Hi,
I'm new to hosting a forum using MyBB. I really like this forum app but I had an issue with the "Mobile MyBB 1.8" theme when I recently did my first upgrade to v1.8.20. I found the solution to this issue
searching this forum, thanks to drguild. But I'd like to better understand what's going on when upgrading the main forum code.
I read the
instructions about upgrade. It says:
Quote:You can either revert these templates to their default - meaning all the changes you’ve made to it will be removed - or you can see a Diff Report which will show you exactly what’s changed. If you have a custom theme installed, it is probably best that you look at the Diff Report and apply the changes you need.
Diff report shows changes to some templates. These changes were not done by me. I understand that the templates wer changed by the upgrade installer (if I'm right). Then, how would I know what changes need to be reverted or and those to be kept if I'm not the developer of the theme templates and if the theme has not been updated recently?
Why does the upgrade changes the templates if we need to revert them?
Does this verification process need to be done after each upgrade? Is it normally mentioned in the upgrade notice (I do not remember having read an alert when doing the upgrade).
Thanks for any clarification that would make me more confortable
maintaining my forum.
(2019-03-18, 03:23 PM)jlalonde Wrote: [ -> ]Hi,
I'm new to hosting a forum using MyBB. I really like this forum app but I had an issue with the "Mobile MyBB 1.8" theme when I recently did my first upgrade to v1.8.20. I found the solution to this issue searching this forum, thanks to drguild. But I'd like to better understand what's going on when upgrading the main forum code.
I read the instructions about upgrade. It says:
Quote:You can either revert these templates to their default - meaning all the changes you’ve made to it will be removed - or you can see a Diff Report which will show you exactly what’s changed. If you have a custom theme installed, it is probably best that you look at the Diff Report and apply the changes you need.
Diff report shows changes to some templates. These changes were not done by me. I understand that the templates wer changed by the upgrade installer (if I'm right). Then, how would I know what changes need to be reverted or and those to be kept if I'm not the developer of the theme templates and if the theme has not been updated recently?
Why does the upgrade changes the templates if we need to revert them?
Does this verification process need to be done after each upgrade? Is it normally mentioned in the upgrade notice (I do not remember having read an alert when doing the upgrade).
Thanks for any clarification that would make me more confortable maintaining my forum.
Best way to handle this is my 'KISS' method. (no, not the rock band)
KISS - Keep It Simple, Stupid
All this means is that if the theme you are using is running fine as is and you do not see any further issues, don't mess with it.
Oftentimes, when there is a merger or an upgrade/update it is ADVISED that if there are issues with the theme(s), you should review the differential report of the themes and make necessary changes if needed.
This is not "set in stone", so to speak.
Some themes are carefully made that there will be few issues, other themes are sloppily made and have to be literally re-done.
I have 2 themes that I use for my website, both are done by the same author and he will make updates as needed when there is new security and/or fixes to the MyBB core that would have an effect on the themes.
Just my take on this...
(2019-03-18, 07:59 PM)Serpius Wrote: [ -> ]you should review the differential report of the themes and make necessary changes if needed.
I understand what you cay, Serpius. This issue it there: How to know when "if needed" without having some knowledge about the templates code... All I can do is to test the theme as much as possible for possible errors, which can be quite time consuming.
Thanks for the input.
(2019-03-18, 09:26 PM)jlalonde Wrote: [ -> ]How to know when "if needed"
Generally speaking, we try not to change templates. There are obviously times when we must update them, but large, jarring changes are avoided, optimally.
When an upgrade is done, you will see version increments for JavaScript files that were updated, other various variables being sent to JS might be changed, moving/changing/removing variables in the template because server-side functionality changes, etc.
The main thing you need to do is use the tools in Find Updated Templates to get a better picture of what is happening.
Open your template as it is currently in one tab, open the diff report in another tab, then you can see clearly what was changed in the upgrade. It is also important to keep in mind that upgrade script is making alterations to the default theme, not custom themes. In other words, there will be many things in a custom theme that appear to have changed in the upgrade, but once you are familiar with your themes templates, you will know that is just part of how your theme is coded.
Being an admin does require that you learn a bit more about MyBB than the average user, but once you get over the curve, it will lead to a much more rewarding experience as a forum owner.
(2019-03-18, 09:54 PM)Wildcard Wrote: [ -> ]It is also important to keep in mind that upgrade script is making alterations to the default theme, not custom themes
In my experience, the Mobile was changed (that I installed as-is, not modified by myself). It is not the default theme for my forum but a secondary theme.
But anyway, your explanations and good words are appreciated. Thanks to both of you.
(2019-03-18, 10:03 PM)jlalonde Wrote: [ -> ]In my experience, the Mobile was changed (that I installed as-is, not modified by myself). It is not the default theme for my forum but a secondary theme.
The thing is, when you are looking at which templates were updated in the upgrade, you have to understand the hierarchy.
The diff report that you see is showing you the difference between your customized template (the one in the theme you downloaded and installed) and the default template (also known as the master template, this is the one that is changed by the upgrade script).
Before you upgraded, you could have looked through the templates for your custom theme and many of them would have been highlighted (usually green) to show you that they had been altered (from the master). If you had used the diff tool on them at that moment (before the upgrade) there would have been one or more differences between your custom template and the master copy.
Now fast-forward to after the upgrade. The diff report you are seeing now is showing you all the changes that were already there, plus the changes in this particular upgrade. So, you kinda either have to know what changed in each version or have enough MyBB knowledge to suss it out on your own.
I try the latter sometimes and fail miserably
(2019-03-18, 10:03 PM)jlalonde Wrote: [ -> ]But anyway, your explanations and good words are appreciated. Thanks to both of you.
You're welcome. Just trying to help.
Thanks for the additional explanations, Wildcard. It is getting clearer :-)
