Considerations When Migrating Microsoft 365 Word Templates Across Environments

How Reference Preservation Works

Template migration requires that all clause records, clause versions, and related profile data already exist in the target org. Migrate this data separately by using a data migration tool. If a referenced clause is missing in the target org, template migration stops to prevent broken references.

Template migration relies on built-in key mapping to resolve references in the target org. When the required data is available, migration preserves:

• Clause references, including clause versions
• Section structure within the template
• Section-level access controls tied to profiles

This alignment helps maintain template integrity and reduces the need for manual corrections after migration.

Considerations

• Before migrating a template, move all clause records, clause versions, and related profile data to the target org.
• To prevent reference mismatches, don’t modify the clause data in the source or target org between clause migration and template migration.
• If a template uses custom fields in token mappings, migrate those fields to the target org before migration.
• Use unique names for clauses and clause sets to prevent references from failing or resolving incorrectly.
• Before migrating, make sure that all referenced clauses are active in the target org.
• Make sure that all referenced profiles exist and are uniquely named in the target org.
• When creating a custom profile, don’t use the reserved profile names PT1 through PT14.
• Depending on template content, migrating many templates at one time can exceed metadata size limits.