Introduction

This article contains information on ways to migrate data across from a TecomC4 system to WMS Pro.

Each scenario will have some differences, depending on how the site is set up, however the fundamental items is covered in this article.

It is important to note that V8 panels cannot be brought across to WMS Pro, so any V8 panels present in a TecomC4 system will need to be upgraded to ChallengerPlus or Discovery for use with WMS Pro.

IMPORTANT - WMS Pro Knowledge:

It is important that anyone performing a migration has completed the latest WMS Pro training, and is familiar with WMS Pro operation, especially enrolling controllers, and creation and operation of CAGs and UAGs.

Online training can be found on our website, under Support > Training, or training can also be organised through our Distributors.

Link to the Training Portal- 

Aritech - Secure login 

New user? Signup now using code: WMSP2026
https://learn.aritech.com.au/self-signup/

The aim is getting the data across in the most efficient way possible.  Since WMS Pro imports its data from the controllers themselves as the initial form of data import, that will be the place to start.
 
The process is straightforward; it is just important to ensure it is done in the right order.

1. Enroll the controllers into WMS Pro

Enroll controllers one at a time into WMS Pro, as described in the WMS Pro training, and WMS Pro Quick Start Guide.

Ensure each controller is enrolled, and has finished its initial retrieval from the controller before starting the next.

Enrolling the controllers will bring in all the users, with their credentials and permissions, into WMS Pro, and WMS Pro will automatically create all the CAGs required by these users.

2. Import User names

For most sites, this step will be needed.  The scenarios where this is needed are as follows:

• This section is needed if the controllers have memory expanders, as user names are not stored in the controller if they have memory expanders installed, so the users will not have names in WMS Pro either.
• If the controllers don't have memory expanders and have less than 2000 users, then the user names will be stored in the controller, and WMS Pro will be able to bring those in when reading the import from the controller.  However, name length in the controller is limited, and so if a site still wishes to import the names across from TecomC4, then this step is still needed.

This section contains the process to export usernames from TecomC4, and then import them into WMS Pro.

Firstly, the controllers must be enrolled, and all current programming retrieval into WMS Pro completed, as described in step 1 further above.  This will ensure that the user's credentials / card data is in WMS Pro, and then we can perform the following to match up usernames to their card data.

Part A - Exporting users from TecomC4:

A user export from TecomC4 is required to then be able to do a WMS Pro cardholder names import.

In TecomC4, login to the client, Navigation >Persons, Right Click on the Root > External data > Click on Export 

Save the file on the machine and name it as needed and click Next.

Once the export has completed successfully, it will show up as Export ended successfully and save the CSV file in the location specified in the above step.

This is an example of how the CSV file looks when opened in Excel 

(see example file attached at the end of this article for a full example names usertestwmspro.csv).  

The columns that we will require are highlighted in grey here, i.e Name, FirstName, Card_CardCode and Card_FacilityCode

This data will then need to be manipulated manually in Excel into the correct columns and data that can be imported into WMS Pro - matching the WMS Pro CSV file import format shown below.

The spreadsheet format required:

WMS Pro requires the CSV file to be formatted in a specific way for the import to work.

An example of the usual WMS Pro cardholder import format is as follows:

However, since TecomC4's export does not provide "Raw Card Data" and "Card Format" fields, we can use the Site Code and Card Number column, and leave "Raw Card Data" Field Blank, and enter the Card Format depending on the Card Format used for the site. Important to note - that the Card Format should be from the list of available Card Formats in WMS Pro. In this article, we are using Tecom 27 bit format. 

Also, delete the rest of the columns from the csv file such as Id, Parent, Category, IdnetificationCard, Pins, License Plates, Card_CardType, Card_Name, Roles and Access Level. 

Rename the following fields in the csv so that they match the format required for import in WMS Pro

This way, the users from the example spreadsheet shown above, could instead be just formatted as shown below, as this is enough for WMS Pro to match the card number, site code, Card format and find the correct user, and apply the name.

This would then look as follows, with the raw card data column just left blank:

NOTE:  All columns and column header names must match the exact column header names shown here, including capital / lowercase letters, and any spaces:

This should now be correctly formatted, and can be exported to a CSV file from Excel. 

To do this, go to File > Save a Copy

Then select the CSV comma delimited file format:

And click "Save".

Your file will now be saved in a .CSV file format that is ready to import into WMS Pro. Example file attached "usermigrationwmspro-formatted ready.csv" 

Note-Example files are attached to this article that can be downloaded for reference and experimentation.

Part B - Importing into WMS Pro

This section describes the process of importing the converted data into WMS Pro

• Log in to WMS Pro.
• Navigate to Cardholders.
• Click on 'Import cardholder names':

• Press the 'Choose file' button, and choose the file you saved in the previous section.
• Click the 'Import' button, and the import will occur.

The process is now complete.

NOTE:

User names will be matched to cardholders by their Sitecode, Card number and Card Format.  So only users with these details will have their names matched up to the cardholders in WMS Pro.

Related information:  Information on how to export User Names from CTPlus into WMS Pro can also be found here in this separate article:

WMS Pro - Importing CTPlus user names to cardholders

3. User CAG and UAG setup

For this section, it will be important to be up to date with your WMS Pro training, in regard to CAGs and UAGs, and be familiar with how these work, and how to create them.

Once the panel is enrolled into WMS Pro, WMS Pro performs a full controller upload and retrieves the following directly from the panel:
Door Groups, Floor Groups and Alarm Groups

Based on this data, WMS Pro automatically creates Controller Access Groups (CAGs). A CAG is created for each unique combination of:

• Alarm Group
• Door Group

• Floor Group

Naming CAGs

1. Start With Doors, Not Users
Rather than reviewing CAGs user‑by‑user:

• Open each CAG and review:
• Which doors are included
• Which alarm areas are assigned

• Which time zones apply

  Treat each CAG as a physical access pattern, not a user profile- This avoids duplicating work

2. Rename CAGs Based on Operational Intent
Rename CAGs using clear, functional names, for example:

• Staff – Office Hours – Level 2
• Contractors – After Hours – Plant Room
• Security – 24x7 – All Areas

CAG names are editable after creation and should be made meaningful to operators and administrators.

3. Identify and Consolidate Duplicates
Because WMS Pro creates a CAG for every unique group combination, migrations often produce:

• Multiple CAGs that are functionally identical
• CAGs differing only by unused group elements

Best practice is to:

• Identify identical access patterns
• Retain one CAG
• Reassign users as needed

4. Use Unified Access Groups (UAGs) Where Appropriate
After rationalizing CAGs:

• Group related CAGs into Unified Access Groups (UAGs)
• Use UAGs for roles that span multiple controllers or areas

Note that UAGs should be created after all controllers are enrolled, as if you enroll more controllers after creating UAGs, for any users on those newly enrolled controllers, if their credentials match with users already in WMS Pro (ie they are the same user), then because WMS Pro needs to add the new CAG for this new controller for that user, WMS Pro will UN-LINK the currently assigned UAG from that user, and you will need to re-link those users to the correct UAG after you have updated the UAG to contain the correct CAG for the newly added controller.

For this reason, we don't recommend creating all your UAGs until all controllers that may have matching cardholders to other controllers are enrolled in WMS Pro.  Until then, you can just use CAG assignment to users to control access and create your UAGs after all controllers are enrolled.