What Does the WebTop-to-SmartView Converter Do, and What Lands on Your To-Do List?
Short answer: it converts your WebTop configuration into SmartView settings automatically, and it hands you a To-Do list of everything it couldn’t. OpenText’s conversion tool reads your WebTop configs and translates them into settings for SmartView, the modern UI of Documentum D2. It’s a UI-only conversion: your data, permissions, lifecycles, and workflows stay intact in the repository. What it can’t convert (custom WDK code, bespoke integrations) gets flagged on a To-Do list for manual work. That list, not the automated conversion, is what sizes your project. Here’s how to read it.
Why does the converter change the shape of your migration?
Before this tool existed, a WebTop exit meant manually recreating years of accumulated configuration in D2. A long, error-prone transcription exercise. The converter turns that transcription into an automated pass plus an explicit exception list. That reframes the whole project: instead of estimating “how long to rebuild WebTop in D2,” you’re estimating “how long to clear the To-Do list.” The first is a guess. The second is a scoping exercise you can run before committing budget.
“I don’t fear the migration. I fear the fifteen years of customizations nobody documented.”
“Every estimate we got before running the converter was fiction. The To-Do list was the first real number in the whole program.”
“My auditors’ first question was whether the conversion touches the audit trail. Being able to say ‘it’s UI-only, the repository is untouched’ ended that conversation.”
What converts automatically vs what lands on the To-Do list
| Area | What happens | Where the work lands |
|---|---|---|
| WebTop configuration | Read by the tool and converted into SmartView settings automatically. | AUTOMATED: review and verify, don’t rebuild. |
| Data / content | Untouched. The conversion is UI-only; content never moves. | NO WORK: stays in the repository. |
| Permissions | Intact. Security model lives in the repository, not the client. | NO WORK: verify behavior in the new UI. |
| Lifecycles & workflows | Intact. Users doing advanced workflow processing continue in D2 Classic, which runs side by side with SmartView. | NO WORK on the objects: plan the Classic/SmartView client split per user group. |
| Custom WDK code (actions, dialogs, components) | Not converted. Flagged on the To-Do list. Typically rebuilt as D2 configuration via its config-over-code rules engine rather than re-coded. | TO-DO LIST: the biggest driver of manual effort. |
| Integrations (deep links, WDK-session dependencies, screen-level hooks) | Anything wired into WebTop’s URLs or WDK layer needs repointing or rebuilding against D2. | TO-DO LIST: inventory every system that touches WebTop, not just the ones IT owns. |
| Validation & testing | Not the tool’s job. In regulated environments, the converted UI needs the same verification rigor as any system change. | YOUR PLAN: often the longest phase in validated estates. |
the to-do list is the project. everything else is a checkbox
How to scope the manual remainder
- Run the converter early, in a non-production environment. Its To-Do list is your scoping document. Don’t estimate the project before you have it.
- Classify each To-Do item. Three buckets: replaceable by standard D2/SmartView capability (per OpenText: Office/Teams/SharePoint widgets, mobile apps, Core Share sharing, OOTB search facets; some old customizations exist only to fake features D2 now ships), rebuildable as D2 configuration, or genuinely custom.
- Interrogate the “genuinely custom” bucket. This is where you decide what still earns its keep. A customization nobody can explain is a candidate for retirement, not migration.
- Map the integration surface. Ask every application owner what touches WebTop. The integrations nobody remembered are what break quietly after cutover.
- Plan the client split and pilot. SmartView for most users; D2 Classic alongside for advanced workflow processing and virtual documents. Pilot one business unit, then phase the rollout. Coexistence means no big bang.
Timeline reality
Two honest statements, in tension. First: because the conversion is UI-only and content never moves, this is structurally one of the lower-risk migrations a Documentum estate can run. Second: “the tool automates it” is not the same as “it’s quick.” The automated pass is the short part. The calendar is consumed by clearing the To-Do list, repointing integrations, testing in a validated environment, and training users on a new interface. A lightly customized WebTop and a heavily customized one are different projects by an order of magnitude of effort. That’s exactly why we won’t quote a duration until the converter’s output and your customization inventory are on the table, and you should be skeptical of anyone who will.
What the February 2027 deadline does dictate is sequencing: run the converter and scope the remainder now, so the manual work (the part you can’t compress) has room to finish comfortably before support ends, not in a final-quarter scramble at emergency pricing.
Frequently asked questions
Does the converter migrate our documents?
No, and that’s by design. The tool converts WebTop configuration into SmartView settings; it’s a UI-only conversion. Your documents, metadata, permissions, lifecycles, and workflows stay exactly where they are in the repository. Nothing about your content or audit history moves.
Will our WDK customizations convert automatically?
No. Custom WDK code is precisely what the tool can’t convert. It flags those items on the To-Do list for manual work. The good news: in D2, much of what needed custom code in WebTop is handled by the config-over-code rules engine, so the manual work is usually re-configuration against requirements rather than a line-for-line code port.
How long does the conversion take?
The automated configuration pass is the fast part. Total project duration is governed by your To-Do list: how many customizations need rework, how many integrations touch WebTop, and how much validation your regulatory environment requires. Run the converter in a test environment first. Its output turns the timeline question from a guess into a scoped answer.
Can WebTop keep running while we roll out SmartView?
Yes. WebTop and D2 are both clients of the same repository, so parallel running during a phased rollout is the standard pattern. Within D2, SmartView and D2 Classic also run side by side. The constraint is the calendar: OpenText support for WebTop ends in February 2027, so the parallel period needs to end before then.
What happens to our workflows? Do they need to be rebuilt?
No. Workflows and lifecycles live in the repository and the conversion doesn’t touch them. What you do need to plan is where users process them: per OpenText, advanced workflow processing (and virtual documents) remain the domain of D2 Classic, so your workflow power users get Classic while everyone else moves to SmartView.
Which versions do we need for the converter and SmartView?
Version alignment is estate-specific: the converter and current SmartView capabilities assume a current D2 and Documentum platform, so older estates should scope a platform upgrade into the same program. Check the OpenText compatibility matrix against your exact server, D2, and WebTop 16.7.9 (the final WebTop release) versions before setting dates.
Do we need new licenses to use the converter and SmartView?
SmartView is part of D2, not a separately licensed product. But WebTop and D2 are different entitlements, so whether your existing agreements cover D2 depends on your contract history with OpenText. Confirm your position with OpenText or your reseller before scoping; it materially affects the business case.
If we do nothing, what breaks first after February 2027?
Your repository keeps running. End of support hits the client. The first practical breakage is usually a browser or OS update that WebTop 16.7.9 was never tested against, with no fix forthcoming. The first organizational consequence typically lands sooner: in regulated industries, an unsupported client on the system of record is an audit finding waiting to be written.
Want your To-Do list scoped before you commit budget?
Book a Documentum Migration Readiness Review. We run the converter analysis, classify your customization inventory, map the integration surface, and give you a scoped plan, from a team with a delivered WebTop-to-D2 migration, 11 ECM case studies in regulated industries, and 10+ year client engagements.