Import of Fact Types Doesn't Import Roles

The title pretty much says all. I made a new database and imported Fact Types and Source Templates from an existing database. The Source Templates seem to have imported correctly as did the main fact types. But customized roles were not imported.

Hi @thejerrybryan - I found the same issue when I tried to import my customised default fact types using the List Import function. To quote Renee: “The Import Lists won’t import any default Fact Types. That includes any modifications made to the sentence templates or additional roles that are added. That is by design. What it will import are any new custom fact types added in the other database. Import List is working the same in RM8 as RM7”.

However RM8 does bring across modified sentences and additional roles for default fact types if you create a new RM8 database by importing an existing RM7 database, which gave me what I wanted. Somehow the Import Lists function didn’t inherit this capability from the “create an RM8 database by importing a RM7 database”. Strange decision imho.

I vaguely remember reading that comment now that you mention it. I think it’s a very poor design decision. The fact that RM7 did it the same way doesn’t make the design decision any better.

For example, I’m presently doing a lot of testing in RM8 where I set up a a very small test database with maybe a half dozen people or so. I really want to type them in from scratch like I’m entering them for the first time, even though they are people who are already in my real database. The data entry process is a part of the RM8 testing.

I’m now up to the point where I want run some reports. All of RM’s built-in fact types need customization to run the reports properly, and a couple of them need roles defined in order for the reports to be tested out properly. Therefore I need to import ALL of my fact definitions from my main RM8 database.

I think I understand the reason for the design decision. It’s surely to protect the integrity of RM’s built-in facts. But RM’s built-in facts are not at all like RM’s built-in source templates in the sense that the built-in facts can be customized and the built-in source templates cannot. Surely you might need the customization for RM’s built-in facts in another database.

I think I have a workaround. I’m dragging and dropping a few people from my main test RM8 database to a new and empty RM8 database. I make sure those people are using the fact types and roles I need. Then I’m deleting all those people from my otherwise new and empty database. The drag and drop operation brings in the customization of the built-in fact types and the roles, even though importing the same data doesn’t work. Deleting the people leaves the customizations to the fact list intact.

I’m very frustrated that such a workaround is necessary. It really makes no sense to me. If the integrity of RM’s built in facts is not protected from drag and drop operations, why does it need to be protected from importing a fact list?