Sail interface V17.1 and below

Question

I have SAIL interfaces v16.2. We recently upgraded to v17.2 and I noticed that the code for the v16.2 interfaces were not converted to v17.2 code. Is there a way to convert the v16.2 code to v17.2 code without having to redo them from scratch or having to edit each section? I want to take advantage of the Column functionality that is offered in v17.2, however the code is not backwards compatible. I get an error when trying to update the v16.2 interface code. See image for details on the error.

Ashvin Kapur · Answer

This is expected. To add a a!columnsLayout() to a form, you must change the a!formLayout_17r1() to a!formLayout(). It's a relatively cumbersome process for large apps, but changes only need to be made to forms to which you want to add multiple columns / utilize newer functionality. Additionally, if you change the a!formLayout_17r1() to a!formLayout(), other sections using the old _17r1 code will still be compatible with the new a!formLayout component.

Mike Schmitt · Answer

As others have said above, to put it simply, you need to replace any instances of "a!formLayout_17r1" with just "a!formLayout", in any place where you want to use the NEW version of a!sectionLayout inside it. You don't need to replace it at all otherwise, though it doesn't hurt. The only other thing you need to do also, is change the "firstColumnContents:" parameter to simply "contents:", if there is only one form column. FWIW, I generally advise only having multiple columns defined in sectionLayouts, and not in formLayouts, though that's up to the designer.

aloks0189 · Answer

Hi sswilliams I agree with other participants. You need to update the code a bit by replacing first/secondCoulmnContents with contents and formLayout_17r_1 to formLayout. 
 
I believe, by tweaking/updating the code a bit, if we can utilise better UI experience and performance then it's always a better option to go for it. And that's where maintenance comes into picture during version upgrade.