After finding out Thesis 1.6b was out, I smiled at the fact that I had a Developer’s Licence which meant I could get access to the drop down navigation menu earlier than Personal Licence holders. So I set to it – for this site. Several hours later I have successfully upgraded to Thesis 1.6b (beta version) - PHEW!!
Do Not Upgrade to Thesis 1.6b (Beta) Until You Read This First!!
- I wish I had surfed the Thesis Forum before upgrading to beta version 1.6b.
- I wish I had backed up my site before uploading the Thesis 1.6b files and activating the new version of Thesis.
Don’t do what I did until you understand a few things:
- As at 14 September 2009 – and hopefully things will change sooner than later – once you upgrade to Thesis 1.6b – you cannot uninstall and return to Thesis version 1.5. I found this out the hard way when I lost my Thesis Options and Design Options panels.
- Your custom style sheet will not automatically work because the code structure has changed. For example, all #tabs are now .menu
- I also lost my background image and had to strip files off my server, including the upgrade folder, return to the default WordPress theme and then do everything all over again.
- The upgrade button did not work for me – only a manual upload of files using my ftp client got them onto my server.
Help Is At Hand
Thanks to God Hammer in the Thesis Forum and Greg Rickaby, I got it fixed. Here are some quotes warning people not to jump into the beta version (wish I had read these first) and the links to great posts on how to upgrade and succeed.
Warning from Girlie at the Thesis Forum:
Thesis 1.6 is currently in beta, and has been released only to those with the Developers Option.
Please do not install beta software on a production site unless you are prepared to deal with the possibility of breakage!! While 1.6 is not unstable, nevertheless, we cannot be responsible for any issues which arise from the use of beta software, so please, make sure you have backups, etc. if you’re going to take the chance.
Helpful posts from Greg Rickaby’s site:
Thesis 1.6: Upgrade in 15 Minutes
Oh Crap: Your Thesis Customization isn’t Future Proof
7 Hours In: Thesis 1.6b Review
Greg Rickaby’s site has the new drop down nav menu working beautifully, image below – go and have a look.
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Yikes – that’s exactly what I meant by my other comment in “Thesis 1.6 has arrived” – sorry to hear you had those troubles, but I’m glad you told us about it, sure it will save a lot of hassle for other people (including me!)
Klaus @ TechPatio´s last blog ..How To: More Targeted AdSense Ads & Thesis Code Example
Thanks for letting us know about this. I guess I will wait for it to be released and will see how others are doing before upgrading.
George Serradinho´s last blog ..Are you ready for the Truth about Barney?
I have just upgraded and I like the new features. I just could not hold on.
George Serradinho´s last blog ..eBooks – 4 Various Downloads for You
I guess I have to hold on buying Thesis until 1.6 is officially out. George, I guess you need to wait for a while before you can earn the Thesis affiliate $$ from me :D
Michael Aulia´s last blog ..A technology forum at LovingTech
Michael – the current version is great but the new version is better. I love my drop down navs, especially for another site I have. I would recommend waiting a few more days/weeks for the next version before configuring your blog. As with all themes, there is a learning curve while familiarising yourself with the lay of the land and to learn twice is just a pain in the bum. I’ll post a quick note when the full version 1.6 is out. Cheers, Somone
Thanks for letting us know that version 1.6 is not backward compatible