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Table of Contents > Installation and Update Instructions > Updating from 1.x to 2.x

Updating from 1.x to 2.x

This page describes the process for updating from ExpressionEngine 1.x to ExpressionEngine 2.x onwards.

1.  Prepare for the Update

• Download ExpressionEngine

  The first step is to download the most current version of the ExpressionEngine software. Once you have downloaded it, unzip the software to your local computer.

• Back-up Your Database

  It is recommended that you perform a database backup before performing an update.

• Back-up all Files and Folders

  Note: Keep a copy of system/config.php close at hand for use further in the update_wizard process.

• Take Your Site Offline

  It is recommended that you take your site offline for the duration of the update so that people visiting your site won't see any PHP errors or other anomalies that may occur while you are uploading files. Here is one approach:

  1. Copy system/utilities/offline.html to your main directory (the same place you have your main index.php file).
  2. Rename offline.html to index.html. Now your visitors will see the "offline" page while you update your site.

A note about Add-ons

Third-party add-ons from the version 1.x will not work with ExpressionEngine 2.0. Please contact each add-on's author for a 2.0 compliant version before upgrading, or your site will not function properly.

Important: If your site relies on third-party add-ons please check for a 2.0 compliant version before upgrading.

The installer will automatically disable all extensions as part of the update process.

1.x templates saved as flat-files

If you saved your templates as flat files in 1.x, upload the contents of your 1.x /system/templates/ directory to /system/expressionengine/templates and verify permissions on the templates folder is set to 777. The updater will sync your templates with the database and move the old files to a folder within the templates directory for archival purposes.

2.  Upload the New Files

Using an FTP program such as WS_FTP, SmartFTP, Transmit, Fetch, etc. you will now upload and replace the folders listed below on your server with the new versions you downloaded.

It is recommended that you delete the files you will be replacing before uploading the new files and directories.

If you did not backup config.php earlier, please back it up now.

• system/ this may have been re-named in the initial installation.
• themes/
• index.php

Important: If you used "Saved Templates as Files" in 1.x you will need to copy over your saved template files to system/expressionengine/templates/.

Upload the backed up copy of config.php to system/expressionengine/config/.

Open index.php and update the system path to reflect your renamed system folder.

If you are renaming the main site file ensure that you delete the old file and rename the new index.php.

3.  Verify the File Permissions

Important: If you are on EngineHosting you can skip this step. For other Unix hosts, the example below is typical, but you may wish to check with your host to see if less open permissions can be used to allow PHP to write to files (666) and directories (777).

If you are using a Unix server you must set the following files to 666

• system/expressionengine/config/config.php
• system/expressionengine/config/database.php

You must set the following directories to 777:

• system/expressionengine/cache/ (and its contained folders)

Note: If you are hosted on a Windows server, the above will not apply, but you will need to ensure that the files and directories are writable by ExpressionEngine. You may need to contact your Host or server admin for this.

4.  Run The Update Wizard

Point your browser to the ExpressionEngine directory, located here:

system/

The update wizard will verify your installation and perform changes that are required in order to update you to the new version of ExpressionEngine.

Important: Make sure you are accessing the file as you would a regular webpage, using an address similar to http://example.com/system/.

Page 1 of the Update Wizard - Welcome

After you "click here to begin" the wizard will run some pre-tests

Page 2 of the Update Wizard - Versions

When you click update, the wizard will proceed with updating your database.

Page 3 of the Update Wizard - Updating

Important: Do not close your browser until the update routine is finished. The update is a multi-step process and the browser will refresh on its own a number of times during the update process.

Page 4 of the Update Wizard - Completion

When that is complete, the screen will refresh and show the completion screen.

Remove system/expressionengine/installer/ from your server.

Remove the index.html file from your main directory.

5.  Version Specific Notes

Please view the update notes that apply to any versions that are newer than the version you have been running.

• Version Notes 2.0.0
• Version Notes 1.6.8
• Version Notes 1.6.7
• Version Notes 1.6.6
• Version Notes 1.6.5
• Version Notes 1.6.4
• Version Notes 1.6.3
• Version Notes 1.6.2
• Version Notes 1.6.1
• Version Notes 1.6
• Version Notes 1.5.2
• Version Notes 1.5.1
• Version Notes 1.5
• Version Notes 1.4.1
• Version Notes 1.4
• Version Notes 1.3.2
• Version Notes 1.3.1
• Version Notes 1.3
• Version Notes 1.2.1
• Version Notes 1.2
• Version Notes 1.1

6.  Update Your Documentation

If you use the local version of the documentation, then you should replace your current version. The documentation can be downloaded from the Download Area on the ExpressionEngine.com website. It may be best for you to delete the local version of the documentation you have on your server now and then upload the new version.

User Contributed Notes

ExpressionEngine – Copyright © 2002-2010 – EllisLab, Inc.