Well I won't be upgrading again

xenTheory

Active member
Unless I've missed something somewhere I don't see why upgrading to a small release 1.1.3 -> 1.1.4 resets every addon setting and more or less destroys my forum. I've spent the last 2 hours redoing everything.

There are areas in xF which need attention but the software is young so it's OK however THIS is not something I'm impressed with at all. I followed the upgrade instructions and only downloaded the upgrade files from my user area.

A couple of specific questions:

1) Why does upgrading reset ALL edited files throughout xF?
2) Why does upgrading reset ALL language phrases?

Templates

1) Surely there must be an easier way to upgrade templates which I might have not seen. I realise that's what EXTRA.css is there for, however it still seems like a very backwards way.

Another reason for me to move to IPB.

/rant over.

edit: rant not justified. Apologies to all. The problem was not with the upgrade but with the way I started out with editing and was more template related. I actually much prefer handling files and don't like using built in editors, call me old fashioned.
 
Templates will not be overwritten upon upgrading unless you edit the Master style..

What files were reset?

Its not the software that is the problem, fyi
 
Files are overwritten for every upgrade. That's why file edits are not ideal for code changes. Addons are better.

As was already posted... the language is not changed. Only the master language is overwritten. Maybe you edited the master. You aren't normally supposed to do that. The master is only accessible in debug mode.
 
Templates will not be overwritten upon upgrading unless you edit the Master style..

What files were reset?

Its not the software that is the problem, fyi

If I have edited my templates in the master-style, can I just create a new default-style (via "Create New Style" in ACP) before I upgrade ?
And then make my current master-style the child-style ?

Will this work and help ?

Appreciate your quick advise!
 
I've now moved all edits to EXTRA.css, sure it's nearly 1000 lines but it does the job. At least for future updates that can be used.

I've got no idea what happened to the addons or anything else. I am more used to... well any other forum method of upgrading where it doesn't destroy the forum.

There are changes which I can't get to work again though, which is a shame. I'm sure for those more familiar with the software it's easier but I'm new to xF.

If someone could provide the universal h1 and pageDescription.muted code that would be helpful. Since different H1's have different pageDescription it's hard to keep track and requires even more edits. I'm going to shut up before I get angry.
 
As you can see, http://vondroid.com I've managed to get most edits back. I think the rant is more about the way xF handles upgrades. I'm seriously going to go AFK now before I get banned for shouting and swearing.
 
And now my cat edits wont work.

Code:
.catImage117
{
    background: url(http://vondroid.com/site-img/vnodes/tablet.png);;
    float: right;
    width: 120px;
    height: 47px;
    margin-top:-16px;margin-right:-14px;
}
 
While I understand where you are coming from, but don't you do "test" upgrades to see if things are as planned? A lot of things no matter how well built can cause problems after upgrading, in my case I won't be upgrading this soon as I know it will be a lot of work and I don't have the time till May.
 
And now my cat edits wont work.

Code:
.catImage117
{
    background: url(http://vondroid.com/site-img/vnodes/tablet.png);;
    float: right;
    width: 120px;
    height: 47px;
    margin-top:-16px;margin-right:-14px;
}

Not seeing that any where in the category. Is there a particular reason you are calling each category in the CSS instead of just using something like

Code:
.nodeList .categoryStrip
{
    background: #515151;
}

instead of

Code:
.node.category.level_1.node_3 .categoryText, .node.category.level_1.node_55 .categoryText, .node.category.level_1.node_96 .categoryText, .node.category.level_1.node_117 .categoryText, .node.category.level_1.node_122 .categoryText, .node.category.level_1.node_147 .categoryText, .node.category.level_1.node_171 .categoryText, .node.category.level_1.node_252 .categoryText, .node.category.level_1.node_207 .categoryText {
padding: 15px 12px;
background: #515151;
 
I had not heard that Phrases get overwritten?
If so upgrades should warn us to export our language file so we can import it again.

Personally I never understand why people shout and scream for upgrades. They are a pain in ANY software. XF does a bit to reduce the pain by retaining edited templates, and providing EXTRA.css but it's hardly a joy.
Until there's something substantial provided I'll stick with addons.
 
I had not heard that Phrases get overwritten?
If so upgrades should warn us to export our language file so we can import it again.

Personally I never understand why people shout and scream for upgrades. They are a pain in ANY software. XF does a bit to reduce the pain by retaining edited templates, and providing EXTRA.css but it's hardly a joy.
Until there's something substantial provided I'll stick with addons.

I dunno, I embrace a good ole upgrade. It can be a pain in the ass though that it took me 5 -10 minutes to upgrade/fix 5 custom styles though.

Edit: I think the template/styling system (in case the humour was overlooked) is great. Never had an issue with xenforo and upgrading each and everytime has been a pleasurable experience
 
I love updates. Backup, upload, revert, reapply template edits, play :D In short, Burrp!
That's exactly how my update went.

Granted, I haven't done many modifications, but that isn't by accident. That was always a nightmare with vB.
 
Previously, I'm using phpBB and upgrade a phpBB forum with 5+ addon is a...

well...

"Need a lots of Panadol (Some kinde of Aspirin in my country), time, and coffee"

And now I'm upgrading xF with 10+ addon... smoothly.
 
I run 5 highly customized boards, some have 50+ add-ons, all have highly modified themes and phrases yet i had no issue upgrading them.
 
I suspect the problems may relate more to how you've edited your site than to the upgrade itself.

Ideally you shouldn't directly edit the master styles, language, or core files; create a separate style to play with and make it the default so it isn't modified at upgrade time. Same with the language, make a second set to modify and make it the default.

When I used IP.Board every update I applied broke something and before I migrated I'd ended up with a whole private forum section of my own that contained code/tweaks that had to be manually re-applied every time. I've had no such difficulty with XF - I've yet to have a single upgrade break anything.

As to style updates, I generally use Notepad++ with the 'compare' plugin to find the changes I have made to templates and re-apply them manually; I copy the existing template code and paste it into Notepad++ - then I revert the template (which loads the latest XF default settings) - then I copy the new template code into a second tab in Notepad++ and run the compare. This highlights the changes I have made and allows me to copy and paste them back in. (y)

Good luck with getting things back together and if you want to discover the best way of modifying things so that they don't "break" with future updates, just ask here on the XF community forums and I'm sure you'll get some useful advice.

Cheers,
Shaun :D
 
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