Posted 2 years ago #
I updated to the latest version of wordpress today and it completely stripped away all of my modifications that I had coded in. And I had recoded a LOT!
It's never done that before. Be careful if you're running wordpress and you've modified the code. Don't install this latest version. I'll have to redo everything tonight when I get home.
WordPress guys, what did you do?!?!!?
Posted 2 years ago #
you don't edit the default theme you know.
If you want to customise it you should create a new one based on it then it won't be overwritten. Just restore from the backup. You do have a backup don't you?
And of course the old, did you backup???...because if you did you would have a backup of the wp-content/themes/default folder.
If you don't have a backup, ask your host if they have a backup you could use.
See WordPress Backups and remember to backup both your files and your database.
Posted 2 years ago #
There are plenty of warnings in the docs about core hacks.
Posted 2 years ago #
Hi there.
I should clarify...
Actually, I didn't hack anything. I did all of the modding through the wordpress dashboard; ie, editing the header.php and footer.php. And I always downloaded the backups during each update when prompted.
This time, however, wordpress didn't give me the opportunity to backup. It simply updated in one fell swoop whereas before I had to go through several steps and it would ask if I wanted to download a backup.
I went to the last backup that I have here at work, unzipped it, and found no wp-content folder. I guess that that wasn't programmed to backup. Or am I just not looking in the right place?
Posted 2 years ago #
So, you went to wp-admin->Appearance->Editor and selected a page to edit? Right? That is a built in code editor. If you were editing the default themes you were editing WP code whether you knew it or not. You aren't changing configuration variables, you are physically editing the php/css/js source. That is going to get overwritten when you update.
And just in case it wasn't clear
See WordPress Backups and remember to backup both your files and your database.
Posted 2 years ago #
Thanks apljdi.
Why, though, has it never been overwritten before? I've done at least 8 updates previously and it never overwrote my changes. Why did it do it this time?
Regarding backups, I have backed up my web sites from time to time. I'm hoping that I have a recent one for my blog at home. Regardless, this will definitely make me more diligent.
Why did it do it this time?
Started happening when the Tools->Upgrade option became available.
Before, when you manually did the upgrade, you might not have uploaded a new version of the wp-content folder (see Upgrading WordPress Extended).
Posted 2 years ago #
Thanks. Now I know.
I hadn't touched that code in probably a year, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I backed up the site at least once during that time.
Posted 2 years ago #
The trouble I have with the upgrade is that I don't know what files have changed since 2.8.5. Is there a way to have those listed somewhere?
I'm having to pick through the file dates and compare them one by one.
When given a list of which files have changed, updates have gone much smoother and faster. I guess I was spoiled by earlier releases that listed this information, and will have to get used to doing this the hard way vs. dumping every file into my wordpress folder just to update the few files that have changed.
Posted 2 years ago #
Alright, hoping I got this right. Manual updates give more flexibility to avoid stomp-over of changes, saves uploading extra files for no good reason, so I only uploaded these files:
readme.html
wp-admin\press-this.php
wp-includes\version.php
wp-includes\functions.php
wp-includes\formatting.php
Please correct me if I'm wrong, missed some files, need to do something else to update, or you know where this info is posted so I don't have to do all the extra work each time there's an update.
Posted 2 years ago #
Looking...
wp-includes/version.php
wp-includes/js/swfupload/plugins/swfupload.speed.js
wp-includes/functions.php
wp-includes/formatting.php
readme.html
wp-admin/press-this.phpThat's the list I got from 2.8.5 to 2.8.6.
Interesting wp-includes/js/swfupload/plugins/swfupload.speed.js
doesn't compare differently using Beyond Compare even though it has a newer date and a different size.
Posted 2 years ago #
Ha, the List_of_Files_Revised was a blank List last time I looked.
Thanks for the confirm, though. Sorry if I sounded cranky, but incremental updates are much easier than drag and drop all files then scratch head and wonder what got over-written. Thanks for great support, security updates, and great product that saves me a lot of work.
incremental updates are much easier than drag and drop all files then scratch head and wonder what got over-written.
Not sure what you are talking about. You do know about the Tools->Upgrade option?
Posted 2 years ago #
That's the one I'm talking about. The left-most button is the automatic update, the button to its right downloads the entire install instead of just the changed files.
For those who can use the automatic update, maybe they are receiving a smart only-update-the-files-that-changed. I wouldn't know, as I'm stuck doing it manually. I suspect that if the only a few files have changed and someone complains that "it completely stripped away all of my modifications that I had coded in" then either all the changes that person made was in the few files changed or all the files were refreshed on the automatic update.
I haven't made any core changes, however, since I suspect automatic updates are brute-force instead of incremental-based, the manual update would be safer for those who have made core change edits and want to preserve them, but a list of changed files makes the manual update go faster.
We'll see how it goes next update. If the list of changed files isn't posted at the time of the update, I'll be going through the same process of hunt-by-date.
The Tools->Upgrade replaces all core files. If you modify core files, including wp-content/themes/default and wp-content/themes/classic, those changes will get overwritten.
Posted 2 years ago #
Interesting wp-includes/js/swfupload/plugins/swfupload.speed.js
doesn't compare differently using Beyond Compare even though it has a newer date and a different size.
I noticed this too. When I diff'ed a clean 2.8.6 directory against my older 2.8.5 it looked like one of the two files had mac line endings (^M). file confirms that the two files do indeed have different line endings. Paste from my terminal:
# file wp_archive/wordpress/wp-includes/js/swfupload/plugins/swfupload.speed.js
wp_archive/wordpress/wp-includes/js/swfupload/plugins/swfupload.speed.js: ASCII C program text
# file wordpress_285/wp-includes/js/swfupload/plugins/swfupload.speed.js
wordpress_285/wp-includes/js/swfupload/plugins/swfupload.speed.js: ASCII C program text, with CRLF line terminators
Posted 2 years ago #
Has anyone else noticed their toolbar menu missing from the admin area? My buttons (such as 'help' and 'screen options' don't work either. I've tried re-uploading wp-admin folder, but no dice.
Can anyone help me?
Posted 2 years ago #
@quoindesign, you should really start your own topic for that.
Posted 2 years ago #
The Tools->Upgrade replaces all core files. If you modify core files, including wp-content/themes/default and wp-content/themes/classic, those changes will get overwritten.
This is why the list of changed files is important to people who don't want brute-force updates. Maybe in the future the auto-update method will be more agile, until then - manual update is the best answer for the person who started this thread.
Posted 2 years ago #
This is why the list of changed files is important to people who don't want brute-force updates. Maybe in the future the auto-update method will be more agile, until then - manual update is the best answer for the person who started this thread.
I disagree. The best answer for the thread starter is to create and use a new theme based on the default theme instead of editing the default theme in place. Also to ensure backups are taken every time a change is made that you cannot afford to lose.
Posted 2 years ago #
That's the best advice for the thread starter. The best answer would be to make WordPress updates agile, as currently it can cause data loss for no good reason, except perhaps to scare the user into making backups. While backups are always best practice, forcing the user to do so because the system proceeds with a reinstall instead of just an update isn't the best system. As a system grows in complexity, it would be nice if that complexity saved its user from doing more mundane tasks.
While it's always best practice to make backups, imagine having to backup your user data, format and reinstall every time your computer's operating system needed a security update. People tend to trust the computer to keep their changes safe without understanding exactly how the computer operates. That seems to be what happened here.
Posted 2 years ago #
That sort of automation and end user service is available and would prevent the end user from having to make appropriate choices or be responsible for their installation.
Try using this plugin, it will solve all the problems of users maintaining their own installations.
jdembowski
Hilarious :>)
I'll probably steal that one
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