Proper way to "upgrade" a style

[Weppa333]

Hello,

I wonder if anyone has thought of a proper method to "upgrade" styles,

For example, if you've got your own 1.1.3 style, what exactly would you do, and in what order, to translate this style into a future XF1.2 ?
I know you could "compare" layout, but compare with what ? The only thing you could compare is the stock 1.1.3 with 1.2, note the differences, and try to "inject" those differences into your custom 1.1.3

Or you could note what's different in your style from the stock 1.1.3 and replicate those differences into the new XF1.2
It all depends if your layout is heavily customized or not.

It's a nightmare, and this is what I'm doing since ages.
And it's so difficult and frustrating...
Of course if your edit are small, it's easy. But if you've got customized postbits, menues, etc, it quickly becomes impossible to do manually.

What I sometimes do is save the most customized files locally, compare them with "beyond compare", and then copy paste the results.

I'm not the only one with this problem, because this is also why so many styles "die" when new revisions arise...

I wonder if someone has a better method ? Or a somewhat codified "procedure" ?

 

[Arty]

Download all templates from old version via WebDav, download all templates from new version in another directory. Compare directories using FileMerge, apply changes to your style.

If you don't want to do manual comparison, use Git. Create branch with official style put templates in it (downloaded via WebDav), create branch for your custom style based on that official style. When updating, apply changes to official style branch, then merge it into your custom style branch. Fix merge conflicts and viola - you have updated your style.

 

[Weppa333]

I'll look into the Git solution you're talking about.
thanks for your suggestion

It's time I find a proper, "professional" way of upgrading between minor and major releases...