Change template from 2 to 8, ... advice before i screw my website up. Options

[bobbyfamilytree]

I have a habit of doing things i shouldnt so sometimes things break - i dont want this to happen again with my website.

I'm not worried about cosmetic looks, home page etc for now, i can adjust that myself later. I just want to transistion from Temp #2 to #8 to go well.

I dont have anything on my computer to preview (is that localhost xamp or something) the website before hand, not sure if that is really needed or if i can just upload template 8 docs.

Bit of guidance please.

Where do i start?

[pondfield]

I have a habit of doing things i shouldnt so sometimes things break - i dont want this to happen again with my website.

I'm not worried about cosmetic looks, home page etc for now, i can adjust that myself later. I just want to transistion from Temp #2 to #8 to go well.

I dont have anything on my computer to preview (is that localhost xamp or something) the website before hand, not sure if that is really needed or if i can just upload template 8 docs.

Bit of guidance please.

Where do i start?

Did you manage to do this ? Was it easy ? I want to change from template 7 to template 4. Should I ?

[Ken Roy]

Did you manage to do this ? Was it easy ? I want to change from template 7 to template 4. Should I ?

The instructions in the TNG Wiki article on Templates - Getting Started on How do you setup your site to use a template? would apply.

1. Backup your current files
2. Copy the new template files
3. Update your index.php and topmenu.php as appropriate

[bobbyfamilytree]

Did you manage to do this ? Was it easy ? I want to change from template 7 to template 4. Should I ?

No i hadnt done anything yet because still not sure.

So can anyone tell me if i just upload the new template in a seperate online folder and make the changes as what Ken has said (is there way to test this before going live?)

Backup your current files
Copy the new template files
Update your index.php and topmenu.php as appropriate

Once i've done this then i nervously delete the old website and cross my fingers?

The Templates Getting_Started wiki page doesnt tell you how to do the transition from one template to another.

[bobbyfamilytree]

I have the template 8 files on my PC, and it isnt very many of them at all. Can i just overwrite them (yes, i'll make backup copies) with my current ones i use with template 2? Then just upload them?

That seems easy - can i do that?

[Ken Roy]

The Templates Getting_Started wiki page doesnt tell you how to do the transition from one template to another.

The first sentence in How do you setup your site to use a template Setup Template says

You have to copy all the files from the unzipped template folder to your TNG install folder.

and the last sentence in that section says

You must overlay the existing files , which is why you should create a backup first.

You are welcomed to edit the article if you can make it clearer or more easily understandable.

[pondfield]

I have also asked Darrin much the same question and hope he won't mind me quoting his reply which pretty much repeats what Ken has said. He replied :

"It is simple. All you do is upload the template 4 files into your main TNGfolder (same location as the other template files are now), overwriting any existing files with the same name. Be warned, however: you will lose any changes you've made to your current home page & header / footer. If you're not entirely sure you'll want to keep the new template, make backup copies ofindex.php, topmenu.php and footer.php before you start. Either way, you will not lose any data."

Sounds simple but not sure I want to take the plunge. If either you, Bobby (?), or I actually do it perhaps one of us can write some instructions for IT illiterates who need each step explained clearly.

[Ken Roy]

I have also asked Darrin much the same question and hope he won't mind me quoting his reply which pretty much repeats what Ken has said. He replied :

"It is simple. All you do is upload the template 4 files into your main TNGfolder (same location as the other template files are now), overwriting any existing files with the same name. Be warned, however: you will lose any changes you've made to your current home page & header / footer. If you're not entirely sure you'll want to keep the new template, make backup copies of index.php, topmenu.php and footer.php before you start. Either way, you will not lose any data."

Sounds simple but not sure I want to take the plunge. If either you, Bobby (?), or I actually do it perhaps one of us can write some instructions for IT illiterates who need each step explained clearly.

Help would certainly be welcomed to improve the articles in the TNG Getting Started Guide on the TNG Wiki.

Any and all TNG User can register on the TNG Wiki and contribute to the community effort in creating usable documentation. The Templates - Getting Started article is an attempt to provide information for new users, so if any of you want to take notes while you go through the process and provide feedback, or better yet update the articles, that would be helpful to future new users.

[bobbyfamilytree]

Ok, so i took the plunge.

This is what i did to change from template 2 to 8 - first step to backup everything.

1) Performed 'backup table structure' this is in the utilities section of admin, on your website.
2) Performed 'optimize' in the 'backup, restore and optimize table data' tab
3) Performed 'backup' in the 'backup, restore and optimize table data' tab
4) Update copy of entire website which i transfered to my PC via ftp program.


Now to changing of template from 2 to 8. (same rules when changing from any template to another)

In my template 8 folder on my computer i have 17 files. All of which i need to upload and overwrite the current template 2 files of the same name and these template 2 files are in my my 'genealogy' folder. Look in your 'genealogy' folder on your website and it should have files like arrowdown.gif, footer.php, index.php etc. If you find this then you have the correct folder and you can proceed to change the template files.

So fire up your ftp program and go into your genealogy folder in your website. Then transfer the 17 files (or how ever many are in your template you want to use) on your computer to your website and make sure they overwrite the files on your website. You may have to tell your ftp program to overwrite them as there are different settings for uploading.

Once this is done you have earned a gold medal. Then you can change the home page etc,

And here mine is http://bit.ly/9ouEIE from template 2 to 8.

[bsl20b50]

It looks like your transition needs some fixing. I checked your site in the current versions of Chrome, IE, and Firefox and all display the same problems. As you mentioned, you need to make sure that the new files overwrite the old files. You also need to make sure you have the most recent version of the template files.

When I made the transition from template 2 to template 8, my site looked like yours does now. I had to delete all of the files that are part of the template files (i.e. index.php, topmenu.php, templatestyle.css, etc.), then upload clean new files. When I overwrote the files, for some reason I got hybrid versions of the files on the server.

That fixed most, but not all of the problems. After some emails back and forth with Darrin, we discovered that there were some errors in the template files. He sent me corrected files and has since corrected the files in the most recent versions of TNG.

Good Luck,
Bryan

[bobbyfamilytree]

Thankyou Bryan. It does look out of sync and had wondered about that.

So where do i go from here? Do i need to email Darrin or can i get the most recent files for Templ.8 online somewhere?

Then i wont fiddle with my home page anymore until i've sorted this out.

This doesnt look good for other folks whom arent so confident in doing a template swap.

[pondfield]

I'm certainly glad you took the plunge rather than me. Like with all the other things you need to learn with this software it's great when it works but tough getting there. It always looked difficult despite Darrin's confidence. Hope you get it sorted. I am inclined to stick with the template I've got for now.

[bsl20b50]

So where do i go from here? Do i need to email Darrin or can i get the most recent files for Templ.8 online somewhere?

To get the most recent files, download the current version of TNG (if you haven't already) and open the template folder, template 8 folder. Those are the files you need; not the stand-alone template files that are posted on the download site.



The next thing you need to do is delete any file on your server that you will be replacing. For some reason, doing an FTP upload/overwrite can create a strange hybrid with some new code and some old code with those template files. I suspect that is what happened to you (as happened to me as well). After deleting the old files, upload the new template files and you should be all set.



Good Luck,

Bryan

[bobbyfamilytree]

Hi Bryan,

I followed what you said and i seemed to have got it right.
Thankyou very much for helping me out.

You Beaut!

[Bob Nobis]

I have also asked Darrin much the same question and hope he won't mind me quoting his reply which pretty much repeats what Ken has said. He replied :

"It is simple. All you do is upload the template 4 files into your main TNGfolder (same location as the other template files are now), overwriting any existing files with the same name. Be warned, however: you will lose any changes you've made to your current home page & header / footer. If you're not entirely sure you'll want to keep the new template, make backup copies ofindex.php, topmenu.php and footer.php before you start. Either way, you will not lose any data."

Sounds simple but not sure I want to take the plunge. If either you, Bobby (?), or I actually do it perhaps one of us can write some instructions for IT illiterates who need each step explained clearly.

I have looked at my web page and see the template files at two locations in the following location:

public_html and www

Do I replace the template files in both locations or just one?

Bob

[Ken Roy]

I have looked at my web page and see the template files at two locations in the following location:

public_html and www

Do I replace the template files in both locations or just one?

Bob

Bob,

This is probably a question you need to ask your hosting service. One is a shadow of the other, on ICDSoft, where I run there is no public_html, but I have seen such a structure on Simply Hosting. I just don't know which one is the correct location for you to copy files to, so that it will show in both.

[pondfield]

When I asked Darrin a similar question the answer was

"The "public_html" and "www" folders are actually one and the same. They're just two different names for the same location, so it doesn't matter which one of those you choose. Your site's public home page is therefore public_html/index.php OR www/index.php."

[dhj]

I've just done this on my hosted test site and it didn't quite work. Fortunately I am very computer literate (but not very linux server literate) so realised the problem straight away which was that I uploaded the template files but forgot to stipulate overwrite (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon_redface.gif) An easy mistake to make but one to watch out for. I uploaded again and all went swimmingly.