Database-Only Upgrade Instructions

Quickie upgrading if you don’t want to keep your customizations

Warning!

This is not the standard upgrade procedure. It will DEFINITELY cause you to lose functionality associated with your older customizations and could break things as you will have configuration settings with no associated files (sideboxes, template, etc.).

Doing a database only upgrade might be appropriate in situations like this:

you are coming from Zen Cart 1.5.4 or older version, and you don’t have time or budget for a proper upgrade.
your hoster just updated PHP to a version which is not compatible with your older Zen Cart software.
you have minimal customizations and your current template is not mobile compatible.

You will lose your customizations, but you won’t lose your data and you’ll be using the latest software, which is more secure.

You will be using the responsive_classic template initially. You can always add a new template later after your store is up and running.

Setup

CRITICAL: Back up your site
CRITICAL: Backup your database
Create a new directory called “test” and put the latest version of Zen Cart into it. We’ll call this your test site.
Then create a new database and load your old database in it
Do any database conversions necessary - only necessary if you have custom date fields
Next, change the two configure.php files to utilize the new directory and database This way … when you attempt to upgrade you are “practicing” to see where the problems, if any will happen
Run the installer at https://www.YOURSITE.com/zc_install
Choose the Upgrade option

Use the upgrade button!

The zc_install process

Once you press the Upgrade button, the screen will show you a list of updates to be performed.

Updates being performed

Be patient - it can take a while to do all the updating required.

Once this action completes, you have an up to date copy of your database.

Database Changes

Go to Admin > Tools > Template Selection and set your template to Responsive Classic (since your old template won’t exist on your updated site).
Visit each of the admin pages Modules > Shipping, Modules > Payment, Modules > Order Total to allow your modules to insert any missing keys. Some modules may require re-installation to add keys.

Copy from live site

Copy the /images folder from your live site onto your test site
Copy in any new images you created from your live site’s includes/templates/YOURTEMPLATE/images folder to the test site’s includes/templates/responsive_classic/images folder
Copy in any new images you created from your live site’s email folder to the test site’s email folder

Customization

Customize the following files, referring to your live site to see what needs to be changed:

includes/languages/responsive_classic/english.php
includes/languages/english/responsive_classic/email_extras.php
admin/includes/languages/english/email_extras.php

Testing

Create a test order, take it all the way through to checkout success, then view the order in your test admin. Make sure everything is working as expected.

Updating PHP

Update your PHP version if appropriate.

If you have a little more time …

It’s worth your while to switch from the Responsive Classic template to the Bootstrap template. It looks much better and it’s just a bit more work. Redo the customization step above for the storefront files:

includes/languages/bootstrap/english.php
includes/languages/english/bootstrap/email_extras.php

Still have questions? Use the Search box in the upper right, or try the full list of FAQs. If you can't find it there, head over to the Zen Cart support forum and ask there in the appropriate subforum. In your post, please include your Zen Cart and PHP versions, and a link to your site.

Is there an error or omission on this page? Please post to General Questions on the support forum. Or, if you'd like to open a pull request, just review the guidelines and get started. You can even PR right here.

Last modified January 1, 0001