confused about renamed admin folder and new admin files for upgrade

Hi

I am about to upgrade from 1.3.9 to 1.5.4.
I have made an exact duplicate of my current site with copies files and a new database but before I upload the 1.5.4 files I´m confused about the Admin folder.

My 1.3.9 has a renamed admin. Do I just upload all the files from 1.5.4 and leave its admin folder name as it is or do I change it to the same name as the 1.3.9 admin?

rgds
Mick

For first installation of v1.5.4 you'll want to leave it as "admin" until the configure.php files are built by zc_install.
Then you can rename your admin folder to whatever you like.

Hi DrByte

I have always loaded the new files over the top of the old files and then run the zc_install.
Is this not the correct way to do things now?

rgds
Mick

The proper upgrade approach has always been to stage a test site in a separate folder and separate database, work out any potential problems there, and then move it to production. I've written a brief guide here: http://www.zen-cart.com/entry.php?3-How-do-I-rebuild-my-site-on-the-new-version-instead-of-upgrading which aims to ease the fears of complexity people sometimes post about when following the official upgrade guide at: http://www.zen-cart.com/content.php?148-how-do-i-upgrade-my-zen-cart-site

OK, in this scenario I have my oldshop running on 1.3.9 but down for maintenance.

Ive created newshop which is an exact dup on its own database working as 1.3.9. and renamed admin

1. Can I upload the 1.5.4 files directly now to the newshop and run the zc_install?
2. How is the current renamed admin folder affected?

rgds
Mick

I think I am confusing myself now. I´ve been using zencart since 2006 and done many upgrades before but the instructions seem a little unclear to me now.

Do I upload the entire 1.5.4 set of files over my 1.3.9 ?
How does this affect my current renamed Admin folder?

Any answers would be a help Thanks

Mick

Pazaz:

I think I am confusing myself now. I´ve been using zencart since 2006 and done many upgrades before but the instructions seem a little unclear to me now.

Do I upload the entire 1.5.4 set of files over my 1.3.9 ?
How does this affect my current renamed Admin folder?

Any answers would be a help Thanks

Mick

Will try to clear up some of this... Your current shop... Putit back online... There is no need to have it offline at the moment, and possibly not at all..

Your new directory location: if you want to play which file or folder shouldn't exist as part of the new files, feel free to merge and overwrite all files and folders, but also remove any files that have been directed to be removed since your first version. Or.... A much easier process of keeping a copy of all that backup you have made... Just in case... And following the somewhat simpler instructions first posted above by dr. Byte. In this case, you rebuild the software side of the site to the current coding standards/requirements, and you work with/identify any issues with updating the database. Once that works out, then there are a couple of suggested methods, but basically that's when the software is made accessible to the public and zc_install is again run to update the live database (backup to be made just prior to upgrade attempt, just in case... It is possibly at this point one would want to place the store in maintenance mode... Requiring only a few minutes of outage (that you've already warned your customers about, right?)

Yes, you may have always done things this way or that, but it doesn't imply that it is the recommended way..

One of the "challenges" in a v1.3.x to v1.5.x upgrade is that:

1. tell_a_friend was removed in v1.5.0
2. The USPS and UPS shipping methods were removed from the "core" and are now available as plugins
3. The built-in HTML editor was removed from the "core" and is available as a plugin
4. The admin-level authorization changed
5. The method to "register" an admin-level plugin was changed (no more use of /admin/includes/boxes
   Those are the primary reasons that a simple "copy the 1.5.4 files over my 1.3.9 files" is a train-wreck waiting to happen. You're much better off "rebuilding" your site ...

Thanks for your replies.

I renamed my admin back to admin and copied the 1.5.4 files onto it and did the upgrade fine.
It didn't seem to be mentioned anywhere in the upgrade instructions although I suppose its common sense.

thanks again.