The new Forms activities are frustrating

[postwick (Paul Ostwick)]

I am trying to use UiPath.Form.Activities 23.4.6. The old activity Create Form with the designer button right there and the arguments as a visible property was much easier to use.

With this version:

• There doesn’t appear to be a “preview” function
• Adding an argument doesn’t cause it to be added to the form automatically like in the past
• After I configured one argument I then couldn’t open the arguments again to add/edit but this seems to be intermittent or dependent upon some other as-yet-unknown thing

[postwick (Paul Ostwick)]

More issues. I added a Data Grid and then the fields within it, and when I went back to the Show Form activity it automatically added each field as an argument, which it shouldn’t - they’re not single fields they’re within a Data Grid.

I also figured out that the Arguments box is disabled after running the process, and I have to change “Continue workflow execution” to get Arguments to be editable again.

[postwick (Paul Ostwick)]

Also, when adding a Data Grid and then running, the rows I add are empty. When adding an Edit Grid the rows aren’t even added to the in/out datatable.

I went back to UiPath.Form.Activities 2.0.3 and it was simple. Create Form, add datatable as in/out argument, open form designer and the grid is automatically added, execute and add a row in the form and the rows are added correctly to the datatable. Took 2 seconds.

[J0ska]

I am not using Forms in my automations.
I just crossed over it during updating my library of sample projects from Legacy to Windows.

Is it true that there is not any conversion tool from pre 23.4 forms to current?

Cheers

[postwick (Paul Ostwick)]

I don’t know what happens if you upgrade the package for an automation built on the “old forms.” Never tried it but considering the massive difference in how it all works, I’d be surprised if it can be upgraded.

[J0ska]

It replaces “Create Form” activity with missing activity placeholder…

@loginerror Did I missed something or there is realy no conversion?

Cheers

[postwick (Paul Ostwick)]

That means there is no conversion.

[J0ska]

I found that the output of “Save As Template” action of pre-23.4 form designer could be “injected” into “components” segment of empty “uiform” file created in 23.4+ studio and it seems to work.

Cheers

[Speziman]

Can you please advise a bit more in detail how to do this migration? I have no experience with forms but need to migrate a project a former colleague created once upon a time.

Thank you.

[J0ska]

1/ In pre-23.4 form designer export the form definition using “Save As Template” action, it will create a JSON file (1)

2/ In new project create an empty form, it will create an UIFORM file (2) (which has also json format)
3/ In text editor copy content of the JSON file (1) and replace with it “components” segment of the UIFORM file (2)

4/ Voila! Pre-23.4 form is migrated to 23.4+. I realy wonder why UiPath did not implemented a conversion tool…

Note the “Unknown component” in the migrated form. Here was in the pre-23.4 form “Open File” dialog. I do not know what is it’s equivalent in 23.4+ form.

Cheers