Migrating workspaces and projects from version 8.0.x or version 7.5.x

This topic describes the steps for migrating projects that you developed in version 8.0.x or version 7.5.x so that you can continue to work with them in the current version or the product.

Before you begin

Before you migrate your projects, do the following things:

Read Migration overview and Compatibility with version 8.0.x and version 7.5.x.
Make a copy of your version 8.0.x or version 7.5.x workspace.

About this task

Migration steps:

Procedure

To start the migration process, bring the version 8.0.x or version 7.5.x projects into the workspace using one of the following methods:
- Import projects that have been exported as archive files from the earlier version.
- Import projects shared in a source code management (SCM) system.
- Open a version 8.0.x or version 7.5.x workspace with the current version of the product.
The Workspace Migration wizard starts automatically. In the Workspace Migration page, click Next.
In the Workspace projects which need migration page, select the projects that you want to migrate and click Next.
Tip: If there are any projects that choose not to migrate at this time, then the next that you start the current workspace the Workspace Migration wizard will start and select the projects that you did not migrate.

Note: If you choose not to migrate your projects, they will not function properly, and error messages may appear in the problems view. If you decide not to perform migration at this time, close your projects if you decide not to perform migration at this time. When the projects are reopened, you will be prompted again to migrate them.
On the Migration Project Resources page, you can see which files in the workspace will be modified by the migration process. To copy a the list of files, right-click the list and click Select All, then right-click the list and click Copy. After you copy the list, you can paste the list into a text editor or similar program to save for your reference. When you are finished with the list of files, click Next.
Note: In the case your workspace is under a source code management (SCM) system, these files are going to be checked-out from the SCM system. They are not checked in again when the migration process completes; you must check in theses files manually.
If you have any projects that target a runtime environment that is not available in the current version (for example, you are migrating a project from version 7.5.x that targets the WebSphere Application Server V6.0 runtime), then the Undefined Server Runtime page displays. Do the following things:
1. Under Server Runtimes, the Undefined Server Runtime column lists the runtimes that are not available in the current version. For each undefined server runtime, select the runtime environment to use in place of it in the New Server Runtime column.
2. Near the bottom of the page, all projects that target an undefined server runtime are selected by default to change to the new server runtime. Clear any projects that you do not want to change and then click Next.
If you are migrating a workspace from version 8.0.x or version 7.5.x (in other words, you opened a workspace from the earlier version with the current version of the project) and the workspace metadata related to servers that are not supported or available in your current workbench, then you are prompted with a wizard page that allows you to remove the resources that are no longer required from the workspace. By default, all servers that are not supported or not available in your current workbench are selected by default. After you make any changes, click Next.
The Complete Migration Startup page displays. When you are ready to begin the migration, click Finish.
When the migration process completes, the Migration Validation window opens. Click OK. The Migration Results view opens. You can see the messages generated during the validation of the migration.
- Blue messages are informational messages.
- Green messages are successful validation checks.
- Orange messages are warning messages.
- Red messages are error messages.

What to do next

Depending on the projects in your workspace and the version that you are migrating from, you might need to perform additional steps to complete the migration of your projects.

Note:

Some workspace perspectives that were available in earlier versions might not be available in version 8.5.x. (For example, the J2EE perspective from version 7.5.x is replaced by the Java EE perspective in later versions.) However, you might still see an icon for old perspective in the top-left corner of the version 8.5.x workspace. If you click the icon, you will get the following error message: Could not restore workbench layout. Reason: Problems occurred restoring workbench.
If this happens, close the perspective (Window > Close Perspective ).
Some views that were available in earlier versions might not be available in the current version. For example, you might not have not installed the same features or extensions in your current workbench. In these cases, the first time that you open your previous workspace in version 8.5.x or switch to a perspective that used the view that is not available, you will get the following error message: Could not restore workbench layout. Reason: Problems occurred restoring perspective. The details section of the error message window will have one or more messages starting with the text Could not find view In this case, the message is expected and will only occur the first time that there is an attempt to open the missing view.