Convert a Managed Solution into an Unmanaged Solution?

[ghdunn]

If I have a managed solution packaged in a zip file, can I import that into a new development environment as an unmanaged solution?  Or can I 'clone' a manged solution into an unmanaged solution?

Thanks

Ged

[HSheild]

Hi @ghdunn ,

No, you can't import a managed solution as unmanaged and you cannot clone a managed solution as unmanaged.  Basically there is no way to convert a managed solution into an unmanaged solution.  This is by design.

Best practices are that you should always export and back up any unmanaged solutions that you are working on as an unmanaged solution.

[v-xida-msft]

Hi @ghdunn,

Do you want to export an managed solution into an unmanaged solution?

If you want to export an managed solution into an unmanaged solution, I afraid that there is no way to achieve your needs in PowerApps currently.

There is no way to export an managed solution into an unmanaged solution in PowerApps currently.

Best regards,

[ghdunn]

@v-xida-msft @HSheild 

Many thanks.  I have been very clumsy and taken a back-up of my Prod environment but then restored it over the wrong dev environment, so losing my unmanaged work.

I have recreated my unmanaged solution back in the dev environment from scratch.  But in trying to release this into a parallel prod just to test i get the attached error...so just trying to work through that.

Any ideas as to a way to salvage this?

[HSheild · Accepted solution]

Oh crap, that is why it is always good to take back ups of your unmanaged solutions.

This might be salvageable from the automatic backups that Microsoft takes of your environments. In the Power Platform Admin Center you should select your Dev environment and then you will be able to see and restore any of the back ups for that environment. They are kept for about 1 week so be quick. I hope that works for you. Good luck

[ghdunn]

Thats hilarious...and of course could only happen to me...I had it in my mind that only Prod instances were backed up so had given no thought to restoring.  I therefore re-set my dev environments so have lost the backups.

I have re-created my solution from scratch..but in exporting it have discovered my dev and prod environments are out of synch and therefore I have raised a call.

Hey ho...lesson learned the hard way.  I will know more about admin processes than I did a week ago. 😉

Thanks for your help, my friend...another virtual beer is yours.

[Anonymous]

Hello,

@ghdunn 

@HSheild 

I think there is a workaround for this if you have the managed zip file solution available:

1. Extract the solution.xml file from managed zip file. 

2. Edit the value from 1 to 0 for <Managed> tag.

3.Load and overwrite with the new edited solution.xml file into the zip file (please note if you just extract all the file and zip them all back, it will fail when you will try to import the solution)

4. Import the new zip file into solution.

Please take a look over my attached files:

[HSheild · Accepted solution]

Hi @Anonymous,

Thanks for sharing this. I have seen this method mentioned in the past but it’s not supported by Microsoft. Personally I wouldn’t do that unless it was the last and only option.

I would personally rebuild the unmanaged solution by hand.

[ghdunn]

Very many thanks..I will test this in case I have to use it in future, but I have set about rebuilding the solution.

Thanks once again for your help - very interesting!

Ged

[urklnme]

Could you offer any pros and cons of changing the solutions.xml file?