Thread

My new client had his site built in EE and the developer edited all the files via FTP.

I usually edit in the admin panel. Anything I should watch out for? The old developer still has access - do I just need to make sure that he syncs the files?

Each template says something like “From File [08/30/12 01:06 pm] (Save template to sync database.)” - I don’t know if that means anything beyond what it simply implies.

thanks for any input!

*bump*

any thoughts?

Hey sprockets,

This may be a good primer for you on saving templates as text files. Also, have a look at this part of the CP since it’ll show you which of the two (the database version or the file version) is the most up-to-date.

If the file’s edits are more recent that the database version of the template, the system will use the file version to render the page, but it doesn’t actually sync up the file and the database versions.

If you go to edit a template in the CP and see the message you noted above, that means the file version is more recent (and that’s what it’s showing you in the CP’s template editor). Whether the database version or file version of the template is the most recent, however, saving the template in the CP always saves to both the database and the file (assuming you have Save Templates to Text Files enabled).

Does that help explain things a bit?

*My Opinion*

While there is nothing wrong with editing template files in the Control Panel. I would just mention that there are more benefits to editing via flat files instead.
01. You can have open many files if working with a complex structure,
02. Unlimited “undo” on files,
03. File backups, git, subversion, etc.

Hey sprockets,

What do you think of the input so far?

Cheers,