Documentum D2 vs SmartView: Are You Comparing Two Products That Are Actually One?
Short answer: yes, and it’s the most common mistake in WebTop replacement planning. SmartView isn’t a separate product you buy instead of D2. It’s the modern user interface of D2 (OpenText originally shipped it as “D2 Smart View”). The real choice is between D2’s two clients: SmartView, the modern responsive UI, and D2 Classic, the widget-based traditional client. Per OpenText they run side by side against the same repository, so you don’t have to pick only one. Here’s how to choose, role by role.
one product, two screens. that’s the whole secret
Why does everyone frame this as “D2 vs SmartView”?
Because the naming history invites it. SmartView started life as “D2 Smart View”, an alternate UI inside D2. Later marketing shortened the name, so it reads like a standalone product next to D2 in datasheets. If you’ve been building a comparison spreadsheet with a “D2” column and a “SmartView” column, you’ve been comparing a product against its own user interface. Every hour spent on that spreadsheet is an hour not spent on the questions that decide your WebTop exit: which client fits which user group, and what happens to your customizations.
“Our steering committee spent two meetings debating D2 versus SmartView before anyone realized they’d been arguing about one product.”
“Vendor decks list them like separate SKUs. I had to explain to my CIO that SmartView is D2’s front end, not a second migration.”
“We nearly scoped two migrations. It’s one platform decision and one UI rollout decision.”
So what is the actual choice?
Once you replace WebTop with D2, you choose per user group which D2 client they get. That’s the real decision, and it’s not either/or:
- SmartView: D2’s modern UI. Responsive layout, mobile iOS/Android apps, Microsoft Office / Teams / SharePoint widgets, Core Share external sharing, and out-of-the-box search facets (all per OpenText). This is where day-to-day contributors and casual consumers belong.
- D2 Classic: the widget-based traditional client. Per OpenText it’s still where you go for advanced workflow processing and virtual documents. Power users who live in complex workflows or assemble virtual documents keep Classic open.
- Both, side by side: the same D2 install serves both clients against the same repository, same content, same permissions. Most regulated estates land here: SmartView for the many, Classic for the few.
SmartView vs D2 Classic: the comparison that matters
| Dimension | SmartView (D2’s modern UI) | D2 Classic (traditional widget client) |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | The modern, responsive interface of D2, formerly “D2 Smart View.” | D2’s original widget-based client, still fully part of the product. |
| Best for | Everyday contributors, reviewers, mobile users, people working inside Office and Teams. | Power users: advanced workflow processing, virtual document assembly. |
| Mobile | iOS and Android apps (per OpenText). | Desktop-oriented. |
| Microsoft 365 | Office, Teams, and SharePoint widgets (per OpenText). | Not the focus of this client. |
| External sharing | Core Share integration (per OpenText). | Not the focus of this client. |
| Search | Out-of-the-box search facets. | Traditional D2 search widgets. |
| Coexistence | Run side by side on the same D2 installation, same repository, same permissions. Assign by role. This is a rollout decision, not a fork in the road. | |
| WebTop conversion path | OpenText ships an automated WebTop-config-to-SmartView conversion tool (see below). | Configured through standard D2 configuration. |
What about getting there from WebTop?
OpenText provides an automated conversion tool that reads your WebTop configuration and converts it into SmartView settings. Two things every CIO should understand about it, straight from the vendor’s description:
- It’s a UI-only conversion. Your data, permissions, lifecycles, and workflows stay intact. The repository doesn’t move, and the tool doesn’t touch it.
- It produces a To-Do list. Anything it can’t convert automatically (custom WDK code, bespoke dialogs, integrations) lands on a list of items needing manual work. The size of that list, not the automated part, is what determines your project’s effort.
We’ve written a full walkthrough of what the converter handles and what it leaves behind. See the further reading list at the end of this post.
How should you decide, role by role?
- Inventory your WebTop user groups. Who consumes, who contributes, who processes workflows, who builds virtual documents?
- Default everyone to SmartView. It’s the modern UI, it’s where OpenText’s investment is going, and the conversion tool targets it.
- Carve out Classic for the exceptions. Advanced workflow processors and virtual-document users keep D2 Classic. Per OpenText, that’s still its job.
- Run the OpenText converter and read the To-Do list. That list is your real scope. Everything else is configuration.
- Pilot with one business unit before the estate-wide rollout. Side-by-side coexistence means you never have to big-bang.
Frequently asked questions
Is SmartView a separate product from D2 with its own license?
No. SmartView is the modern user interface of Documentum D2. It began as “D2 Smart View.” You license D2; SmartView and D2 Classic are both clients of it. Confirm your specific entitlement position with OpenText or your reseller, because WebTop-era agreements vary, but you’re not buying two products.
Can D2 Classic and SmartView really run at the same time?
Yes. Per OpenText they run side by side on the same D2 installation against the same repository. Users can be assigned to either client, and the same document is visible in both with the same permissions. This is what makes a phased rollout possible: move contributors to SmartView first while workflow power users stay in Classic.
What Documentum version do I need to be on?
The practical answer: current D2 and SmartView capabilities assume a current Documentum platform. So if your estate is on an older release, a platform upgrade belongs in the same program as the WebTop exit. Check the OpenText compatibility matrix for your exact server version before committing dates. Version alignment surprises are the most common early schedule slip.
Will my WebTop customizations carry over to SmartView?
Configuration-level settings are what the OpenText conversion tool reads and converts. Custom WDK code (bespoke actions, dialogs, components) doesn’t port automatically; the tool flags what it can’t convert on a To-Do list for manual rework. In D2 the equivalent behavior is usually rebuilt through its config-over-code rules engine rather than re-coded, which is a different (and typically lighter) kind of work than the original WDK development.
What happens to my workflows and lifecycles?
They stay intact. The conversion is UI-only: data, permissions, lifecycles, and workflows are untouched because they live in the repository, not in the WebTop client. What changes is where users interact with them. If your users do advanced workflow processing, plan for them to use D2 Classic, which per OpenText is still the client for that.
How long does the WebTop-to-SmartView conversion take?
The automated configuration conversion itself is the fast part. The project timeline is driven by the manual To-Do list the tool produces: WDK customizations, integrations, and testing in a validated or regulated environment. A lightly customized WebTop is a very different project from one carrying fifteen years of WDK code. That’s why the honest first step is running the converter and scoping the remainder, not quoting a timeline blind.
What breaks first if we just stay on WebTop past February 2027?
The repository keeps running. WebTop end-of-support is a client problem. What you lose is vendor support and fixes for the client your users touch every day: no patches for new browser releases, no security fixes, no help when an OS or Java update breaks something. For a regulated enterprise, an unsupported client in the audit trail’s front door is typically the first finding, before anything technically breaks.
Should we take this moment to leave Documentum entirely instead?
It’s a fair question, and the answer depends on how much your compliance model leans on Documentum-specific capabilities like multi-level versioning, lifecycles, and virtual documents. We run both practices (Documentum and Microsoft 365/SharePoint, plus Alfresco), so we’ll tell you honestly which fits. See our alternatives comparison in the further reading list below.
Not sure which client fits which user group?
Book a Documentum Migration Readiness Review. We’ll map your WebTop estate, run the role-by-role split, and give you the honest scope. 11 ECM case studies in regulated industries, a delivered WebTop-to-D2 migration, and both-paths credibility: stay in the Documentum ecosystem or leave it, we deliver either.