).

   Figure 23-6 Importing Group Space Templates

   
   

6. Specify the location of your group space template archive (.ear). Select one of:

   • Archive Located on Local File System - Enter the File System Location. Alternatively, click Browse to locate the directory on the local file system where the .EAR file is stored.

   • Archive Located on Server File System - Enter the Server Location. Any shared location accessible from this WebCenter Spaces application.

7. Click Import.

   If you try to import a group space template that already exists in the WebCenter Spaces application, you must confirm whether you want to continue. To delete existing group space templates and replace them with imported versions, answer Yes. Answer No to cancel the import process.

   An information message displays when all templates import successfully.

8. Click Close to dismiss the Import Group Space Templates window.

To make imported templates available to everyone, see Section 22.6, "Publishing and Unpublishing Group Space Templates".