Upgrade Dada Mail

Upgrading Dada Mail

Introduction

Before upgrading Dada Mail, find out how you installed and configured Dada Mail before. If you don't know or aren't sure, don't upgrade Dada Mail: you will run into major headaches.

"Basic", or, "Contemporary"? (Or Simple Scripts?)

We're going to only differentiate between two types of installations: "Basic" and, "Contemporary" (If you installed Dada Mail using the included installer, you have a Contemporary installation)

Basic Installation

A, Basic installation changes the configuration variables right in the, dada/DADA/Config.pm file - usually you want to be very much aware of the following variables:

You'll know if you have a Basic installation of Dada Mail if the $FILES variable in the, dada/DADA/Config.pm file is filled out to a directory that actually exists and that directory holds files/directories that have something to do with Dada Mail.

If you are running a Basic Installation of Dada Mail, we really suggest upgrading by taking note of where your $FILES variable is located and importing the old information after a clean installation.

More Information

http://dadamailproject.com/support/documentation-4_9_1/basic_to_contemporary_installation.pod.html

Contemporary Installation

A Contemporary Installation uses an outside configuration file to set the configuration variables in.

You'll know if you have a Contemporary Installation, if those same four variables in the, dada/DADA/Config.pm file:

  • $PROGRAM_ROOT_PASSWORD
  • $FILES
  • $MAILPROG
  • $PROGRAM_URL

Are still in their default values and your Dada Mail seems to be functioning fine. This probably means that your config variables are being read from an outside config file.

For upgrade purposes, note what the, $PROGRAM_CONFIG_FILE_DIR in the, dada/DADA/Config.pm is set to. It's OK if it's only set to, auto.

Simple Scripts Installation

If you installed Dada Mail through Simple Scripts (http://simplescripts.com) you have two good choices when it comes to upgrading.

Upgrade Through Simple Scripts

Upgrade a Simple Scripts installed Dada Mail through Simple Scripts on interface (look for an "Upgrade" link, or Simple Scripts may alert you of updates).

Turn a Simple Scripts Install into a Contemporary Installation

If you want to use the included Dada Mail installer to upgrade Dada Mail (perhaps, you purchased Pro Dada?), you can turn a Simple Scripts install into a Contemporary Installation with these directions:

http://dadamailproject.com/d/upgrade_from_simple_scripts.pod.html

Step #1 Move The Old Program Files Out of the Way

Dada Mail, "The Program" is the collection of files and directories that are in the directory called, dada.

If you've followed our installation instructions, this directory is most likely located in your cgi-bin. It's directory structure like this:

 cgi-bin (directory)
    - dada (directory, _lower_ case)
        - mail.cgi 
        - DADA (directory, UPPER case)
            - App (directory)
            - Config.pm
            - etc, etc, etc

This is Dada Mail, "The Program"

Simply rename this directory on your hosting account from:

 dada

to something like:

 dada-old_ver

Moving the directory:

Step #2 Install the new Dada Mail

Now, you can just follow the instructions for an installation of Dada Mail:

http://dadamailproject.com/support/documentation-4_9_1/install_dada_mail.pod.html

In the installer, type in the current location of your, .dada_files directory. The installer may also see that it's "best guess" is already the current location of your .dada_files directory. It'll warn you about this, just in case it is not your intention to upgrade Dada Mail using that specific .dada_files directory. This is probably only an issue if you have multiple copies of Dada Mail installed.

Fill out the form fields of the installer, just like you were doing a installation. Click the, "Configure Dada Mail!" button.

When the screen refreshes, you'll see the same same configuration form, but with two new options.

If you are upgrading an installation with a MySQL backend, you'll also get a warning about your SQL databases already having tables that exist. Don't worry - that's a good thing! Just make sure to check the checkbox that says, I know these tables already exist.

First Option: Use the existing directory structure, but create a new configuration file, using the configuration below

The first option, Use the existing directory structure, but create a new configuration file, using the configuration below allows you to upgrade your current Dada Mail, while using a fresh copy of the .dada_config file.

This option may be useful in helping you keep a current .dada_config file. In many cases, upgrades to Dada Mail between minor dot releases (for example, v4.5.0 and v4.6.0 come with changes to the default .dada_config file. These changes may include incompatibilities if you use your current .dada_config file.

You may not want to use this option if you've made custom changes to your .dada_config file that you do not want to lose. You still may manually move over your customizations from your old .dada_config file (which is backed up for you) to the new .dada_config file that will be generated.

Second Option: Use the existing directory structure and configuration file, ignoring the configuration below.

The second option, Use the existing directory structure and configuration file, ignoring the configuration below. will leave your Dada Mail configuration alone, and simply allow you to upgrade to the latest version of Dada Mail.

If you have any plugins/extensions that you've installed with the installer from a previous installation, the installer will try its best to at least change the permissions of each plugin/extension you have already installed to continue working. It's possible that the installer cannot detect a plugin/extension install, so you may have to reinstall the plugin/extension manually.

Changelog

It's a very very good idea to look at the changelog and not any incompatibilities between versions. It's possible that incompatibilities could break your installation, when you upgrade.

Screencasts

The following screencast walks through how to upgrade Dada Mail. The original Dada Mail was installed using the Dada Mail installer:

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