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Using data deployment templates for repeatable data deployments
Using data deployment templates for repeatable data deployments

Save and re-use your data deployment configuration

Tom Smith avatar
Written by Tom Smith
Updated over a week ago

Gearset's data deployment templates let you save and re-use the configuration from a data deployment. This saves you time when setting up a new data deployment and gives you confidence that the same data configuration is used every time.

What benefits do I get from data deployment templates?

Data deployment templates bring the usual benefits of automating a process:

  • It's harder to make mistakes through human error

  • It saves you time by letting you specify the configuration once and re-use it

  • It gives you confidence that the deployment will be the same every time

This means that you can spend less time deploying data, and focus on testing and releasing new features.

Creating a data deployment template

The first step is to create a data template from a data deployment

Once you've configured a data deployment, you're able to save the configuration for that deployment as a new template (using the box at the bottom of the page). Simply give your template a name, and click SAVE.

You can also save a template from a completed deployment. Creating a template from a deployment configuration will save:

Using a data deployment template

When you configure a new data deployment, you can view a list of templates that you or other members of your team have created. Selecting one of those templates will apply a previously saved configuration to your new data deployment.

Once you've applied the template, you can go through the rest of the deployment configuration and deploy your data. If you're not entirely happy with the configuration from the template, then you can still make changes to the deployment (but those changes won't be saved back to the selected template).

Limitations of data deployment templates

In some cases, objects or fields from the template may not exist. This could happen if you created the template when deploying between one pair of orgs, and you're now using the template on a different pair of orgs. In other cases, a field in the template used as an external ID may have been deleted from the target.

When Gearset can't use the full configuration from the template it will apply as much of the template as possible:

  • Objects or fields in the template that don't exist in the target won't be included

  • If external ID fields in the template don't exist, Gearset will default to the same field it would use if you weren't using a template

  • If the template was created with don't deploy set as a deployment method against related objects, this will switch to create new records if don't deploy is not a valid option for the chosen orgs.

  • Validation rules will also not be included.

Managing data deployment templates

You can rename or delete a template that you've created by clicking the cog icon next to the templates drop-down on the Configure data deployment page. You'll also see templates created by other members of your team, but you won't be able to modify them.

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