CPG-Nuke 8.2c to CPG Dragonfly CMS™

This document should help clear up the confusion that's encountered when converting CPG 8.2c to Dragonfly. At this writing, 9.0.6.1 was out. It's my hope to put this document in simple enough terms that most people can understand it. This document still assumes that you know a bit about how to use some features such as an FTP client, so you can access your site, know how to changemod to set file (folder) permissions on a Linux or Unix server, and know how to edit files using a text editor to edit the config file with the correct info and placement of that info and work a bit with MySQL or database tables. If it sounds a bit complicated, don't worry, you should be done in under 2 hours.

This document is broken down into these elements.

• Your preparation for the conversion.
• Old site preparation steps to take
• Uploading replacement files
• Steps to do once your site is converted

First of all, there is some preparation work that needs to be done on your part. You need to find out what the 'stock' modules and blocks are that come with 8.2c and download Dragonfly to compare. This is important info as you'll find out in upcoming steps when you have to disable certain blocks, modules and remove files. Ok, let's get started...

1. The first thing you need to do is backup your existing Sql tables. You can do this by signing in to your existing site as Admin and selecting the Database icon. Select all tables, tick the “Use Compression” check box and click the “Go” button. Save the file to where ever you save your downloaded files. Next, download all site files via FTP and save them to your local machine. Next, put your site into Maintenance mode.
   
   
2. Next step is to put your site theme as well as your account theme to show cpgnuke. TIP: Since both 8.2c and DF use this as the default theme, you need to change your default theme on your site to use cpgnuke. If you don't, the site will reference another theme and perhaps a non stock theme and you won't be able to log in correctly and continue the upgrade process.
   
   
3. In this step you need to disable all non stock modules and blocks. In your Admin menu, click on the Blocks icon and disable everything but these 3. Keep enabled: Menu, Admin, and User Info. Make sure you disable everything else.
   
   
4. Next move to the Modules menu and disable all non stock modules. Keep enabled: Contact, Forums, Groups, Member List, News, Our Sponsors, Private Messages, Search, Statistics, Stories_Archive, Surveys, Top, Topics, Your Account and Coppermine. Make sure you disable everything else
   
   
5. Ok, close your browser for now.
   
   
6. In this step it's important to know you'll need to delete or move the files that's not needed in the conversion. 8.2C and older installs uses files that are no longer needed in Dragonfly and those need to be removed. TIP: Make a folder on your desktop to move all files you plan on removing. It never hurts to keep those files around until the job is finished you're confident you'll not be needing them. To get the list, Click HERE. Print them and keep them handy when you do the upgrade. There are 3 pages of files, but don't let that scare you, it goes quickly and takes about 5 to 10 min to finish the file removal. IMPORTANT: If you don't remove all the files listed, you'll experience a corrupt site.
   
   
7. Ok, now that you have all the files removed as per the list, grab the Config file from the main site and keep that handy. You'll need that info so you can update the new Dragonfly config file. TIP: The config files are NOT THE SAME and you'll need to use the new Dragonfly config.
   
   
8. Ok, now extract the downloaded Dragonfly file and find the Config file. Now open both the old and new config using your favorite text editor. My personal preference is Notepad2, but any good text editor will do. Using info from your old config, put in the same info on the Dragonfly Config. TIP: Don't worry, the info you need to put in is the same on both configs. Here is the sample config and the info you'll need to provide. If you don't get this right, your site will not “find” the database and you won't be able to see your site:
   • $dbhost = '';
   • $dbuname = '';
   • $dbpass = '';
   • $dbname = '';
   
   
   
9. Now, upload all the new Dragonfly files to your site via FTP including the new config to the same directory as your old 82c install saying YES to overwrite all files. Don't worry, we're almost done. At this point, you should be about an hour or so into this conversion.
   
   
10. Now that all the files have been uploaded, it's time to start the install process. Open your browser and go to your site URL. Now, you'll need to invoke the install script and you can do that by putting 'install.php' in place of 'index.php. An example would be: http://www.example.com/install.php
    
    
11. If you got your config file right and all the files from Dragonfly uploaded correctly, you should see the Install page. Look at the information given for Directory Write access. What you're looking for here is all green icons. If you see any red or yellow, you'll need to address this before you go on with the install. TIP: Usually, a yellow or red means the software can't write to certain folders as it doesn't have permission to do so. Using your FTP client, find the directory it says is the problem and by choosing the 'changemod' option, change the permission to 777. Now, refresh the browser and try it again, if all is green, great, if not, fix all the permissions until it is. Once you see all green, click on “Let's Install Database” button and proceed.
    
    
12. At this point you should see a button called “Let's Build Database” Click this button to proceed.
    
    
13. Now you should see a button called “Necessary Info”. Click on this button and the next page will show you default settings based on what it sees on your site settings. TIP: Pay attention to your site name, is it the same? You can change it now if it isn't. What about the Admin Email address, is it what you want? You can change it now if you want. The rest should default ok. Click “Submit” button.
    
    
14. Once you submit your information, you'll see a screen that has a “Test Settings” button. Click that button and if all goes well, you'll see a “Remove Install.php and Install Directory (Folder) from your website. Using your FTP, remove these two files from the main install directory or your site. TIP: If you get an error with your settings, try removing the site path from the settings. This will let the software determine the best way.
    
    
15. If you've made it this far, give yourself a hand and take a break.
    
    
16. Ok, now that the site is configured and the database has been updated, it's time to move on the site itself and take this baby for a spin! Using your browser, go to your site Admin URL. Example: http://www.example.com/admin.php. You should now see the admin panel. But wait, it isn't what you're used to seeing is it? Where are the large icons and category listings? By default, this option is turned off and instead a admin menu on the left side shows you the links. Click on the “Main Settings” link and then the “Miscellaneous” link Notice at the bottom there are tick boxes. Tick the “Graphic” and “DHTML” boxes and Save your settings. You should now see all those big icons. TIP: Now is a good time to learn about something new. That something is called Cache. In the main site, there is a folder called Cache. Open that folder and delete everything in it except the .htaccess file. Refresh your browser and at this point in time, you should have about 1 hour and 15 min into the conversion not including the break.
    
    
17. If all looks good so far, backup the database the same way as the old site. Click on the Database Icon and backup all Sql files.
    
    
18. Now is the time to start enabling the modules and blocks you disabled in the start of your upgrade. Turn on the modules one by one checking the site after each one. The reason you need to do this is if there's a problem it'll be easier to back up one step instead of several. TIP: Another one of the default settings is to show only left and center blocks. Find your “Home” block and click on “edit” in the block menu. In the drop down box, you have the choice of putting a block in the 'left', 'right', 'center' or 'both' positions. Click on both and save. This will then show all the right side blocks on your theme. Remember to check each step along the way.
    
    
19. A note about themes. There are over 30 themes to date available for Dragonfly. Keep in mind your old 8.x theme will not work in Dragonfly. The file structure is different in the way the files are referenced. Either find a new theme, keep the existing default cpgnuke or Dragonfly themes, or make a new one based on the newer file structure.
    
    
20. Don't forget to clean out your cache folder after any major changes when either adding or subtracting files.
    
    
21. Final step. Once you have your site stable, backup the site once more. A complete backup including all site files and Sql tables is recommended. At this point, you should be under 2 hours getting your site upgraded. Welcome to CPG Dragonfly CMS™.
    
    

Good luck