2 of my clients are currently on 2.1.4 version but I've been debating upgrading them to 2.2.1
My question is, since I have only customized the original default theme, will this be replaced with the upgrade?
If not, is it a simple matter of copying the directory and renaming it in order to create a new theme, essentially the way it's done in WordPress?
Also, are there any compatibility problems with upgrading from 2.1.4 to 2.2.1? I really love the enhanced admin area and would like my clients to enjoy the upgrade as well.
I guess it comes down to what you customized and how you did it.
I've upgraded a couple of sites including my own to 2.2.1 and everything has gone very smoothly without having to do much for file changes. Of course I use the My Changes addon and hooks, so I haven't changed much for the core files.
If you used the My Changes addon, the upgrade should go pretty easy.
If you didn't use the My Changes addon, then it will be a lot more work since some of your files that you modified will likely be overwritten during the upgrade.
First, no, you can't just copy over all of your files. Obviously if there are any code changes in the new files, they won't be reflected in your old files. So if there is a new feature added to the product page and you just copy over your old product page, that new feature won't be in your cart because it isn't in your code.
One thing you can do that I had to do for a site that I didn't design is to start the upgrade process and let the system download the upgrade files. Then download those files to your computer and compare them to your files. First, you can easily see what files are going to be changed. Then you can use a program like Winmerge to compare the files and make the changes that are needed.
Once you compare your files and make the changes, you can then go through the upgrade process and then upload all of your new files.
I hope that makes sense.
As for compatibility problems, I haven't seen any. The upgrades went smoothly and my sites are all running great.
I hope that helps, at least a little.
Thanks,
Brandon
Thank you!
When I meant copying files, I meant to make a backup of the theme to start with. So if I copy the basic folder, rename it to new theme and activate that theme, then my files in basic can be overwritten and I won't lose any changes.
I will check out the My Changes add on and see what I can do. Thanks Brandon!
[font=“Verdana”]Wow. That is the first meaningful summary / explanation of the 'My Changes' addon i've read!
No where does it explain how it works, what it does, where it does it, does it cover template files, does it cover the core files, and so on.
- If you manually edit a file via FTP application (i.e. external application) will “My Changes” still work on upgrade?
- If you edit files only by the admin area Template editor, will My Changes track the changes upon upgrade?
- If you edit files via FTP and Template Editor, will My Changes still work on upgrade?
So when you enable that and begin editing files (slowly) via the Template Editor area of the Admin area, what does that mean? It tracks changes?
Last time I clicked “Restore from Repository” nothing happened! :S shrug - I confirmed the name of the skin was the same in both /skins/ and /var/skin_repository/.
So how exactly does “My Changes” assist you with upgrading? Surely if the files have been updated - i.e. Core Files, then it won't “merge” the changes? Will it?
Thank you very much for everyones contribution! [/font]
[font=“Verdana”]Thanks for your reply but the article still just forwards visitors here: http://docs.cs-cart.com/, which offers no details.
When you click on the second link, it directs you here: CS-Cart Documentation — CS-Cart 4.15.x documentation
NOTE - Search Results from 2nd link:
- First result: “Replacing the “Powered by CS-Cart…” Link”
- Second Result: “Redirecting to cart after clicking on the 'Add to cart' button”
- Third result: “Displaying Free Shipping Label on Product Details Page”
and so on…
The search results yield no benefit. Why on earth aren't CS-CART linking from this article directly to another article? Why aren't they offering more details of what this “relatively important” add-on does? :S
Having read the ~2 sentances in the KB, and clicked both links, I still cannot find any useful info… Thank you for helping though!
Where is CSC Support?
I am still waiting on details of how it works, where it saves changes, and yada yada yada… Please respond to the original questions/post, above, again.
Thank you.[/font]
my_changes is simply a stub as distributed. It behaves as all addons behave.
If you create templates within the my_changes area of the “AREA” you want to customize (admin/customer/mail) then those changes will NOT be overwritten by future upgrades because the there is no my_changes in any upgrade.
Generally cs-cart uses 'hooks' to enable alternate business logic to be applied in PHP code, templates and javascript.
you can read the basics at: http://www.ez-ms.com/docs/customizing_your_store.pdf
While this was written long ago, the information is still pertinent. Just change 'local' to 'my_changes' since the 'my_changes' addon wasn't available as a standard name until after this document was published. It should give you a rough idea.
There are several other lengthy threads about using hooks and I've written tutorials on how to use php hooks in the developer's forum. Just do a search and you'll find what you're looking for. You are not really asking any new questions.
Note that this is a community forum. No one owes anyone anything here. Any participation by cs-cart support is because they are trying to help. If you want specific support, you can contact their helpdesk. But you will NOT get developer support. They simply don't offer it.
Some of us try to advise from what we've learned as time allows. But some of your posts with bold face type seem rather insistent and don't usually compel me to reply. Just a perspective.