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the goat
12-18-2008, 06:47 PM
So what does everyone think? To me the dashboard just looks different, I don't see what it improved. Am I missing something, I thought there were going to be some new cool features.

vangogh
12-18-2008, 07:28 PM
I haven't installed it yet. From the videos and reviews I've seen it does seem like they changed a significant amount. Mostly just making a lot of things easier. I don't know that there's supposed to be a new wow feature. More that the admin interface was redesigned to make things more organized and make routine tasks easier.

the goat
12-18-2008, 08:47 PM
Yes there are a few conveniences added into it, there is a lot more going on in the dashboard home page. Some things that used to take 2 or 3 clicks now take one. There is also a quick post box right there, unfortunately you can't access all in one SEO with it though so I don't see myself using it much.

I was just doing a bunch of stuff on one of my sites and the more I use it the more I like it.

vangogh
12-18-2008, 08:55 PM
Yeah, I think that's what most of the changes were about. I remember when WP came out with version 2.5. At first I didn't care for it, but after a few days of using it I grew to like it more and more. I have a feeling the same will happen now with 2.7. Just a matter of getting used to the new way of doing things.

orion_joel
12-18-2008, 09:02 PM
I will have to have a look, but i hope it doesn't require a lot of changing to make it work on an existing site. This is the problem that i have had before in upgrading, is that the theme i have and any changes i have made to layout keep disappearing, and i got to go through all the process of changing it again adding adsense back in, and adding google analytics back as well. Does get kind of annoying.

vangogh
12-19-2008, 12:02 AM
It's possible some plugins won't work, but I would think most themes should be fine. Hard to know for certain until you try. Just backup your WP files and if the upgrade does break your site you can reupload your current files.

billbenson
12-19-2008, 10:46 AM
I don't use WP, but some posts on other forum's indicate there are some significant security changes that make it worthwhile.

vangogh
12-22-2008, 08:53 PM
I just upgraded on my development server on my laptop. It took me a few seconds to figure out where everything is, but a few minutes later and I think I'm going to like 2.7. It really does seem like there's quicker access to a lot of things and I actually like how the new interface looks.

Now to test the plugins I use.

Harold Mansfield
12-22-2008, 09:35 PM
I think it is pretty sweet.

@Orion Joel : As for updating, I used to have problems all the time, but now it's pretty painless.

First I use the "Automatic Upgrade" in to keep my plug ins updated (never could get it to work to update the actual wordpress install), so first I make sure all of my plug ins stay up to date.

Then I de-activate them.

Get yourself a fresh download of the latest version of Wordpress, unzip it (we'll come back to it later)

Via FTP, In your current install of Word Press, Delete the "wp-admin" and "wp-includes" folders.

Open your new version of Word Press and "Select All" of the files EXCEPT "wp-content" and "wp-config.php"

Drag and Drop your new files over the old ones.

Double check the "wp-content" from the new installation files for "index.php". Go ahead and drop that into your old "wp-content" folder that you left alone while installing all of the other files.

When it's done, log into the admin screen (follow the instructions to update the database) . re-activate your plug ins, (that have already been updated) and there you are, should be good to go.

Unless the newest version specifically calls for an upgrade of the "config.php" file, you can use the same file with future upgrades.

vangogh
12-22-2008, 11:18 PM
I've upgraded a few times with the automatic upgrade plugin. Only once did it not do what it was supposed to. I don't mind the manual upgrade though since it's relatively easy to do and only takes a few minutes. The first time you upgrade manually it's a little scary since you have to delete most of the files. but as long as you make backups of everything first it's easy enough to put back if something goes wrong with the upgrade.

I usually don't delete the old files, but rather move them to a temporary folder until I've checked that the upload of the new version is working.

Harold Mansfield
12-23-2008, 04:35 AM
I usually don't delete the old files, but rather move them to a temporary folder until I've checked that the upload of the new version is working.

That is the safest way, and I do recommend that everyone follow that rule. I have certainly had my problems by not following the safest measures.

vangogh
12-23-2008, 11:54 AM
I learned the hard way too. Actually what I'll sometimes do is simply rename the entire wordpress folder and create a new folder with the old name. I'll copy over the wp-content folder and the config file and then upload the remaining files. Then if something goes wrong it's just a matter of renaming the main two folders. Very quick to get your site back that way if there's a problem.

Marcomguy
01-10-2009, 06:42 PM
A few days ago I upgraded incrementally from 2.0.5 to 2.7. I like the new interface, but I had to search a bit to find the old commands I was used to.

I had made some changes to the sidebar, footer and index files directly through the theme editor. During the transition I overwrote those files without realizing it. I've learned my lesson now: make all modifications locally and upload them to the wp-content folder. That will make the next upgrade more painless.

Only glitch so far: I used to have a Fuzzy Recent Posts plugin. It doesn't work in 2.7.

vangogh
01-10-2009, 06:51 PM
Some plugins don't work yet. I haven't upgraded my site in part because of that. I either need to wait for the plugins to upgrade or find a replacement.

Yeah you should definitely keep all your changes in the wp-content folder. You really can make any change you need by editing theme files or creating a new plugin. Good to know that you aren't too upset after having overwritten things.

The way I usually upgrade is to create a new folder (say blog2) and place the files for the new version inside. Then I copy over the theme and plugins I'm using. Essentially I install the new version of WP in the new folder. Then I just rename the folders so the new one ends up with the name of the old one. Everything should work and if it doesn't you jsut rename the folders back to what they were and get your old version of WP back.

orion_joel
01-10-2009, 08:19 PM
I had upgraded one of my blogs a few weeks ago, and then yesterday decided to upgrade the other 2. Because i have not really done to much on the modification side, of things it went pretty easy. I have taken to creating text files which include the snippet for each additional piece of code i need for each thing, Eg i have a file called adsense side bar code, which has the adsense code for each of my sites which goes in the side bar. Same for a few other things.

All up it took me maybe 20 minutes to do the upgrade and have the adsense back and one or two other things. Probably would have been quicker if i was at home when i did it, the mobile broadband connection is not quite as quick as the DSL at home.

vangogh
01-10-2009, 11:47 PM
You shouldn't really have to add those snippets again. When you upgrade are you uploading the new wp-content folder? You don't need to so your theme should still be there with all those snippets.

However starting with WP 2.7 automatic upgrade should be built in. Upgrading to 2.7 should be the last time you ever have to manually upgrade.

orion_joel
01-11-2009, 12:00 AM
I upgraded through Fantastico, and i remembered last time i did the snippets all went, so i was just being prepared, and they did disappear, but was no biggie. However last time the header i had got replaced but this time it didn't. However i think last time i had used a header with a different file name and had modified the template for the name where as this time i had just used the default name for the header but modified the image.

Being able to upgrade from within WP sounds like a good idea, i also am trying out the gears option. Which is suppose to store all the files locally on your computer to make it run a lot quicker. So far, i have not noticed a lot of difference, which is maybe based on the fact that they are already in my cache anyway, but unsure, biggest test will be when i am working on the sites through my mobile broadband connection as it does seem to work a little slower then my DSL at home normally.

vangogh
01-11-2009, 12:43 AM
If you store the files on your computer it should help make your admin side run quicker. Doesn't do anything for visitors to your site of course.

I understand now about the upgrade. I hadn't realized you did that through Fantastico. I prefer installing and upgrading myself instead of using Fantastico. Fantastico works fine, but I it takes away some of the decisions I want to make. I'm not sure if the new auto upgrade is base on the auto upgrade plugin, but with the plugin you just clicked a series of links and you were all set. It's pretty easy, though I think there's an occasional fail.

You may want to try a manual upgrade once just to see how the process works. Even manually it's pretty easy. It's scary the first time since you're told to delete most of your files and then upload, but as long as you backup first or use the folder renaming method I described above there's nothing to fear.

billbenson
01-17-2009, 12:20 AM
Until tomorrow I don't use wordpress. That being said, a good practice is to rename files before uploading new ones. I do one of two things; I rename them as t-file or I rename the file with the date after it ie filedec1708.php or both. I also have archive files. Memory is cheap these days. Good backup practices can save you a lot of time and headaches. Also, remember that a file on your computer and your web host is effectively a backup.

I like the t-file-date.php approach the best. It's easiest to sort through and delete the old stuff. Realistically, whatever system works for you, but be sure you back up.

vangogh
01-17-2009, 02:36 PM
Bill one problem with that would be updating later. Say you rename certain WordPress files and then upgrade when a new version comes out. You might find yourself having to go back and change links within posts.

Another problem is an application like WordPress looks for files with specific names. Unless you go through the files and change all mentions of the file names the application likely won't work.

One last point is renaming files is security by obfuscation. You're hoping someone won't figure out your renaming scheme, but if someone does it's easy to figure out the rest. It's not that hard to figure out a renaming system. It will probably hold off automated attacks looking for specific file names, but it wouldn't be all that hard to still program something to find your files using some regular expressions.

KristineS
01-17-2009, 02:41 PM
I like 2.7. I think the dashboard is cleaner and it's easier to find things. It took a bit of adjusting because some things were in different places, but not much.

I also love Automatic Upgrade. It's always worked for me.

vangogh
01-17-2009, 02:49 PM
I like the new interface too. I was a little slower with it for about an hour at most. It didn't take very long to get used to and for the most part tasks seem quicker to finish. You're a few clicks closer to many pages than you were before.

billbenson
01-19-2009, 10:20 PM
I think you misinterpreted me VG. To keep it simple, lets take an htaccess file. When I make a change to it, I rename the one on the server t-htaccess-dec0708. That way, if I get a server error or need to go back to a prior htaccess it's easy.

I'm not suggesting renaming your active file name, but rather for archiving purposes. It effectively gives you an undo function.

vangogh
01-19-2009, 10:39 PM
Oh, got'cha. My bad. I was thinking you meant the active files. That's a good system for the archives. See what I get for not reading clearly.

orion_joel
01-20-2009, 05:58 PM
2.7 is also set up so that you can configure gears, which is a firefox add-on which forces the computer to store a set range of files locally, specifically the admin files to attempt to make it quicker to navigate, at this point i have not noticed a huge difference in using it but it maybe is because 2.5 which i was using used to take ages to load sometimes on my mobile broadband connection, however i am unsure if it is 2.7 or gears which is speeding up or maybe a combination.

vangogh
01-20-2009, 06:43 PM
It should be gears making things faster since gears would be storing things locally on your computer instead of having to go over the internet. I've never used gears so I'm not sure when it updates things online, but I'm guessing it only does when it has to or when you specifically tell it to. Not really sure though, having never used it.