Seriously considering upgrade to 1.52... lots of questions

[lolwaut]

So, I started with 1.39h and naively thought that I would never want/need to upgrade. I didn't make proper use of the override system. I installed a ton of junk add-ons that I don't even use. Admittedly, I was not very "clean" about my modifications to the store. I am now running into many quirky issues with my store that probably could have been avoided if I was a bit more careful during development... but I'm no professional, so I am trying not to be too hard on myself about all this.

Since I am having weird issues, which is probably due to my own carelessness, I figure it is probably time to start fresh. If I'm starting "fresh" I figure I should upgrade my store at the same time.

First question: Is there a speculated release date for ZC 1.60 (or the next 1.5x)? If it is relatively soon, I just assume wait to do the upgrade when it is officially released.

Second question: What is the best way to go about this? From my understanding, I should just create a sub-directory on my server, then install ZC to that folder. Will it be relatively easy to transfer the install to my main directory once I finish developing the new store? How do I do that?

Third question: I have been pretty successful for the two years I have been running my ZC store. I have over 4,000 orders and close to 200 products. Is there an easy way to export the orders from my existing store to my new store? Is there an easy way to export the products from my existing store to my new store? What about product images? I am currently using Image Handler for my images. Will I have to reupload all my product images or is there an easier way?

Like I said, I really want to start fresh since there are so many things wrong with my store. I want to do fresh installs of all my add-ons (the ones I actually use) and I want to properly use the overrides system so I don't have to go through this again the next time I decide to upgrade.

Any help/advice on these questions is greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

[twitchtoo]

1 - Release Date - 'soon' but in your situation it's likely better to upgrade to 1.51 first anyways.

2 - The best way is to install 1.51 on a test server or space that won't interfere with any of the older versions. If that's not an option a subfolder works nicely.

3 - How to rebuild a new site with an old messy one step one... don't cut corners.

Steps:
Get 1.51 up and running in the new subfolder/testing server
Add some test categories and products
Try it all out, place an order make sure the stock systems are working
Make a list of modules you NEED and check to see if they have suitable 1.51 plugin versions
Install the modules keeping notes and a text file with all of your SQL updates
Test the cart again to make sure nothing strange is happening from site landing as a guest to checkout as a new customer and the admin recording it

Here's where it gets a little tricky.

You could run your old database through the Zen Cart db upgrade but it won't see any of the non stock tables.

You could export the data with something like Easy Populate

Product images can be moved to the new site if you maintain the directory structure. The 'problem' then becomes their associated links in your database. They may need to be relinked using the 'new' image handler plugin.

Start at the beginning, make notes, take your time and ask questions. Help is here.