I think that SD did a exceptional job with the current update.
Very few minor hiccups with the changes. Even though we did not get the 7.6 update yet.
I am excessively pleased.
At first I did not notice much in the way of any changes, But I was mistaken.
Fixed/added a few items on my nit noid list as well as added some security fixes and some code cleanup.

Thank You.

Looking forward to the next release.

So are you saying that we should proceed with the update now? Are the bugs out of it? :-)

I'm still scared to death about overwriting some tweak that I've made somewhere over the past 3 years. (Ouch)

I'd advise an immediate update, just for the fact of the security hole patched; the Stop Forum Spam feature had been tested at UBBDev over the past year and worked quite well for the users who've used it over the modification period.

Updating most always means you could lose some/all of your custom 'tweaks'. IF you have a record of the tweaks you made; name, file(s) modified, etc., then after an upgrade you will have to add them back in. The easiest method is to use a program such as "Beyond Compare" or "Araxis Merge".

Also, be aware that the second phase of the upgrade (7.6) has been said to go into Beta in about 2 weeks. So, if everything goes as planned, this should be released in the next 30-60 days, hopefully.

Thus, there is a good possibility that some/all 'tweaks' will be lost again. But as Gizmo stated, the current update (7.5.7) has some critical security updates and the addition of the StopForumSpam feature. The choice is yours.

timeline for 7.6 isn't that definite... i won't make a prediction on it yet.

after wrestling with the installer / upgrader, 7.6 will have to be a rethink on things, since the CHANGED_FILES.txt will be meaningless..

EVERY file will be different..

During an upgrade, especially for clients who've indicated they wish to keep customizations, I take whatever version I'm upgrading from and compare it to the stock files of that version; then I mirror those changes to the stock version I'm upgrading to (after the upgrade has gone through).

Though the more mods the more it effects the bottom line; most mods don't take longer than 20 minutes to merge over so I include those in the upgrade price, anything more would mean an additional fee.

THIS is the way to do it... relying on the changes files ( languages too ) is hit and miss and leaves a board with code that has old version numbers in it as well..

So.... what do you use to compare a couple of hundred files from the PREVIOUS version to the NEW UPDATE?

I still use WINDIFF to compare files to one another, but it's a pain when you're trying to compare entire folders to one other.


ADDED:
I just re-read the full thread and saw the references to "Beyond Compare" and "Araxis Merge". Thanks. I'll follow up on those.

Beyond Compare used to be freeware. But it has been a standard for years.
I think you still get a trial period.

The BEST way for doing this is to do everything in Git. You take a fresh version of your board to init your master branch on. Then create a branch "modded", copy over your modded board files and commit that. So at this point you have all your changes in your branch. Upgrades are done on the master branch and then you merge your "modded" branch. This removes most of the work rebuilding your modifications during upgrades.

Everything looks pretty good. The only thing I have noticed that is not quite right is when using the Black and Gold style and when in a forum the links on the top bar have become difficult to read clearly.

Actually it is only when the font size is greater than 100% and I am logged in when the links get pushed partially over the bottom edge of the bar. It's not a big deal but I hadn't seen that happen until this update. I also grey blocks overlapping some of the graphic borders. It is only Black and Gold because all the other styles look just fine.

Bill B

If I read Gizmo's post correctly he compares the current modified site files to the stock files for the current running version. This identifies the mods to the current running version. Then He looks to the new version in order to migrate the mods.

It will be interesting for ver 7.6 because there are so many changes in so many files (per SD post "every file"). The prior mods might not be needed in the new version due to enhancements or added functionality. If they are needed the prior mods may need changes to work in the new version since there has been a lot of code streamlining and clean up (per SD).

I suspect for highly modified sites the transition to ver 7.6 may be a more involved process.

Glad to see some movement. Hopefully SD will have some time available to wrap things up.

Abbott

yah, for anyone with modified boards, the migration to 7.6 won't have a 'changed_files.txt' to rely on, since it is every one of them.

you'd have to compare your 7.5.7 modded to 7.5.7 stock and note those files you've changed, then manually merge them into the new scheme.

7.6 won't even be an 'upgrade' either. it will be an IMPORT... (every table name goes to lower case, utf-8 is standard etc... )

matter of fact, just doing the importer is a huge task right now.

there is no timeframe on 7.6.... i will resume it in the new year, but it's not a 'coupla weeks'.... it'll be a careful process, given time to do it right...

As it should be...

Excitement...

Don't ever sett a firm timeline; we all know how those end up when not met lol...