Importing WAR files

Importing a Web application archive (WAR) file migrates the WAR file to an assembly tool.

This article assumes you have assembled a WAR file and want to work with it in an assembly tool such as the Application Server Toolkit (AST) or Rational Web Developer.

This article also assumes that you have started the assembly tool and have configured the assembly tool for work on Web and Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE) modules.

Importing an existing WAR file into an assembly tool migrates the WAR file to the assembly tool so you can further configure and assemble a deployable Web application.

Click File > Import > WAR file > Next . Alternatively, you can right-click Dynamic Web Projects in a view such as the Project Explorer view and click Import > WAR file . Or, on Windows platforms, you can drag the WAR file and drop it on a view.
In the Import dialog, define a Web project:
1. Specify a WAR file name. Use Browse to locate the WAR file and specify its full path name.
2. Specify a Web project name. For example, if you are importing the HelloWorld.war file, you might name the project HelloWorld. Click New and specify HelloWorld for the project name.
3. Optional: Specify whether to overwrite and delete existing resources without warning.
4. Select a target server. To use an application assembly service of WebSphere Application Server, select the WebSphere Application Server v6.0 target server. Available assembly services include ActivitySession, Application profiling, Internationalization, and Last participant support.
5. If you want to add Web components to an enterprise application (EAR file), select Add module to an EAR project .
6. Optional: Specify a new or existing enterprise application (EAR) project to be associated with your Web project for purposes of deployment. Select an existing enterprise application project from the drop-down list or type a new project name. Or, click New and create a new enterprise application. Note that if you type a new EAR project name, the EAR project is created in the default location with the lowest compatible J2EE version based on the version of the project being created. If you want to specify a different version or a different location for the enterprise application, click New and create a new enterprise application.
7. Click Finish .

ResultA new Web project is created. Files for the Web project are shown in the Project Explorer view under Enterprise Applications and Dynamic Web Projects .

What to do next

After importing a WAR file, you can edit Web module deployment descriptors as needed and deploy the module or its application to an application server.