Exporting/importing a single VPN connection

[kfrauendienst]

Good afternoon,

In FortiClient VPN, when adding a connection, the third option is XML.  I would like to know how to create this XML file to import a VPN connection so that I can hand it off to others who need to import it. 

I have tried a full and partial backup configuration of FortiClient with no success.  It just doesn't do anything after clicking import, and the save button stays grayed out.

Thanks

[aahmadzada]

Hi,

Please take a look to this document:

https://docs.fortinet.com/document/forticlient/6.0.1/xml-reference-guide/749677/back-up-and-restore-...

Hope it helps to address your query.

Ahmad

[kfrauendienst]

Thanks for the link.  I still have some issues.

The "-i 1" argument they use in the examples appears to be undocumented.  The built-in help for FCConfig.exe doesn't mention the -i argument, nor does the document explain it.

When I run the command "FCConfig.exe -f settings.conf -m vpn -o exportvpn" it returns "hr 1 80070002 ffffffff" and doesn't create the file settings.conf.

Also I don't see an option to export a single VPN configuration.

[padi]

Hi

Do you have found any solution for that? I've the same problem and would like to know how the file should look like to import.

[kfrauendienst]

Sadly, no, I did not.  It appears this is beyond the capabilities of the FortiClient.

You can create a partial config by hand-editing the XML file.  There's an option near the top you can change from 0 to 1 to designate it as a partial config (so it will merge instead of replace).  Then you can remove any sections of XML you don't want to import.

This seems to work on my own client, but I've been told by others that they have problems importing it.

[padi]

Thanks, this helped me a lot, I can now import only the VPN connections. For now it worked on all tested clients so it looks good.

[RachelGomez123]

Steps to Windows 10 export and import VPN settings

On Windows 10, you can add and remove Virtual Private Network (VPN) connections quickly. However, you won’t find an option to export existing settings that you can import onto another device.

Although setting up a VPN connection is not a difficult task, the ability to export and import settings can always make configuring the same connections on multiple computers faster or when you want to move a VPN connection with a specific configuration to another device.

If you want to move VPN connections to another computer, there is a workaround to export and import the settings.

In this guide, you will learn the steps to export and import VPN connections on Windows 10.

Import VPN connections on Windows 10
Change VPN connection credentials on Windows 10
Export VPN connections on Windows 10
To export VPN connections on Windows 10, connect a removable drive to the computer, and use these steps:

Quick note: These instructions will export all the configuration settings, but it is impossible to export the username and password. You have to add them manually with the steps below.
Open File Explorer on Windows 10.

Copy and paste the following path in the address bar and press Enter:

%AppData%\Microsoft\Network\Connections
Right-click the Pbk folder and select the Copy option.

Export VPN settings on Windows 10
Open the location that you want to use to export the VPN settings.

Right-click on the folder and select the Paste option.

Once you complete the steps, you can take the removable media to a different computer to import the settings.

This guide uses a removable drive to export and import VPN connections to another device, but you can use a network shared folder or any other sharing method.

Import VPN connections on Windows 10
To import the VPN connections to a Windows 10 device, connect the removable drive with the exported files, and use these steps:

Warning: Importing all the VPN connections from another device will delete the previous connections in the destination device.
Open the removable drive.

Right-click the Pbk folder and select the Copy option.

Copy and paste the following path in the File Explorer address bar and press Enter:

%AppData%\Microsoft\Network\Connections
Right-click on the folder and select the Paste option.

Import VPN settings on Windows 10
Click the Replace the files in the destination button. (This process will delete previously configured connections.)
After completing the steps, the VPN connections should be available in the Settings app. However, there is no way to export and import the usernames and passwords. As a result, you will need to reenter this information manually.

Greeting,

Rachel Gomez

[kfrauendienst]

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@RachelGomez123 wrote:

Steps to Windows 10 export and import VPN settings

On Windows 10, you can add and remove Virtual Private Network (VPN) connections quickly. However, you won’t find an option to export existing settings that you can import onto another device.

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Well, that's really the issue at hand.  In this case, we often have to set up a VPN for a 3rd party vendor who needs access only to specific systems.  We set up a VPN for them, test that it works correctly, and then send them the VPN profile.  But in the case of FortiClient, it's not possible to export one VPN and send it to them.  That's a significant oversight that should be addressed.