Today we took the time to update to the latest version of DotNetNuke, 4.8.2. We also installed a module from dignuke to allow us to post directly with Live Writer to not only the blog but all the html content on the site.
The test upgrade from DNN 4.4.1 went smoother then the real thing. When I had migrated the site last year I hadn't set the file/folder permissions correctly for "Network Service" as per the instructions for DNN. It hadn't raised any problems until I went to install.
The trick to Upgrading a Live DNN site is to not use the default autoupgrade setting in the web config. There is a great post about it here:
HowtoupgradeDotNetNuke
<add key="AutoUpgrade" value="false" />
This setting means visitors to your site get a "under construction page" and allows only you to trigger off the upgrade manually by hitting your sites
/Install/Install.aspx?mode=Install
The upgrade allowed me to do a few other general tasks:
- Change to the HumanFriendly URLS
- Delete all the modules I don't use
- Upgrade all the ones I do use to the latest version
- Empty out the recycling bin
- Clear all the logs
Stay tuned for some more changes on the site and a tonne of new content including a good review of dignuke's module for Live Writer integration.