Initialize or update the meta-model of the Alfabet database

There are three methods to do the update:

• Update of the meta-model with running scripts for adapting existing configuration automatically to the Alfabet 11.12 configuration structure. Click for an overview of automatic migration steps.
• Update of the meta-model migration without changing the current configuration. All adaptations to the new way of configuring Alfabet must be done manually.
• Skip the Alfabet 10.15.x custom configuration and start with the standard Alfabet 11 Accellerator configuration. This option is recommended for customers who used an Alfabet Accellerator configuration without or with only minor customizations in Alfabet 10.15. The new Alfabet Accellerator 11 configuration is then fully available with your data.

The required changes to upgrade the meta-model to the new release are stored in AMM files delivered with the new release.

The following procedure describes the update with the Alfabet Administrator tool. Alternatively, you can update the meta-model using the AlfabetAdministratorConsole.exe command line tool. The order of updates with different AMM files described below also applies to update via the command line tool. If you would like to take advantage of automatic migration scripts run during update of the meta-model (see step 5), you must use the Alfabet Administrator tool.

1. Start the Alfabet Administrator from the Windows® Start Menu.
2. Expand the Alfabet Aliases node in the explorer.
3. Right-click the server alias that connects to the Alfabet database, select Update Meta-Model and log in to the database either via Windows sign-on or user name and password.
4. In the dialog box that opens, select the UpdateFile_11.12.0.amm file in the Database directory of the Alfabet installation folder.
5. Decide on the migration method setting the Execute configuration migration scripts option:
   • Execute configuration migration scripts is selected: Parts of your existing configuration will be automatically adapted to the Alfabet 11.12 configuration structure.
   • Execute configuration migration scripts is not selected: Migration is done without changing the current configuration. All adaptations to the new way of configuring Alfabet must be done manually. Deselect the checkbox if you want to use the standard Alfabet 11.12 Accelerator configuration or do all adaptations of your configuration manually.
6. Click Update to start the meta-model update.
7. If you want to use the standard Alfabet Accellerator 11 configuration, update the meta-model again with the Alfabet_Accelerator_Configuration_Update_11.12.0.A.amm file in the Database directory of the Alfabet installation folder.
8. If you do not want to use the standard Alfabet Accellerator 11 configuration, update the meta-model again with the Indicator_Cards_AddOnPackage.amm file in the Database directory of the Alfabet installation folder. This update is required to activate widgets for indicator cards and user defined content items in content areas.

If issues occur during update of the meta-model via the AMM file, a log file is created during update of the meta-model. The log file is written to the directory that contains the AMM file and has the name <Name of the AMM file>_<Time Stamp>.log. Consult the log file to view any issues that occurred during update.

If configurations not matching the meta-model after update are detected in the database, the update meta-model process will write the problems into a Microsoft® Excel® file. The file is written to the directory that contains the AMM file and has the name <Name of the AMM file>_<Time Stamp>.xlsx. Open the Excel file and check for issues that require correction. The file only includes relevant sheets. If a specific issue does not occure, the respective sheet is not available in the file. The file may consist of the following sheets:

• Translation Errors: Lists issues detected during vocabulary update such as original strings that exceed the maximum allowed character number of 600 characters.
• Queries: Lists all queries defined in Alfabet configuration that are no longer valid because of meta-model changes.
• Class Settings Editor: Lists all class settings with an incorrect editor configuration.
• User Profile Errors: Lists all user profiles with a missing or incorrect view scheme configuration and user profiles with the same name as another user profile. User profiles are listed here if the View Scheme attribute is either empty or set to a view scheme that does not exist. The view scheme configuration is required to apply the correct class settings to the user profile, thus ensuring that the correct settings are applied for the object class property and button configuration, for example. User profiles are also listed if two user profiles with the same name exist in the database.
• Performance Optimization Hints: Lists configurations potentially affecting system performance. Currently, the list includes all object class properties defined as shadow references that do not have an index configured to optimize search operations. Additional configuration patterns identified as performance-relevant in future releases will also be added to this list.

The way the user interface is configured has considerably changed between Alfabet 10 and Alfabet 11 releases. After update of the meta-model, the existing configuration must be revised and adapted to the new configuration elements.