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Import & Export

Overview

improve supports exporting workflows and folders as portable .zip packages that can be imported into other repositories or shared between teams.

Workflow export/import

Export a workflow 

library(improveR)

# Get the workflow from an analysis tree
workflow <- getWorkflow(analysisTree)

# Export to a local folder
exportWorkflow(workflow,
  workflowName = "PK-Analysis-Q1",
  targetFolder = "~/exports")

This creates three files:

File Content
PK-Analysis-Q1.zip The workflow with all steps, files, and structure
PK-Analysis-Q1LinkMapping.json Maps file references between source and target
PK-Analysis-Q1ToolMapping.json Maps tool configurations for the target environment

Import a workflow 

# Create a target folder
targetFolder <- createFolder("/Projects", "Imported-Analyses")

# Import the workflow
importWorkflow("~/exports/PK-Analysis-Q1.zip", targetFolder)

# Verify: the analysis tree and all steps are recreated
importedTree <- loadResource("./PK-Analysis-Q1", targetFolder)
importedWorkflow <- getWorkflow(importedTree)

The import preserves:

  • Step descriptions and rationale
  • Step dependencies (parent-child relationships)
  • File references and links
  • Process configurations

Folder export/import

For simpler transfers without workflow structure:

Export a folder 

exportFolder(sourceFolder,
  exportName = "StudyData",
  targetFolder = "~/exports")

Import a folder 

targetFolder <- createFolder("/Projects", "ImportedData")
importFolder("~/exports/StudyData.zip", targetFolder)

# Verify contents
children <- loadChildResources(targetFolder)

Incremental import

When re-importing to a location that already has content, the import can handle conflicts:

# Import with skip on conflict (keep existing)
importWorkflow("~/exports/PK-Analysis-Q1.zip", targetFolder)