What will happen to my Theme when I upgrade to Vanilla 2.1?*

UnderDog

This discussion was created from comments split from: Changing Powered by Vanilla Footer Link.

UnderDog

benjy000 said: Will I have to re-code, etc. and make new files or edits to existing files?

You might want to re-phrase your question. I think that you're asking if you have to re-code your themes and re-code your plugins. The re-coding in the core is done by the Vanilla guys of course, that's what the upgrade is for :-)

UnderDog

It should work seemlessly with the new Vanilla. I would however keep 2 things in mind:

• default.master_.php_ is still allowed in Vanilla 2.1 but it will be discouraged. _Consider_ learning _Smarty_ and make a theme with default.master_.tpl_
• Before Vanilla 2.1 gets released there will be a period where you can do some testing, so don't wait till the last moment to install / upgrade to Vanilla 2.1

Lincoln

Yes, you'll need to do some tweaking I expect. We've overhauled the HTML to make a lot of improvements, but this might create some weirdness with your style. You might also want to look at the new default.master.php and see some of the new features we added :)

UnderDog

Depending on which branch you want, but let's assume you want the master branch : https://github.com/vanillaforums/Garden but be careful! You have to try that migration not on your actual website, but in a test environment (usually your local computer).

Also there aren't much instructions on upgrading so it takes some knowledge.

If you're willing to try some things before you post the problems with upgrading, then here's the next step when you're on that page I just gave the link to : click on the 'zip' button and it will download all the necessary files for you.
Because you have your own site in your test environment and you have your own theme, you can overwrite your current files with the ones from the .zip file.
Of course you've made a backup before you take these actions (also a backup from the database please!).
The last step is to either go to your_local_site/upgrade or let Vanilla figure it out, (it should go to that location automatically).
If you're unable to do that migration locally, then I wouldn't do it for a while...

peregrine

@benjy000

https://nodeload.github.com/vanillaforums/Garden/zipball/master

should get you version define('APPLICATION_VERSION', '2.1a19');

which you will note in index.php

Based on the questions you seem to ask. I would suggest waiting until they release the new version (which has not happened and will be announced when it does) , so you don't run into the problem that happened here http://vanillaforums.org/discussion/comment/165082/#Comment_165082

Take heed or prepare to suffer the possible consequences - Make sure back up database and your current installation

I believe the database needs to be upgraded and there is no utility to do that at this time. So you need to really need to know what you are doing. Most people using vanilla2.1 - are using it in a test environment or did some manual changes to migrate database.

As to your theme - nobody can answer your question - whether you will need to change your theme with 2.1 - Depending on the changes you made it may or may not work and you will need to tweak it after vanilla 2.1 is released. I suspect with just simple changes and only css changes you will not run into any significant problems

peregrine

this thread should be split - it should either be title Benjy's assorted questions or keep the original title and be split.

UnderDog

Done :=)

Title suggestions are welcome :-)

Lincoln

I strongly advise against running the unstable version of Vanilla from GitHub unless you're very comfortable troubleshooting software. It just ain't safe.

422

Lincoln said: It just ain't safe.

Didnt scotty keep saying that to captain kirk

Tim

We're also advising people to steer clear of overriding views these days. Most of what you need to do in a theme should be possible with modifications to default.master and custom CSS. If you override a view or a helper function, you're going to be all on your own when it comes time to upgrade.

Something to keep in mind for all you themers.