Upgrade Nintex Forms only

This topic describes how to upgrade Nintex Forms only, from Nintex Forms 2013 to Nintex Forms 2016.

Note: If you are upgrading Nintex Workflow as well as Nintex Forms, upgrade both at the same time.

To upgrade Nintex Forms only

1. If Nintex Live is in use, note the Live ID: On the Central Administration Home page, click Nintex Live Management and then click Connection Settings.  

   This Live ID will need to be specified in the SharePoint 2016 environment.

2. (Optional.) Disable the following external forms services on the SharePoint 2013 environment.

   • Nintex Live Forms Manager
   • Nintex Live Forms Synchronisation

   Note: This step applies when you plan to continue use of external forms with Nintex Forms 2016. These services must be disabled on your Nintex Forms 2013 environment before activating external forms on the new environment. Disabling the services prevents external forms from going to the previous environment. External forms were formerly known as Nintex Live forms.

3. Back up the following databases on your SharePoint 2013 environment using Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio.

   • SharePoint content databases

     Example: "WSS_Content"

   • Nintex Forms databases

     Example: "NintexForms"

4. Install Nintex Forms 2016 by running the installer.

   For instructions on running the installer, installing optional features (such as Enterprise Edition), and importing the license, see the installation guide.

5. On your SharePoint 2016 environment, restore the backed up databases using Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio.

   1. Attach your SharePoint content database using the Mount-SPContentDatabase PowerShell command per Microsoft guidance.

      Example SharePoint content database: "WSS_Content"

   2. Restore the Nintex Forms databases.

      Example Nintex Forms database: "NintexForms"

      1. On the Central Administration Home page, click Nintex Administration and then click Database management under Licensing and setup.
      2. Under Nintex Forms, under Configuration database, click Manage and then enter the restored Nintex Forms databases.
6. Restore the Live ID noted at the beginning of this procedure.

   For instructions, see Restore the external connection end point ID.

7. Activate Nintex Forms on all required web applications.
   1. On the Central Administration Home page, click Application Management and then click Manage web applications.

   2. On the Web applications page, select the row corresponding to the web application.

      For example, select the row for "SharePoint - 80." 

   3. Click Manage features.
   4. In the Manage Web Application Features dialog box, to the right of Nintex Forms, click Activate and then click OK to close the dialog box.
   5. Repeat as needed for additional web applications.
8. (Optional.) Enable external mobile access.
   1. On the Central Administration Home page, click Nintex Administration and then click Remote mobile access under Forms environment.
   2. Select Enabled for Enable External Mobile Access.

Troubleshooting: NFResources error

Symptom: The following error message occurs after the upgrade.

Sorry, something went wrong

The expression prefix “NFResources” was not recognized. Please correct the prefix or register the prefix in the <expressionbuilders> section of configuration.

Cause: The Nintex Forms feature is not activated on the relevant web application.

Resolution: Use instructions in the above procedure to activate the feature on relevant web applications.