Introduction
Interfaces created in MetaLocator prior to 2019 were built using our Interface Editor, a collection of over 700 settings which were individually managed in various settings groups. Over time, this paradigm grew unwieldy since users had to pore over over 20 settings groups and hundreds of settings which required a lot of trial-and-error.
The Interface Builder replaces the Interface Editor and eliminated hundreds of unnecessary settings by introducing smarter templates, consolidating redundant settings and eliminating legacy settings.
After 2019, no new Legacy Interfaces could be created unless users imported them from a backup or duplicated an existing Legacy interface.
These functions will soon be removed in favor of creating new locators in all cases.
Benefits of Upgrading
The benefits of upgrading to the Interface Builder are many, and almost too numerous to list, however; the following are the top benefits:
Vastly improved user experience. Search controls, layouts, mobile experience and browser compatibility have all been upgraded to ensure the best user experience on all devices.
Improved Performance. Newer locators are much faster when compared to the legacy interfaces. Improved performance provides a better customer experience.
Access to the Latest Features. Newer locators provide many more features such as
Completely Code-Free. New locators no longer require HTML programming skills to make basic adjustments to the search form, results and email templates.
Easier to Manage and Change. The Interface Builder provides a much simpler UI to manage, change and create locators enabling more of your team to participate.
Improved accessibility. Interfaces created in Interface Builder meet WCAG AA accessibility standards off the shelf providing a larger audience.
First-Party Analytics. Newer interfaces can leverage our new GA4 integration which tracks events directly on the host page to ensure no events are blocked by 3rd-party cookie blockers.
How to Upgrade
Unfortunately, there is no instant upgrade feature available. However, MetaLocator provides a customized report for each Interface outlining the various settings which may need attention. The report generates new settings ready for use in the Interface Builder so that most customers should be able to review the report, import the settings and be working in the Interface Builder in just a few minutes.
To generate an automated upgrade plan, click Interfaces, the name of your Interface, and then, the "Changed Settings" option as shown below:
This will produce a report containing each setting in the Interface which was changed from its default setting.
Each row in the report represents a setting that was changed from the default value provided in the template from which this interface was derived. In the image above, the report is comparing the "Test" interface against the "Sleek Design Template", a historically popular legacy interface template from which this interface was created.
Before diving in, consider simply starting from scratch. This upgrade procedure is mostly geared towards users with many complex interfaces that need upgrading. Creating a new Interface manually using the Interface Builder is a perfectly valid approach.
Applying Automatic Settings Upgrades
At the bottom of the Changed Settings is a text "dump" of automatically modified settings which can be used in a new Interface. To use the new settings:
Copy the settings in the Changed Settings report to the clipboard.
Go to interfaces, and click New
Choose Rich Media
Name your Interface appropriately
Click Save
Click the [...] menu and choose Import Settings
Paste the settings and click O.k. The interface will close
Open the new interface you created above and click Save
The result will be an interface which represents the settings which can be automatically upgraded.
Applying Manual Settings Upgrades
Many settings no longer exist , or are no longer applicable and so at this stage in the process, some elements of your new Locator may not reflect behavior in your legacy locator.
Some settings are marked as Needs Review, or Manual. This must be reviewed on a per-setting basis and implemented using the Interface Builder.
Installing the New Locator
The installation process for new locators is the same as legacy locators
Click Interfaces
Click Install next to the Interface
Copy and paste the installation code provided.
Remove the old code.