DEV Community: AIXTOR Technologies

How to Migrate Liferay 7 to 7.4: A Comprehensive Guide

AIXTOR Technologies — Fri, 06 Jun 2025 12:43:21 +0000

Migrating to Liferay 7.4 is not just a technical upgrade—it's a strategic move toward modernizing your digital infrastructure. Liferay 7.4 brings enhanced low-code tools, robust headless APIs, personalized user experiences, and streamlined content delivery, making it a valuable upgrade for businesses running on Liferay 7.0, 7.1, 7.2, or 7.3.

However, a Liferay migration can be complex without proper planning, especially with custom modules, themes, and integrations in place. That’s where professional Liferay migration services help ensure a secure, error-free transition with minimal downtime.

What’s New in Liferay 7.4?

Key Enhancements in Liferay 7.4:

Liferay Objects: Build and manage custom objects without code
Low-Code/No-Code Tools: Empower business users to configure applications
Enhanced Search & Filtering: Elasticsearch 7.x integration
Improved Accessibility: WCAG 2.1 support
Headless CMS Enhancements: Stronger RESTful and GraphQL APIs
Cloud Support & DevOps: Native support for cloud deployments

These enhancements improve development speed, security, and user engagement across your portal.

Liferay 7 to 7.4 Migration: Step-by-Step Guide

Migrating to Liferay 7.4 involves more than just deploying new code. Below is a breakdown of the essential steps to guide your transition:

1. Pre-Migration Planning

Before initiating the migration:

1. Assess Your Current Setup:

List custom modules, themes, portlets, and third-party integrations
Identify deprecated APIs and obsolete functionality

2. Set Migration Goals:

Performance optimization
UI/UX redesign
Feature upgrades

3. Create Backups:

Full backup of database, files, and custom code
Use Git or another version control system

4. Evaluate Hardware/Hosting Requirements:

Ensure the infrastructure supports Liferay 7.4

2. Analyze Breaking Changes

Review Liferay’s official documentation to understand breaking changes introduced in 7.4. Key areas include:

Deprecated taglibs and APIs
OSGi component lifecycle
Upgraded versions of AlloyEditor, Elasticsearch, and others

3. Upgrade Development Environment

Update your development tools and dependencies:

Use the latest Blade CLI version
Update build.gradle or pom.xml files for custom modules
Migrate legacy code to use supported APIs

🛠️ Tip: The Upgrade Planner Tool (available via Liferay IDE) helps detect deprecated code and dependencies.

4. Database & Theme Migration

Run upgrade:execute or upgrade:check to migrate database schemas
Update themes using the Liferay Theme Generator
Test all frontend components for responsiveness and accessibility

5. Testing & QA

Conduct unit, integration, and UI testing
Validate workflows, asset publishers, and permission structures
Use both manual and automated testing (e.g., Selenium)

6. Go Live & Monitor

Deploy the upgraded codebase to the production server
Monitor logs for errors or exceptions
Provide user training for updated workflows and UI features

Why Use Professional Liferay Migration Services?

Partnering with certified experts like Aixtor offers:

End-to-end migration support
Code refactoring and plugin compatibility
Zero data loss and minimal downtime
Post-migration support and performance optimization

Conclusion: Migrate Smarter, Not Harder

Migrating to Liferay 7.4 isn’t just about staying updated—it’s about embracing a smarter, more scalable platform that enables innovation. By planning carefully, understanding architectural changes, and leveraging expert Liferay migration services, you can ensure a successful transition that drives long-term business value.

Liferay DXP 7.4: New Features and Developer Benefits

AIXTOR Technologies — Thu, 08 May 2025 09:57:14 +0000

Introduction: Why Liferay DXP 7.4 Is a Game-Changer for Developers

In the evolving world of digital experience platforms, Liferay DXP 7.4 sets a new standard. With major updates focused on usability, low-code development, and content management enhancements, this release empowers both enterprises and developers to build scalable, customizable, and efficient digital solutions faster than ever.

Whether you're developing enterprise portals, intranets, or B2B partner ecosystems, understanding the new features in Liferay DXP 7.4 can significantly streamline your development lifecycle and improve user satisfaction.

What’s New in Liferay DXP 7.4?

Liferay DXP 7.4 introduces a range of enhancements that improve flexibility, automation, and content intelligence.

Key Highlights at a Glance

Visual low-code tools for page and form creation
Enhanced content auditing with the new Content Dashboard
More granular user segmentation and personalization
Auto-tagging powered by AI
REST builder improvements for faster API creation
Improved DevOps support for deployment and upgrades

2. Intelligent Content Management

New Content Dashboard
The new Content Dashboard gives a centralized view of all content assets across sites. Developers and content managers can:

Filter by asset type, category, and author
Track content performance and version history
Enable bulk operations

Auto-Tagging with AI
Liferay DXP 7.4 integrates AI-based auto-tagging for documents and images using machine learning models. This improves:

Content discoverability
Metadata enrichment
SEO optimization

3. Enhanced Developer Experience

Liferay DXP 7.4 is packed with features that reduce development complexity and offer more flexibility.

REST Builder Enhancements
The updated REST Builder simplifies the creation of custom REST APIs:

Generate API endpoints with annotations
Better OpenAPI support
Easily customize response objects

Modular Architecture Improvements

Improved OSGi runtime performance
Faster module deployment and testing
More reliable dependency injection

4. Advanced Personalization Capabilities

Liferay DXP 7.4 boosts user segmentation and personalization through:

Rules-based user groups
Custom user attributes
Targeted content recommendations

These tools allow developers to build personalized experiences that drive engagement and conversion.

5. Modern DevOps and Deployment Enhancements

Liferay 7.4 continues to support modern DevOps practices:

Docker and Kubernetes compatibility for containerized deployments
CI/CD pipeline integration
Faster hotfix deployment and patching support

This makes it easier for development teams to maintain high availability and consistency in large-scale enterprise environments.

Developer Benefits of Liferay DXP 7.4

1. Faster Time-to-Delivery
With low-code capabilities and smarter APIs, developers can roll out new features faster.

2. Reduced Maintenance Overhead
Improved module handling and auto-tagging reduce manual intervention and long-term maintenance costs.

3. Enhanced Testing and Debugging
Better logging, runtime visibility, and modular deployment make debugging more efficient.

4. Improved Collaboration
Business users can make basic content updates themselves, allowing developers to focus on innovation and core functionality.

Who Should Upgrade to Liferay DXP 7.4?

This version is ideal for:

Enterprises needing faster digital transformation
Developers building complex portals with integrations
Content teams that want better control over content and SEO
IT departments seeking scalable, secure, and maintainable infrastructure

Already on Liferay 7.2 or 7.3? Check out our article: How to Upgrade Liferay 7.x to 7.4: With Steps

Real-World Use Cases

**Insurance Portals: **Use personalized dashboards and automated document tagging.

Manufacturing Portals: Streamline dealer onboarding using low-code workflows.

Telecom Portals: Improve customer self-service with AI-powered chatbots, account management tools, and dynamic user segmentation.

Banking Portals: Enable secure, personalized online banking experiences with role-based dashboards, fraud detection alerts, and integrated financial services.

Conclusion: Why Liferay DXP 7.4 Is Worth the Upgrade

Liferay DXP 7.4 is more than just an incremental upgrade—it’s a powerful leap forward in developer efficiency, user engagement, and digital transformation readiness. Whether you're a developer, architect, or IT decision-maker, the new features and improvements offer substantial value in building scalable, future-ready platforms.

At Aixtor, we help businesses unlock the full potential of Liferay through custom development, consulting, and upgrade services.

Creating and Managing Objects in Liferay 7.4: A Complete Guide

AIXTOR Technologies — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 07:05:23 +0000

Liferay continues to evolve with each release, and version 7.4 introduces a standout feature that significantly enhances its low-code capabilities—Liferay Objects. This feature empowers users to create, customize, and manage business entities within the Liferay platform, all without needing to deploy custom modules.

Let’s explore everything you need to know to create, manage, and extend objects effectively in Liferay 7.4.

What Are Liferay Objects?

Liferay Objects allow you to define custom data models directly in the UI, eliminating the need for the traditional Service Builder approach. These objects can be extended with fields, relationships, validations, actions, layouts, and views, enabling rapid application development with little to no coding.

Key Capabilities:

Low-code/no-code development
Auto-generated REST and GraphQL APIs
Custom workflows and validations
Integration with Liferay's permission and UI frameworks

Prerequisites for Using Objects

Before getting started, ensure the following:
Liferay DXP or Liferay Portal 7.4+ is installed
Basic understanding of Liferay’s Control Panel
Familiarity with custom entities and CRUD operations in Liferay

Step-by-Step: Creating Your First Object

1. Creating an Object
Navigation: Go to Control Panel → Objects → “+” (Add Object)

Fill out the object definition form:

Label: Human-readable name displayed in Forms, Workflows, etc.
Plural Label: Display name in menus and UI.
Object Name: System-level identifier (cannot be changed after publishing)
Scope:
- Company: Object is available globally across the portal.
- Site: Object is site-specific and visible in the site menu.
Panel Category Key: Choose where the object appears in the UI.

After saving, the object enters Draft state. You'll need to publish it once you've added fields and configurations.

⚠️ Once an object is published, its name and scope cannot be changed.

2. Adding Fields to Your Object

Navigation: Go to your object → Fields Tab → “+”

Field options:

Label: Display name in UI.
Field Name: Backend identifier (camelCase, immutable after publishing).
Field Type: Text, Date, Integer, Boolean, Relationship, etc.
Required: Toggle for mandatory input.

Tip: Set a field as the Entry Title to serve as the identifier for each entry in views.

3. Defining Relationships

Liferay Objects support two types of relationships:

One-to-Many (1:N)
Many-to-Many (M:N) Navigation: Object → Relationships Tab → “+”

Deletion Type:

Prevent (Default): Block deletion if linked.
Disassociate: Keep child, remove parent.
Cascade: Delete child entries when parent is deleted (if permissions allow).

4. Creating Object Layouts

Object layouts control how fields appear in the entry forms.

Navigation: Object → Layouts Tab → “+”

Types of Tabs:

Field Tabs: Display custom fields.
Relationship Tabs: Display linked object data.

⚠️ The first tab must be a Field Tab and is visible during object creation.
Layout Steps:

Add new layout and set as default.
Add a main tab and blocks inside it.
Add fields to blocks.
Add relationship tabs for object associations.

5. Building Custom Actions

Liferay allows users to define custom business logic via Object Actions.

Custom Action Workflow:
Create a Liferay module.
Implement ObjectActionExecutor interface.
Override execute() and getKey() methods.
Register your action.
Your action appears in the Object UI under Actions.

6. Using the Expression Builder for Validations

Navigation: Object → Validations Tab → “+”

Validation settings:

Label and Trigger Event: Typically “on submission”
Conditions Tab: Use Expression Builder to define rules
Sections Available: Fields Operators Functions Add a custom error message to guide users on invalid inputs.

7. Defining Object Views

Navigation: Object → Views Tab → “+”

Use the View Builder to:

Select visible columns
Set default sort options
Apply filters for conditional displays

✅ Set your preferred view as the default for consistent presentation.

Key Benefits of Using Liferay Objects

No-code Configuration: Ideal for business users and IT alike
Agility: Rapid app development with minimal overhead
Seamless Integration: Works natively with Liferay’s permission, workflow, and UI layers
Scalability: Extendable with APIs and object actions

Conclusion

Liferay Objects in 7.4 offer a powerful and intuitive way to create flexible, data-driven applications directly within the platform. Whether you're a developer or a business analyst, you can leverage this feature to build and manage custom entities effortlessly—no deployment required.

By combining Liferay Objects with expert Liferay Consulting Services, you can accelerate your digital initiatives while ensuring enterprise-grade scalability and security.

Looking to Maximize Your Liferay 7.4 Experience?

Partner with Aixtor Technologies experts Liferay Consulting Services to unlock the full potential of custom objects and transform how you build business applications.