About synchronization

Infor Mongoose allows authorized form and application developers to customize forms in a Mongoose-based application. FormSync is an aid to preserving customizations when you apply a vendor-supplied upgrade to an application. The process of handling those customizations in an upgrade is referred to as synchronization.

Caution:

Effective synchronization demands a thorough understanding of the process involved, the preparation required, and the level and type of synchronization desired. We strongly recommend that you take time to familiarize yourself with these concepts and practices before you perform any synchronization tasks.

Note: Synchronization applies only to customizations made to forms and global objects using a designer (Web Designer in the web client or Design Mode in the Windows client). It does not apply to modifications to IDOs, stored procedures, triggers, or other objects in a configuration.

Synchronization replaces older versions of forms and global objects in the current forms database with newer versions. During this process, you decide how to handle any customizations of forms and global objects, at the User, Group, and Site Default levels. You can retain a customization, replace it with the new version, or, in some cases, edit it.

Synchronization requires two configurations: a Source configuration and a Target configuration. Synchronization takes place using the forms databases and the applications databases in the two configurations.

The Source database contains the upgrades. During synchronization, the upgrades are copied from the Source to the Target database. The Source database is used only during synchronization and does not figure subsequently in a production or development environment. Typically, the Source database is a new forms database supplied by Infor or one of its business partners; or it might be a copy of your current forms database to which you have already applied the upgrade.
The Target database is a copy of your current forms database that contains your customizations. During synchronization, the Target database receives upgrades from the Source database. The end result of the synchronization process is a Target forms database that contains upgrades, usually merged with your customizations.
To create a Target database, first back up your current forms database and then restore a copy of it. After synchronization, this Target database serves as your new production forms database.

There are a variety of ways you can perform synchronization. You can choose to synchronize any of these:

Forms only
Global objects only
The Explorer only
Any combination of these

You can also choose to keep or replace customized versions of forms, global objects, and/or the Explorer.

After you perform your synchronization, you should always test the results of your efforts before deploying the resulting synchronized files to the production environment.