WebIssues Manual

One of the maintenance tasks is updating the WebIssues system to a newer version. New versions fix potential problems and add new features, so it is recommended to periodically update the software. To quickly check if a newer version of the system is available, click Tools and About WebIssues, and then in the Latest Version group, click the Check button. The Desktop Client by default automatically checks if a new version is available (see the section called “Desktop Client settings”).

Before the upgrade, it is recommended to back up the database and WebIssues system files, and also disable the web server to prevent other users from accessing the system during the upgrade.

First, delete all files and subdirectories from the directory where you installed the WebIssues server, remembering to keep the data subdirectory, which stores all files related to the particular installation; for example, configuration files and attachments of issues. If you created your own .htaccess file or web.config file (in case of IIS), then also make a copy of it to be able to restore it later.

Download and unpack the new WebIssues server package — it contains a directory named webissues-x.y (where x.y is the version of the package). Then move all files and subdirectories from that directory to the directory where the WebIssues server was previously installed.

After copying the files, enable the web server and open the main page of the WebIssues system in the browser. If there is a need to update the database, a message will be displayed. You will be asked to enter the login and password of the WebIssues system administrator, and then the database will be updated to the current version. Otherwise, the system is immediately ready to work.

It is also recommended to update the Desktop Client to a newer version on the computers of all people who use it. Generally, however, the Desktop Client can communicate with both older and newer version of the server, provided that the first two digits of the version number is the same. Therefore, client version 0.9.x will not work with the 1.0 system, and client version 1.0 will not work with the 0.8.x system, but both versions can be installed side by side on a single computer.

The procedure of updating the server from version 0.8.5 is a bit different, because in this case the existing data must be imported to new tables in the database. After backing up and disabling the web server, delete all files and subdirectories from the directory where you installed the WebIssues server, except the storage subdirectory. Then unpack the new version of the package to the appropriate location, and give all users, or the user which the web server runs as, write permission to the data/sites subdirectory. Enable the web server and open the main page of WebIssues in the browser. You should see the information that the server is not configured.

Perform all steps like when installing a new instance of the server. Remember that the new server must be installed in the same database as its previous version, but the new tables must have a different prefix than the one that was used in version 0.8.5. In the Initial Configuration group, select Import data from WebIssues Server 0.8.5 and enter the prefix of the source tables. For more information, see the section called “Installation”.

Make sure that the directories data and common/data are protected from accessing through a web browser, and the configuration file of the WebIssues system is protected against unauthorized access. If in version 0.8.5 attachments were stored in the file system, then after installation you must also move them to the appropriate directory in the new version of the server. In a default configuration, it will be the data/sites/default/storage directory.