Introduction
The Lightning Tools Form Migrator is a set of tools that can be used to:
• Convert form templates between two platforms (e.g., InfoPath to Power Apps)
• Convert (and migrate) form data to a destination platform.
• Archive filled out form instances as PDFs to meet organization and regulatory body records management/retention policies.
The tooling aids in these processes by helping users discover and analyze forms in their on-prem and cloud SharePoint instances and file systems.
This article gives you an overview of the features and functionality of the tool, with links to more details. First, you will need to have installed the desktop application on your computer, as described in Lightning Tools — Installing the Lightning Tools Form Migrator Desktop application.
Quick Start / Assistant
By default, the Assistant feature is activated. It provides in-app step-by-step instructions outlining the next step(s) to perform. The first Assistant you will see is Create a Form Workspace, with a description of what that is and what the action(s) are; in this case New.
The Assistant steps you may see while using the product are:
1. Create a Form Workspace (New action)
2. Add Forms (Add action)
3. Analyze or Read Form(s) (Analyze and Read actions)
4. Form Analysis Complete (Read action)
5. Form Read Complete (Preview and Write actions)
You can toggle the Assistant on/off from the Help menu.
Form Workspaces
Before you can begin to use the Form Migrator, you must to create at least one Form Workspace. Form workspaces are used to organize forms. You can choose to organize by form type (InfoPath, Nintex, PDF, etc.), location (e.g., SharePoint site or Network folder), or whatever makes sense to your migration project.
New Form Workspace
1. Click the New button on the Assistant or next to the WORKSPACE dropdown.
2. Enter a Name and Description (optional) for your form workspace.
3. Click Create.
Add Forms to the Workspace
Next, you need to add forms to the Workspace you created.
1. Click the Add Forms button in the Assistant or in the Form Workspace box.
2. From the Add Forms to Workspace dialog you can select to add forms From SharePoint (on-premises or online), From File System (i.e. your computer or network), or if you've added forms previously, those connections will be listed here.
Analyzing Forms
While form analysis is not required, it is recommended. You can perform analysis on any number of forms in your workspace by selecting the forms you wish to analyze. After you've made your selection, click on the Analyze button in the Assistant or from the toolbar.
The application window will fade and display a message noting the progress of the form analysis operation. This process may take several seconds to several minutes depending on the number and complexity of forms being processed.
Upon completion, the application will display a message with information on the number of forms analyzed along with the time taken to complete the operation.
At this point, you can view the results of the analysis and determine your next step. You may:
• Choose to organize forms into libraries based on Complexity Score or Portability Grade.
• Choose to remove forms that have not been used recently or move them to a form workspace containing lower priority items.
• Or proceed with Reading forms.
Reading Forms
When a form is read into the Lightning Tools Form Migrator Desktop, the application uses a form-specific reader to convert the source form type (InfoPath, Nintex, PDF, etc.) into Kudzu Software’s “Uniform” model. Once in Uniform:
• The form template can be converted to a destination platform supported by the Form Migrator.
• Lists or tables can be created in the destination platform.
• Data can be converted and migrated to a destination platform.
• Filled out form instances can be archived into PDFs for records management/retention.
To initiate a read operation, select one or more entries from the Form Workspace grid, then click on the Read button in the Assistant (if displayed) or in the toolbar.
The application window will fade and display a message noting the progress of the form read operation. You can expect the operation to take several seconds to several minutes depending on the number and complexity of forms being processed. Note that it will only show a completion percentage if you selected more than one form.
Upon completion, the application will display a message with information about the number of forms read along with the time needed to complete the operation.
If the Assistant is active, you will see Preview and Write options. These options are also available from the toolbar.
Preview a form
You can view a HTML representation of the Uniform model by clicking the Preview button. This is an opportunity to see how well the Migrator was able to read the source form. You can switch between views from the Form Views dropdown at the top.
Writing Forms
While the process of writing forms is similar across the different destination platforms supported by the Lightning Tools Form Migrator, each Writer has its own set of unique properties and “To Do” items after conversion. More detail on each Writer will be provided in separate documentation.
To write a form, click the Write button in the Assistant (if displayed) or from the toolbar. The Write Form dialog will be displayed.
NOTE: you will not see the Write button if you do not have Form Conversion licenses.
General Writing process
1. Select the writer you want to use.
2. Fill out the properties on the <Writer Name> Settings tab.
- General Settings are typically required and set to writer-specific defaults.
- Read the description and instructions beneath each setting for specific details.
- Advanced and Experimental settings are always optional.
3. Conversion Settings are set to writer-specific defaults.
- You can select which View(s) to convert.
- Where applicable, you can select which fields to promote/include.
4. Home View Settings tab
If the writer supports a “Home View” (landing screen), this tab will be present. This currently applies to Nintex and Power Apps Writers. Here, you can set a Title, Items Per Page, and Select field(s) to display.
5. After completing all necessary fields, click Go to start the writing (conversion) process.
6. The window will fade, and a progress message will be displayed, showing the form and list/s being created.
7. When the writing process is complete, the Form Conversion Complete dialog will be displayed.
- For writers that don’t directly publish the form to the destination platform, you can retrieve the form from Form Location.
- You can view the form conversion log by clicking the Open button next to the Log Location.
- Please take note of any messages in the What’s Next section. It will contain writer-specific next steps that may need to be performed to complete the conversion process.
Archiving Forms
The functionality to create PDF archives from filled out forms is incorporated as an add-on feature of the Lightning Tools Form Migrator's Data Conversion feature.
Please see Lightning Tools — Archiving Forms for details.