paFileDB 3.6 Upgrade Guide

This guide will help walk you through the upgrade of paFileDB.

These instructions are for upgrading 3.5.x (3.5, 3.5.1, 3.5.2, 3.5.3) to paFileDB 3.6. If you are upgrading to paFileDB 3.6 from paFileDB 3.1, please see this file for instructions.

Before you begin
In order to upgrade paFileDB, make sure you have the following:
-A server with PHP and MySQL support
-MySQL connection info (obtain this from your host)
-An FTP program to upload files to your server
-A standard installation of paFileDB 3.5.x. Modified versions of paFileDB are not supported and it may not be possible to upgrade them to paFileDB 3.6. As always, use modifications at your own risk!

Skins and Languages
Due to massive changes in the templates, once you run the upgrader, your skin will be set back to the default skin. Older skins will not be compatible with paFileDB 3.6 without some code changes. There were also additions to the language file. If you are using a 3rd party (non-English) language file, you may continue using it until an updated one is released. paFileDB will show the English translation of new strings in 3.6 that are not in your language file.

Upgrading paFileDB is very simple. Under normal circumstances and with a broadband connection, upgrading shouldn't take longer than about 10 minutes.

Important note regarding the paFileDB Toplist Display Addon
If you were using paFileDB's Toplist Display addon in paFileDB, please note that the addon for 3.5 is no longer compatible with 3.6. You will also need to download the updated version of the Toplist Display Addon here.

Upgrading paFileDB
1. IMPORTANT: Backup your paFileDB 3.5.x database using a tool such as phpMyAdmin. In the unlikely event that there is a problem upgrading, you will need a backup to restore your database to its previous state to either use paFileDB 3.5.x or attempt the upgrade again.

2. Unzip the file you downloaded from the paFileDB homepage. Chances are that if you're reading this, you've already done that.

3. Open the "upload" folder, then open "includes" and then open the file "config.php". You will need to edit that file to reflect your MySQL server information. You will need to edit the server, username, password and the database name. Editing the prefix is optional, and only necessary if installing more than one copy of paFileDB in the same database. NOTE: The settings entered in "config.php" will need to be identical to the settings you had in "db/mysql.php".

3. Connect to your server via FTP and then navigate to the folder where paFileDB 3.5.x is installed.

4. Open up the "upload" folder from the file you just unzipped. You will need to upload everything in that folder, except for the "install" folder to your paFileDB 3.5.x installation directory. Uploading is a bit different for each FTP program, check it's manual for more details.

5. If you use a *NIX (Linux, Unix, OSX and a couple others) server, you will need to CHMOD a couple directories. CHMODing is done via your FTP program, you will need to check it's manual for more details on doing this. The following files and folders need to be CHMODded to the values given:

6. The following files can be deleted:

7. Now that everything is uploaded, you will need to run the upgrader in your browser. This can be done by visiting http://www.yourdomain.com/pafiledb/upgrade, where yourdomain.com is your domain name, and pafiledb is the path to paFileDB. Once you've got the upgrader up, it will take you through everything.

8. Congratulations! You're almost done. Just delete the "upgrade" directory from your server immediatley because it can be a security risk by leaving it there.

If you have any problems with the upgrading of paFileDB, please visit our Support Page.