Reconciling overlay objects

There are two possible reasons for the existence of overlays:

1. If the objects have been customized using the Best Practice mode.
2. An upgrade has been performed from an earlier Process Designer version, and the previous install was performed in best practice mode.

Before you upgrade

Although the installation handles the schema and the data, you should perform the following tasks prior to the upgrade:

• Take a snapshot of the computer.
• Back up the database.
• Back up all the Process Designer processes.
• Back up all the Process Designer transit data. For example, open incidents, open Service Request Management (SRM) requests, and so on.

To reconcile overlay objects

Reconciliation is a manual process to make sure that only required customizations exist on the overlay layer.

For each object that requires reconciliation, perform one of the following options:

• Delete the overlay
  If the only reason that you have the overlay on your system is from a previous best practice installation of an earlier version of Process Designer, you should delete the overlay.

  Note

  For forms, deleting the form overlay automatically deletes any overlays created for the form fields and views. Any custom fields (and data within them) are also lost. Therefore, make sure that the form does not contain customizations that you want to keep before deleting the overlay.

• Reconcile the overlay with the base object.
  Use this option if you have additional customizations that you want to keep. Use the base object as a reference to make sure that required customizations are retained on the overlay, while also making sure that any modifications made to the base object from the Process Designer upgrade are also retained.
  For forms, check each overlaid view to make sure that fields are positioned correctly. Consider any overlaid fields on the form. 
  For BMC Remedy ITSM workflow modified by Process Designer, Process Designer disables the base object and overlay object, and then adds a replacement object with an ABYS: prefixed name in its place. If the overlay contains customizations that you want to keep, create an overlay on the ABYS: prefixed object containing the same customizations. Then delete the overlay on the original object.