Questions about creating a test site prior to upgrading from 4.1.3 to 4.1.4

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  • TWood
    Senior Member
    • Mar 2009
    • 186
    • 4.1.x

    [Forum] Questions about creating a test site prior to upgrading from 4.1.3 to 4.1.4

    I'm on 4.1.3 and because of extensive template edits I want to test 4.1.4 before upgrading. I've created a new 'testvb' database and restored a backup of the existing one into it. I will create a new 'testvb' files folder in my directory and upload all the new files via FTP, but there are a couple of things puzzling me.

    When I restored the existing database to the new 'testvb' database, didn't that install the existing templates? How does the upgrade process overwrite those? I think it will be easier for me to let it install all new templates and then go in and make my edits.

    I've written several custom phrases. Are those preserved in the upgrade?

    I made several changes to the FAQs and Forum Rules, are those preserved?

    Does the test site need to be hidden from Google to prevent getting dinged for duplicate content?

    After I'm through testing, what's the best way to copy the new database and files over to the default locations?
    Last edited by TWood; Mon 4 Jul '11, 3:34am.
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  • Trevor Hannant
    vBulletin Support
    • Aug 2002
    • 24325
    • 5.7.X

    #2
    If you're storing stylesheets in the database, all styles and templates will have been backed up when you took the database backup. All other data is stored in the database so any changes you've made will be there.

    Before testing the upgrade, make sure that the Forum URL in the test site is set to the test domain - otherwise you're going to find yourself upgrading your live site!

    As for it being hidden, as per the license agreement, the test site must be password protected to prevent public access.

    And finally, you shouldn't copy over the new database etc - not unless you're OK with losing posts made on your live site between you taking the backup and moving the upgraded one to live. You should always run the upgrade on the live site database itself.

    Please see this article for more:

    Vote for:

    - Admin Settable Paid Subscription Reminder Timeframe (vB6)
    - Add Admin ability to auto-subscribe users to specific channel(s) (vB6)

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    • TWood
      Senior Member
      • Mar 2009
      • 186
      • 4.1.x

      #3
      Thanks Trevor,

      I meant to mention that I'm following your tutorial, so I have read it.

      If I understand you, then the test site is the place to practice the upgrade?

      I'd rather do the template/scripts edits myself rather than depend on a merge attempt. I've logged all my template and php script modifications in both the templates/scripts ( <!-- using comments --> ) and in a text file. There are about 50 edits, so probably a couple of hours or so of work each time.

      But I haven't done an upgrade yet, so I'm trying to grok the sequence. When I upgrade the live site, I let the upgrade over-write the templates/scripts, and then go in and do my manual edits?

      And, to restate:

      I've written several custom phrases. Are those preserved in the upgrade?

      I made several changes to the FAQs and Forum Rules, are those preserved in an upgrade?
      Last edited by TWood; Tue 5 Jul '11, 5:07am.
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      • Trevor Hannant
        vBulletin Support
        • Aug 2002
        • 24325
        • 5.7.X

        #4
        Yes, always always run the upgrade script on your live site.

        Phrases, FAQs and the Forum Rules will all be preserved however if any phrases are changed within the upgrade, you may find certain things don't work until you go back and edit the changes you've made (a recent example was edited Email Body text where the variable was changed causing links in custom email body text to be broken until they were changed).

        For your style, once you've got everything working on the test site OK, export it as an XML file then re-import to the live site when you've run the upgrade - a lot quicker and another major reason to test!
        Vote for:

        - Admin Settable Paid Subscription Reminder Timeframe (vB6)
        - Add Admin ability to auto-subscribe users to specific channel(s) (vB6)

        Comment

        • TWood
          Senior Member
          • Mar 2009
          • 186
          • 4.1.x

          #5
          Originally posted by Trevor Hannant
          For your style, once you've got everything working on the test site OK, export it as an XML file then re-import to the live site when you've run the upgrade - a lot quicker and another major reason to test!
          My style is a copy of the default style with (sometimes severe) modifications to some of the templates, primarily to add, delete, or rearrange things on the final rendered pages. If I run the upgrade script and then import my style, won't that over-write the matching new templates for the upgrade? That won't work if the upgrade added new components to the templates that are necessary for the upgrade itself, will it? Or am I not understanding what you meant?
          Last edited by TWood; Tue 5 Jul '11, 9:27am.
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          • Trevor Hannant
            vBulletin Support
            • Aug 2002
            • 24325
            • 5.7.X

            #6
            OK, I'll try break it down a bit further.

            When you upgrade the test site, you're importing any changes to the default templates, StyleVars, language etc. into that installation. You then re-tweak the style in that site giving you the style built on the default 4.1.4 templates. You then export this as an XML file - the file containing the changes you've made to the default.

            When you upgrade the live site, you're doing exactly the same - except that instead of manually editing the templates, StyleVars etc, you're saving time by importing the changes via the XML file. The test site is providing you with the opportunity to quicken the process up for your live upgrade.
            Vote for:

            - Admin Settable Paid Subscription Reminder Timeframe (vB6)
            - Add Admin ability to auto-subscribe users to specific channel(s) (vB6)

            Comment

            • TWood
              Senior Member
              • Mar 2009
              • 186
              • 4.1.x

              #7
              Okay, that makes sense. I assume that any custom changes to the PHP scripts would still be done manually at both the test and live sites, after running the upgrade script?

              Thanks Trevor, I appreciate your help!
              shout street
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              • Trevor Hannant
                vBulletin Support
                • Aug 2002
                • 24325
                • 5.7.X

                #8
                The PHP scripts are in the files so will be updated as soon as you upload them. The upgrade script makes any database changes (templates, table changes etc).
                Vote for:

                - Admin Settable Paid Subscription Reminder Timeframe (vB6)
                - Add Admin ability to auto-subscribe users to specific channel(s) (vB6)

                Comment

                • TWood
                  Senior Member
                  • Mar 2009
                  • 186
                  • 4.1.x

                  #9
                  I need a little help understanding this part of Trevor's article, and the instructions at the linked site:

                  First thing's first, create a new empty directory on your server called 'testvb'. You will need to protect this directory from the general public. The most common way to do this is by a combination of .htaccess and .htpasswd files. For more on these and assitance in setting these up, go to:


                  At that site it asks for a user name and a password. Are these two a completely new user and password just for the test site, or should they be repeats of an existing user and password for the existing live site?
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                  • Trevor Hannant
                    vBulletin Support
                    • Aug 2002
                    • 24325
                    • 5.7.X

                    #10
                    That's the username and password you want to use to secure the directory. You can choose to use whatever you wish
                    Vote for:

                    - Admin Settable Paid Subscription Reminder Timeframe (vB6)
                    - Add Admin ability to auto-subscribe users to specific channel(s) (vB6)

                    Comment

                    • TWood
                      Senior Member
                      • Mar 2009
                      • 186
                      • 4.1.x

                      #11
                      deleted
                      Last edited by TWood; Tue 12 Jul '11, 4:14pm.
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                      • TWood
                        Senior Member
                        • Mar 2009
                        • 186
                        • 4.1.x

                        #12
                        Path to admincp warning

                        When I log into the testvb admin panel I get this at the top:


                        Warning:
                        The Admin Control Panel directory (admincp) does not match the directory set in config.php (/testvb/admincp).
                        Please update the $config['Misc']['admincpdir'] setting in config.php to match the directory where the Admin CP is found.
                        And it is set in the config file as:
                        $config['Misc']['admincpdir'] = '/testvb/admincp';
                        $config['Misc']['modcpdir'] = '/testvb/modcp';
                        Which seems right, because that's where it is. Is there something else to be changed?
                        shout street
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                        • Steve Machol
                          Former Customer Support Manager
                          • Jul 2000
                          • 154488

                          #13
                          Assuming your forum is in the 'testvb' directory, you need to use this:

                          $config['Misc']['admincpdir'] = 'admincp';
                          $config['Misc']['modcpdir'] = 'modcp';
                          Steve Machol, former vBulletin Customer Support Manager (and NOT retired!)
                          Change CKEditor Colors to Match Style (for 4.1.4 and above)

                          Steve Machol Photography


                          Mankind is the only creature smart enough to know its own history, and dumb enough to ignore it.


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                          • TWood
                            Senior Member
                            • Mar 2009
                            • 186
                            • 4.1.x

                            #14
                            Thanks Steve, but just to be sure:



                            It sure appears that the /testvb/ part of the path should be there...

                            EDIT: Or is it because config.php is in the includes folder, so it's already stepped past that upper level folder?
                            Last edited by TWood; Wed 13 Jul '11, 9:39am.
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                            • Steve Machol
                              Former Customer Support Manager
                              • Jul 2000
                              • 154488

                              #15
                              You need to do what I said in post #13.
                              Steve Machol, former vBulletin Customer Support Manager (and NOT retired!)
                              Change CKEditor Colors to Match Style (for 4.1.4 and above)

                              Steve Machol Photography


                              Mankind is the only creature smart enough to know its own history, and dumb enough to ignore it.


                              Comment

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