Upgrade from AbleCommerce 7.0.6 to 7.0.7

1)  Download Upgrade

To download the upgrade for AbleCommerce 7.0.7, you will need to have a valid subscription or a license key for this version.  We will notify all subscription holders when a new version is available for download.  To obtain the file, login to the ablecommerce.com website and go to the Customer Account pages.  From there, click on the Downloads tab to see available software downloads.  License keys are requested through your order.

Do not install the upgrade unless your license's subscription is valid through the "release date" of the build you are installing.  

There are two ways to see if you have a valid subscription for this upgrade:

a. Login to your AbleCommerce Merchant Menu and go to the Configure > Security > Licensing page. The "License Details" section will indicate whether a subscription is included with your license, and the subscription's expiration date will be shown.

OR

b. Open the "commercebuilder.lic" file located in the \app_data\ folder with a txt program such as notepad.
 

e.g. <subscription>2011-04-01</subscription>

If your license purchase included a subscription, a line similar to the one above will be shown in your key file.  
Make sure the date is on, or after, APRIL 1st, 2011, which is the release date for version 7.0.7.  
 

• Incremental Upgrades and subscriptions can be purchased from our store.

2)  Backup your Existing Files

• Make a backup copy of the entire AbleCommerce install folder and the database.

• Any customizations that you may have made should be located in the following folders of your <installpath>:

• • \ConLib\Custom\..

  • \App_Data\Scriptlets\Custom\..

  • \App_Themes\..(your custom store theme)..\*.css, *.skin

The upgrade will NOT overwrite customizations located within these specific folders.  

After the upgrade, you are responsible for merging any changes to the new "control" objects or .aspx files.

3)  Installation of New Files

1. Double-click the .exe file to extract the contents to a temporary location.

2. Stop the IIS web service application to release a lock on the DLL files in the \bin\ folder.

3. Select all the new files, copy, and overwrite your existing files in the <installpath> program folder.

4. Restart the IIS web service application.

FTP UPLOADS:  If you are unable to stop the web service, due to a shared hosting environment, try to perform the update during a slow time.  DO NOT access your store while uploading the files via FTP.  Double-check to make sure that ALL files are updated, especially the .DLL's in the \BIN\ folder.

4) Permission for updates

During upgrades, we may need to remove files that are no longer used or perform updates that require additional permission.  This means that AbleCommerce will need to have write and delete permissions on folders that might not ordinarily require it.  If possible, you should temporarily add 'write' and 'delete' permission to the entire store website for the ASPNET user (e.g. Network Service).

If adding additional permissions is not an option, you may receive errors during the upgrade.  These errors will simply be warnings to indicate which files and/or folders could not be removed by the program.  You can still complete the upgrade, however, you will need to complete these steps after upgrading:

1. Remove unused files and/or folders

2. Update web.config and global.asax

5)  Upgrade your Installation

WARNING: Make sure you have a backup of your database before upgrading !!!!

1. Browse to the <installpath>/install/upgrade.aspx page to run the database script.
   
   e.g. http://localhost/ac7/install/upgrade.aspx
   
   If you are prompted to enter a new license key, you may do so at this time.  After successfully updating the license key, return to the URL noted in the beginning of this step.

2. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the upgrade:

   1. Type BACKUP in the space provided to confirm you understand.

   2. You can optionally have AbleCommerce upgrade the web.config and global.asax files. Check the box to confirm you've made backups.

   3. Initiate the upgrade.  When finished, you should receive confirmation.  
      You may also receive some information on changes made during the upgrade.

3. If you get an error DURING upgrade* - STOP!  Copy the error for AbleCommerce support, and revert to your backups.

4. If you get an error AFTER upgrading, then make sure to double-check that -

   1. the application pool was recycled, or better, the web application service (IIS manager) has been restarted.

   2. that all files within the upgrade build have been applied to your installation.

   3. that any control customization, located in the \conlib\custom\ folder has been merged with the latest control changes.

   4. you followed the instructions from start to finish....

6)  Replace any Customizations (if applicable)

• AbleCommerce will not replace any files located in the \Custom\ folders, however, you may need to restore customizations made to files (.css\.skin) within the \App_Themes\ folder if you are not using a custom Theme.

• • \ConLib\Custom\..

  • \App_Data\Scriptlets\Custom\..

  • \App_Themes\..(your custom store theme)..\*.css, *.skin

If you have customized the control objects located in the \ConLib\ folder, they will be overwritten by the upgrade.  Control objects that are modified should always be placed in the \ConLib\Custom\ folder and referenced by the scriptlet accordingly.  

If you need to merge any customizations, we recommend that you use a file compare and merge utility such as WinMerge.  WinMerge is Open Source file compare and merge utility which runs on all modern Windows versions.  Latest WinMerge version and other WinMerge information is available at http://winmerge.org

7)  Complete Post-Upgrade Tasks

1. Complete the steps, as needed, in the Post Upgrade Tasks section immediately following.

2. Review the Release Notes to see if there are any changes that could impact your store.

Post Upgrade Tasks

1) From the merchant administration, refresh your browser (F5) after upgrading.  The new AbleCommerce admin theme should present itself.  If you prefer the legacy admin theme, you may select it from the Website > Default Page Styles menu.

2) Converting the application to use Asp.Net 4.0 is optional.  Do not complete this step unless you have made arrangements to change the IIS application version. To use the .NET 4.0 framework, you will need to backup your original web.config and replace it with the one that is included in the \install\framework\net40\ folder.  Rename web.config.Net40 to web.config and place in the root of the AbleCommerce installation.  From the same folder, copy the two provided DLL's to the \bin\ folder.

3) Manual changes to web.config if needed.

YOU CAN SKIP THIS STEP IF YOU ALLOWED THE UPGRADE TO AUTOMATICALLY CHANGE YOUR WEB.CONFIG FILE.  

The upgrade can automatically handle required changes to your web.config file.  If you chose to manually update this file yourself, then Update your web.config file now to complete the upgrade.

4) For installations using the Full Text Search option, you will need to go to the Configure > Store menu and disable the Full Text Search option, save and then re-enable the option.  

Apply Latest Updates

After installation, make sure to check for free Service Release upgrades, or Hot Patches as posted in the Announcements section on the home page of this website.