WordPress 2.0 Upgrade Process

Okay, I think I have it all finished. I think. There may still be some IE kinks to work out but, aren’t there always?

If you don’t use WordPress, you’ll find this post boring. So, either get it or skip this post.

If you use WordPress, there are some good reasons to upgrade. There have been 500+ changes since the last one. Most of the changes are internal and unless you are a developer, you’ll not notice any differences. However, there are other user-friendly changes that make this well worth it.

The Codex has an excellent page of upgrading instructions.

#1 thing to do, back up your database. I strongly urge you to use the WP-Database Backup plugin. It is sooo easy to use. Like, sooo easy to use. Did I mention how easy it is to use?

The instructions also tell you what to delete first via FTP before upgrading. You get to keep the wp-content folder which contains the plugins and themes. However, some plugins have files that are elsewhere. Some files are in the wp-admin and other are in the root directory. For example, my WP-Definitions plugin has a file in the wp-admin directory. Before you delete these folders, go through them and see if anything pops out at you. While you are at it, make a copy of your vars.php file (found in the wp-includes folder) and the quicktags.js (also in the wp-includes folder). If you made any changes to the smilies or to the quicktags, you’ll need these for reference. It is a good idea to keep a text file that lists any and all changes you made to any of the WordPress files so you can duplicate those changes later.

Read all of the instructions before you start the process. Read the list of changes and any advice you may come across. Then start, but follow the directions. Once you are done, start turning back on your plugins, one at a time, then checking to see if that plugin is working. The way I did it was to turn Spam Karma on first. Then I loaded the blog into another tab. Up would pop an error line. I’d find that plug in and turn it on. Then I’d load the blog again. I’d do this, one plugin at a time, until the page loaded. Then I activated the rest of the plugins.

My biggest problem with the upgrade was the accidentally deleted plugin files. Learnt a lesson, I did.

The second problem was that not all the plugins will play nice when they are re-activated. The most important one is the Framebuster. There is an upgrade for it too so do that before you enable it again. Framebuster keeps your blog from being opened inside a frame. (There’s a reason why this is a good plugin to use but I’m not getting into that right now.) WP2 has a different sort of page where a new post is written or an older one is edited. A preview window is down at the bottom of that page and shows you what your post would look like, should you publish it. This is a fantastic thing, yeah! However, it does it via frames which Framebuster doesn’t like. So, if you tried to edit an old post or save/continute editing a new post, when it tries to load up that preview frame, you are instead sent to the blog itself. Annoying, trust me.

The fix for this is simple. Update the plugin or don’t reactivate it.

The third problem was a minor one but still irked me until I fixed it. Beneath each post in almost any WordPress blog will be a statement that goes something like “There have been X number of comments to this post”. Each user personalizes this if they feel like it but it basically announces how many comments have been made. SpamKarma has a part in that number reporting and part of it doesn’t play nice with WP 2.0. There is an easy fix for this.

1. Download/upload the latest version (2.1) of SpamKarma.
2. Download/upload Drac’s SK2-WP2compatability plugin. This is the fix. Upload it to Spam Karma’s plugin folder. Meaning – yourblog/wp-content/plugins/SK2/sk2_plugins/.
3. activate SK2 and head over to the Options>>Spam Karma page. Down at the bottom should be a line to enable/disable the WP2-Compatibility. If that is there, you put it in the right place. If it is not, oopsie.

That should fix the problem. Any comments made between the upgrade and the fix will not appear in the count (at the bottom of the post), although they will be there, unless you do something wonky to the database itself. I’m not ready to do that though. There is the thread where they tell me how to fix it.

Back to that wonderously fantastic new Write page within the admin section. The call it a “Rich Editor”. I didn’t like it. I love the preview, yeah, but not the new way stuff is entered in. What it does is it didn’t show the raw version–none of your html showed up but was absorbed into it. Which can be nice I suppose. If you hit enter after a paragraph, it automatically skipped a line for you. Annoying. (the

is inserted and hidden) This can be turned off by going to the Users Profile. Down at the bottom is an option to turn off the “rich editor”.

The options in the sidebar of the Write page are javascripted and moveable. Left click and drag them to your preferred order.

While you are at this process, take the time to update your plugins. Yeah, it takes a while but do it anyway. Most of them have had changes this week anyway to make adjustments for WP2.

If you still have a problem, go to the Support boards. Search around first, someone probably has already had that problem and has gotten an answer. For example, I asked about the comment count issue. I couldn’t find where someone else had asked it. (It had been, but inside other posts.) So I asked it. While my question was being answered, there were several other identical posts placed.

Reckon that is all for now.