Updating DotClear

A DotClear update is a very simple and easy task.

Saving your existing configuration

As you're probably doing every week, the first thing to do is save your actual configuration to your hard drive. With your prefered FTP client download your dotclear (or another name you gave it). In case of trouble during update, you'll only have to upload back to your server and everything will be back and running.

If you're not doing regular back-ups of your websites (and the databases associated to them) is a very dangerous attitude, leaving you and your website completly in the hands of your Internet provider in case of trouble (disk crash, power supply failure, hacking...).
No doing a regular backup is just like doing Russian roulette with a fully loaded gun !

Download of the new version on your website

This stage is similar to the one you follow to install DotClear for the very first time, except one thing:

Install your new version with changing the name of the main DotClear directory. For example dotclear-new.

To avoid any troubles during the update, copy now the file conf/dotclear.ini from your old configuration in the conf directory of your new install.

The dotclear.ini file must have write access rights to enable a complete update.

Launching the update

Go to the URL to install your new version, for example www.my_site/dotclear-new/install/. The install will start, which is normal. Repeat the real first install steps until the database parameters. There enter exactly the same parameters you used for the first install.

The wizard will now ask you to update DotClear, accept, it's finished.

Ending of the update

If you have personnal themes, plugins or files in the share directory, or some images, copy them in the new DotClear directory.

Finally, rename your actual directory (for example dotclear-old) and rename the new one (dotclear-new) with the name of the old one (dotclear).

Check now that your weblog is working correctly and get that champagne bottle out from the fridge !

It's not working !

Something went wrong, your weblog is broken and there is champagne all over the place. Check that your web server can write to the dotclear.ini file and re-start the update. Before doing that you only need to delete your config.php file and put back in the directory the config.php.in file from the original distribution in the conf/ directory.

A suicidal way of doing thing is to copy directly all the files of the new version in the existing DotClear directory. Even if it (maybe) could work, it is strongly recommended to avoid it.