Import Simulation

Owned by Rosen Marinkov
Feb 17, 2023
4 min read

Import Simulation is highly recommended before every import task! It provides a preview of the configuration changes that will be applied to your target instance including new objects that will be created and existing objects that will be modified. It also displays warnings and errors generated from the import file. You can then make changes directly in the import results page or to your target instance before proceeding with the actual import.



If you are using a Project Configurator version earlier than 3.0.0, you should use the Import Conflict Detection report.

Run an import simulation

You run a simulation by first selecting the Run a Simulated Import option on the Import Projects screen. When you click Import Projects, the simulation is launched and the results are displayed in a tree format (import operations tree) on the results page.

Import simulation results

When the simulation is complete, the import operations tree displays with all your configuration action options enabled. Always review the configuration changes that will be applied to your target instance before clicking Apply Configuration.

An example Import Operations Tree.

Understand your results

The import operations tree identifies the simulated actions by color to help you quickly identify configuration changes, additions, warning, and errors.



  • Objects displayed in blue exist in the target and are modified during the actual import.

  • Objects displayed in green do not exist in the target. These are created during the actual import. Changes associated with newly created objects are also displayed in green.

  • Objects displayed in yellow are warnings that you might want to review before proceeding with the import. There are no actions associated with warnings.

  • Objects displayed in red are considered errors. These changes are not migrated. You can choose to resolve the errors before proceeding with an actual import. If you do perform an import with errors, the objects are skipped but the import will still be completed.


Do not be alarmed if the simulation shows several errors. Often, a single error will trigger multiple associated errors. For example, a Software project type cannot be created because the number of users with access to Jira Software has exceeded the license. This will trigger errors for all changes in that project including creation of versions, components, assigning users to roles, assigning schemes, and creating filters, and dashboards related to that project. Review groups of errors to identify the root cause and make any necessary changes you identify before running the simulation again.

Review and modify configuration changes

Review

Changes are grouped by object category with the number of changes indicated on the category action label. Click the arrows at the left of the object label to expand or collapse a group of related changes. To expand all the object groups at once, click Expand All.

Modify

If you want to make changes to the import before proceeding, you can disable individual changes or groups of changes. Disabled changes are excluded from the actual import. To disable a single change, click the colored change description. To disable a group of changes, click the colored action label. Disabled items are displayed in gray. Click the item again to re-enable it. Remember that only additions (green) and modifications (blue) can be disabled. Warnings and errors are not import items.

In the following example, a filter category action was disabled, including all its associated actions.

If your simulation identifies errors, you may need to make changes to your target instance (open an additional browser tab) before proceeding with the actual import. Always click Recalculate after making modifications to your import simulation results, or your target instance, to ensure that your changes do not introduce any unexpected changes. Watch our Handling Simple Migration Errors with Project Configurator video to see how Import Simulation is used to identify and resolve some simple migration errors.

  • Apply Configuration: Proceeds to the actual import after you have reviewed your simulation and made any desired changes.

  • Back to Options: Returns to the Import Options page.

  • Recalculate: Click Recalculate after making any changes to the simulated results or to your target instance. This updates the configuration settings before proceeding with the actual import.

  • Expand All: Expands the operations tree to the detailed view.

  • Fold All: Collapses the operations tree to show only the action titles.

  • Download: Allows you to download the results in a text file.