V8.5.1 Upgrade to v8.5.3.IHDB

[PeterThake]

Hi, I am considering upgrading from 8.5.1 to the latest release v8.5.3.IHDB, mainly so I can make the changes recommended in the knowledge base to get Froogle working properly. Searching on this forum I cannot find any post from Actinic on how to implement this change? The download section says release v8.5.3.IHDB is not available as a patch. What is the executable that I have downloaded (too scared to run it!)? Does the downloaded executable replace the whole actinic installation? Would I then need to recreate each web site by importing a snapshot, reconfiging the network setup etc? I have 4 live sites using multi-site and potentially this could be a lot of work for me.

Plus, has anyone else made this change and had any subsequent problems with their sites? I have had bad experience of upgrading Actinic in the past

[jont]

Patches were dropped by Actinic as they brought more issues than they solved. The .exe you have downloaded is the full installation - when you run it Actinic is essentially replaced with the newer version.

When you launch the new installation the upgrader routine runs and upgrades the site. The data is not changed (products, section, network etc) but the layouts are checked and upgraded where necessary. A list of any changes are created in a file (make a note of the location and ensure you read it afterwards). Some layouts are reverted back to factory - typically the navigation and the cart scripts. If you have developer with multiple sites you will need to launch each site to get the upgrade.

It should be relatively painless to upgrade as from memory 8.5.1 to 8.5.3 was not a massive leap.

I would though:

1. ensure you have a copy of v8.5.1 to hand
2. take a ACD of each site prior to installing v8.5.3
3. take a full copy of the site folders and store to a temp location

Run on your least popular site and see how it goes. I expect other than a little possible tweaking you should be OK. If you have installed any of Normans plug-ins which run off the .pl / .pm files you will need to implement again.

[PeterThake]

Many thanks Jont. For now I am adopting the quick fix of inserting the required 'condition' field into my froogle exports using Excel and avoiding the upgrade. The upgrade is definitely something to do when I have a quiet few days.

[jont]

when I have a quiet few days.

v21 by then!!!!

[PeterThake]

Very true!