As an AEM author, updating existing page content is a routine task. However, manual updates, like rolling out a new template, can become tedious and costly when dealing with thousands of pages.
Fortunately, automation scripts can save the day. Using Groovy scripts within AEM can streamline the content update process, reducing time and costs. In this blog, we’ll outline the key steps and best practices for using Groovy scripts to automate content updates.
The Benefits of Utilizing Groovy Scripts
Groovy is a powerful scripting language that integrates seamlessly with AEM. It allows developers to perform complex operations with minimal code, making it an excellent tool for tasks such as:
- Automating repetitive tasks
- Accessing and modifying repository content
- Bulk updating properties across multiple nodes
- Managing template and component mappings efficiently
The Groovy Console for AEM provides an intuitive interface for running scripts, enabling rapid development and testing without redeploying code.
Important things to know about Groovy Console
- Security – Due to security concerns, Groovy Console should not be installed in any production environment.
- Any content that needs to be updated in production environments should be packaged to a lower environment, using Groovy Console to update and validate content. Then you can repackage and deploy to production environments.
How to Update Templates for Existing Web Pages
To illustrate how to use Groovy, let’s learn how to update templates for existing web pages authored inside AEM.
Our first step is to identify the following:
- Templates that need to be migrated
- Associated components and their dependencies
- Potential conflicts or deprecated functionalities
You should have source and destination template component mappings and page paths.
As a pre-requisite for this solution, you will need to have JDK 11, Groovy 3.0.9, and Maven 3.6.3.
Steps to Create a Template Mapping Script
1. Create a CSV File
The CSV file should contain two columns:
- Source → The legacy template path.
- Target → The new template path.
Save this file as template-map.csv.
Source,Target "/apps/legacy/templates/page-old","/apps/new/templates/page-new" "/apps/legacy/templates/article-old","/apps/new/templates/article-new"v
2. Load the Mapping File in migrate.groovy
In your migrate.groovy script, insert the following code to load the mapping file:
def templateMapFile = new File("work${File.separator}config${File.separator}template-map.csv")
assert templateMapFile.exists() : "Template Mapping File not found!"
3. Implement the Template Mapping Logic
Next, we create a function to map source templates to target templates by utilizing the CSV file.
String mapTemplate(sourceTemplateName, templateMapFile) {
/*this function uses the sourceTemplateName to look up the template
we will use to create new XML*/
def template = ''
assert templateMapFile : "Template Mapping File not found!"
for (templateMap in parseCsv(templateMapFile.getText(ENCODING), separator: SEPARATOR)) {
def sourceTemplate = templateMap['Source']
def targetTemplate = templateMap['Target']
if (sourceTemplateName.equals(sourceTemplate)) {
template = targetTemplate
}
}
assert template : "Template ${sourceTemplateName} not found!"
return template
}
After creating a package using Groovy script on your local machine, you can directly install it through the Package Manager. This package can be installed on both AEM as a Cloud Service (AEMaaCS) and on-premises AEM.
Execute the script in a non-production environment, verify that templates are correctly updated, and review logs for errors or skipped nodes. After running the script, check content pages to ensure they render as expected, validate that new templates are functioning correctly, and test associated components for compatibility.
Groovy Scripts Minimize Manual Effort and Reduce Errors
Leveraging automation through scripting languages like Groovy can significantly simplify and accelerate AEM migrations. By following a structured approach, you can minimize manual effort, reduce errors, and ensure a smooth transition to the new platform, ultimately improving overall maintainability.
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