# Welcome to ProcessWire 2.5 This document is in Markdown. An HTML formatted version of this document can be read at: http://processwire.com/download/readme ## Table of Contents 1. [About ProcessWire](#about-processwire) 2. [Installing ProcessWire](#installation) - [Requirements](#requirements) - [Installation from ZIP file](#installation-from-zip-file) - [Installation from GitHub](#installation-from-github) - [Troubleshooting Installation](#troubleshooting-installation) - [The homepage works but nothing else does](#the-homepage-works-but-nothing-else-does) - [Resolving an Apache 500 error](#resolving-an-apache-500-error) - [Resolving other error messages or a blank screen](#resolving-other-error-messages-or-a-blank-screen) 3. [Upgrading ProcessWire](#upgrades) - [Best Practices Before Upgrading](#best-practices-before-upgrading) - [General Upgrade Process](#general-upgrade-process) - [Replacing the /wire/ directory](#replacing-the-wire-directory) - [Replacing the /index.php file](#replacing-the-indexphp-file) - [Replacing the .htaccess file](#replacing-the-htaccess-file) - [Additional upgrade notes](#additional-upgrade-notes) - [Upgrading from ProcessWire 2.4](#upgrading-from-processwire-24) - [Upgrading from ProcessWire 2.2 or 2.3](#upgrading-from-processwire-22-or-23) - [Upgrading from ProcessWire 2.1](#upgrading-from-processwire-21) - [Upgrading from ProcessWire 2.0](#upgrading-from-processwire-20) - [Troubleshooting an Upgrade](#troubleshooting-an-upgrade) 4. [Debug Mode](#debug-mode) 5. [Support](#support) ## About ProcessWire ProcessWire is an open source content management system (CMS) and web application framework aimed at the needs of designers, developers and their clients. ProcessWire gives you more control over your fields, templates and markup than other platforms, and provides a powerful template system that works the way you do. Not to mention, ProcessWire's API makes working with your content easy and enjoyable. Managing and developing a site in ProcessWire is shockingly simple compared to what you may be used to. * [Learn more about ProcessWire](http://processwire.com) * [Download the latest ProcessWire](http://processwire.com/download/) * [Get support for ProcessWire](http://processwire.com/talk/) * [Browse and install ProcessWire modules/plugins](http://modules.processwire.com) * [Follow @ProcessWire on Twitter](http://twitter.com/processwire/) * [Contact ProcessWire](http://processwire.com/contact/) ## Installation ### Requirements * A web server running Apache. * PHP version 5.3.8 or newer. * MySQL 5.0.15 or newer. * Apache must have mod_rewrite enabled. * Apache must support .htaccess files. ### Installation from ZIP file 1. Unzip the ProcessWire installation file to the location where you want it installed on your web server. 2. Load the location that you unzipped (or uploaded) the files to in your web browser. This will initiate the ProcessWire installer. The installer will guide you through the rest of the installation. ### Installation from GitHub Git clone ProcessWire to the place where you want to install it: ``` git clone https://github.com/ryancramerdesign/ProcessWire ``` Load the location where you installed ProcessWire into your browser. This will initiate the ProcessWire installer. The installer will guide you through the rest of the installation. ### Troubleshooting Installation #### The homepage works but nothing else does This indicates that Apache is not properly reading your .htaccess file. First we need to determine if Apache is reading your .htacess file at all. To do this, open the .htaccess file in an editor and type in some random characters at the top, like `lkjalefkjalkef` and save. Load your site in your browser. You should get a "500 Error". If you do not, that means Apache is not reading your .htaccess file at all. If this is your case, contact your web host for further assistance. Or if maintaining your own server, look into the Apache *AllowOverride* directive which you may need to configure for the account in your httpd.conf file. If the above test did result in a 500 error, then that is good because we know your .htaccess file is at least being used. Go ahead and remove the random characters you added at the top. Now look further down in the .htaccess file for suggested changes. Specially, you will want to look at the *RewriteBase* directive, which is commented out (disabled) by default. You may need to enable it. #### Resolving an Apache 500 error The presence of an Apache 500 error indicates that Apache does not like one or more of the directives in the .htaccess file. Open the .htaccess file in an editor and read the comments. Note those that indicate the term "500 NOTE" and they will provide further instructions on optional directives you can try to comment out. Test one at a time, save and reload in your browser till you determine which directive is not working with your server. #### Resolving other error messages or a blank screen If you are getting an error message, a blank screen, or something else unexpected, see the section at the end of this document on enabling debug mode. This will enable more detailed error reporting which may help to resolve any issues. In addition, the ProcessWire error log is located in the file: /site/assets/logs/errors.txt - look in here to see if more information is available about the error message you have received. If the above suggestions do not help you to resolve the installation error, please post in the [ProcessWire forums](http://processwire.com/talk). ## Upgrades ### Best Practices Before Upgrading 1. Backup your database and backup all the files in your site. 2. When possible, test the upgrade on a development/staging site before performing the upgrade on a live/production site. 3. If you have 3rd party modules installed, confirm that they are compatible with the ProcessWire version you are upgrading to. If you cannot confirm compatibility, uninstall the 3rd party modules before upgrading, when possible. You can attempt to re-install them after upgrading. If uninstalling is inconvenient, just be sure you have the ability to revert if for some reason one of your modules does not like the upgrade. Modules that are compatible with ProcessWire 2.4 are generally going to also be compatible with 2.5. If you prefer an automatic/web-based upgrade, an [upgrade module](https://github.com/ryancramerdesign/ProcessWireUpgrade) is available for upgrading to 2.5. ### General Upgrade Process Upgrading from one version of ProcessWire to another is a matter of deleting these files/directories from your old version, and putting in fresh copies from the new version: ``` /wire/ /index.php /.htaccess ``` Deleting and replacing the above directory/files is typically the primary thing you need to do in order to upgrade. But please see the version-to-version specific upgrade notes documented further in this section. Below are more details about how you should replace the files mentioned above. *NOTE: Renaming is an alternative to deleting, which gives you a quicker path to revert should you want to. For example, you might rename your /wire/ directory to be /.wire-2.4.0/ with ".wire" rather than "wire" to ensure the directory is hidden, and the 2.4.0 indicating the version that it was. Once your upgrade is safely in place, you could delete that .wire-2.4.0 directory (or keep it around).* #### Replacing the /wire/ directory When you put in the new /wire/ directory, make sure that you remove or rename the old one first. If you just copy or FTP changed files into the existing /wire/ directory, you will end up with both old and new files, which will cause an error. Note that the /wire/ directory does not contain any files specific to your site, only to ProcessWire. All the files specific to your site are stored in /site/ and you would leave that directory alone during an upgrade. #### Replacing the /index.php file This file doesn't change often between minor versions. As a result, you don't need to replace this file unless it has changed. But when in doubt, you should replace it. #### Replacing the .htaccess file This is also a file that does not always change between versions. But when it changes, it is usually important for security that you are up-to-date. When in doubt, replace your old .htaccess file with the htaccess.txt from the new version. This file is initially named htaccess.txt in the ProcessWire source. You will want to remove your existing .htaccess file and rename the new htaccess.txt to .htaccess Sometimes people have made changes to the .htaccess file. If this is the case for your site, remember to migrate those changes to the new .htaccess file. #### Additional upgrade notes - If using Form Builder make sure you have the latest version, as past versions did not support ProcessWire 2.4/2.5. - If using ProCache you will need to go to the ProCache settings after the upgrade to have it update your .htaccess file again (since it was presumably replaced during the upgrade). - After completing the upgrade test out your site thoroughly to make sure everything continues to work as you expect. - ProcessWire 2.4/2.5 come with new admin themes. After completing your upgrade, you may install or configure these admin themes. ### Upgrading from ProcessWire 2.4 The general upgrade process may be followed to perform this upgrade. In addition, please note the following: - **New .htaccess and index.php files** While not urgent, you *will* want to replace your [.htaccess](#replacing-the-htaccess-file) and [index.php](#replacing-the-indexphp-file) files as part of the upgrade. If you have modified either of those files, it's okay to leave them in place temporarily, as you can still use ProcessWire 2.5 with the old .htaccess and index.php files in place. But we recommend updating them when you can. - **Does your site depend on other sites loading it in an iframe?** Related to the above point, the new .htaccess file contains an option that you will need to disable if your site relies upon other sites loading yours in an `