You can update following the procedure discussed at : http://drtbalu.wordpress.com/2011/06/07/how-to-upgrade-drupal-7-to-drupal-7-2/

1. It contains security fixes which is of paramount importance to your site

2. It also contains certain bugfixes pertaining to file caching services speeding up page loading

3. Drupal 8 when it is launched cannot be installed in various servers because hosting providers are yet to update their php engine to 5.3 which is supposed to be a minimum requirement for this installation.  More so major focus of drupal 8 seems to  be its multilanguage compatibility features which may be useful only for big corporate users.  Till such time your hosting provider decides to update the php engine you are stuck with this version of drupal.

Please then upgrade.

You can download the installation files from here:

You can follow the steps described in this blog for upgrading your drupal installation.

http://drtbalu.wordpress.com/2011/06/07/how-to-upgrade-drupal-7-to-drupal-7-2/

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In this tutorial we will discuss the first step you need to take  before you upgrade your site.  I.e. Backing up your existing moodle database.

Go to admin menu after logging in as administrator.

Click on the back up icon which you see in the picture above.

Next screen:

Review the settings and click next button.

The data base would be backed up.

You can download it to a convenient location

They churn out one new version every 6 months and don’t focus on upgrade issues.  If you are running joomla 1.5 you are stuck.  I find no reliable way one can migrate to the current 1.6 version.  So i decided to stick on with the old joomla 1.5 till I decide what to do next.  I know support to joomla 1.5 version will be stopped this month.  What to do I am stuck with it.  But I was glad to know that a lot many out there are caught in this quagmire.

I was curious about the features of joomla 1.6.  So I installed a new joomla 1.6 installation with which I could run my tests.  While I was going through the administrator menu features I saw that they had ported an upgrade feature under the extension manager.

I was curious to test this feature.  When I clicked the update button it said the current version is 1.65.  So I asked for the update.  After sometime I found the whole update process got jinxed and it wiped out all the files in the joomla folder.  This came as an absolute shock to me.  When I googled the problem I found that a lot many out there had the same problem.

Then I re installed joomla 1.6 and updated it to the current version using ftp route.  Now the update was seamless.

I learn that update to version 1.65is a must before upgrading to joomla 1.7 which is just around the corner.

All said and done Joomla 1.65 doesn’t support video embedding.  Without this feature it is absolutely useless as you cannot embed youtube / blip tv videos.  Still waiting for video embed module for joomla 1.6.

Screen shot of a WYSIWYG editor.

Even though various modules of wysiwyg editors are provided the installation is not that easy.  Needs a bit of manual tweaking.  In this article I describe the easiest way to install one.

Step I:

Download the wrapper module of CK editor from: here

Step II:

Installing the downloaded CK editor module:

Click on the modules menu.

Choose add new module

In the ensuing screen shown below show the downloaded file and then click install button.

After the module has been installed successfully the screen will ask you for activation of module.  Don’t activate the module as yet.  You have one more step to go.

Download CK editor from here

Uploading CK editor files to your server:

This is the next important step.

You can use the file manager facility present in your c panel or ftp client.

I will advice ftp client for this purpose.  As mentioned in my previous posts filezilla is the best ftp client and is also free.

You need to migrate to your public html folder.  In this folder (or in the folder in which drupal 7.4 has been installed).  You will find a folder named as sites.

Migrate to sites/all/modules/ckeditor/ckeditor

Unzip the downloaded CK editor zip file.

Copy all the files in to the ckeditor folder specified above:  sites/all/modules/ckeditor/ckeditor

Now is the time to activate the CK editor module.

Open the module page of your drupal installation.

In this page you will find ck editor listed as one of the modules.  Activate the module.

Now you can configure the module according to your convenience.

1. Through Fantastico software provided in your c panel
2. Manual install.

Fantastico based install:

Your website provider should have given you access to c panel. Usually resellers don’t provide you c panel access. Before starting a website be sure that your host provider gives your c panel access.

Logging in to c panel:

Type your domain name/cpanel (www.example.com/cpanel) as the url of your browser.

Type the user name and pass word in the space provided.

You will see the c panel screen opening:

This c panel contains details about your website including space alloted, traffic etc. You can control your site’s features from here.

In the c panel you will be seeing the fantastico icon.

Just double click it.

The fantastico page shows all server side installation software. You will find drupal listed here. Click on it.

Just follow on screen instructions. Fantastico script will complete the installation for you. One input you need to provide is whether you want your drupal installation in the root folder of your site or in a sub folder. If you want drupal to be your main site then install it in the root folder. This is usually public html / www folder. Root folder varies according to your hosting provider. If you want your drupal site to be hosted in a subdomain then you need to choose the appropriate folder to install drupal files. Fantastico install is very easy and does not need any scripting knowledge. Major drawback of this installation is that you may not be installing the most current version. Upgrading your drupal installation from fantastico is real dicey and unreliable.

Manual installation of drupal:

Downloading drupal installation files:
This is the first step. Download drupal installation files from here:

http://ftp.drupal.org/files/projects/drupal-7.4.tar.gz

If you are using a linux machine then choose the tar.gz format files.
If you are using a windows machine then choose .zip format.
.zip file is available here: http://ftp.drupal.org/files/projects/drupal-7.4.zip

Step II:
Unzip the zipped file.
Upload the unzipped files to the root folder of your website using FTP protocol.
Filezilla is the preferred ftp client and is also free.

Step III:

Data base creation.

You need to manually create the data base for drupal to use now.
Database can be created using the c panel itself.
In the c panel screen click on the My sql database wizard.

Provide details for the database.
Follow on screen instructions and create the database.
Choose name and password for the database.
Note is down carefully. You need to provide those details to the drupal installer.

Step IV:

Drupal installation proper.

Migrate to the folder using a browser.
Usual location being: www.example.com/install.php

you select the installation profile here.

Choosing language.
This is done in the next screen.

Incorporating database details:

Key in the details of the database you have created as shown in the screen capture image.

Completing installation:

Gotcha now you have successfully created a drupal website.

You can visit the site by typing the url of your domain in the browser.

Upgrading a working Drupal installation could be a hair raising experience. I am going to narrate a fool proof way of upgrading your Drupal 7 installation to the current version 7.2.

Methods available for upgradation:

1. Via the fantastico program in your c panel. This could be easy and could work out for certain minor upgrades. Let me warn you it is the most unreliable method to perform an upgrade.

2. Manual upgrade is the most efficient and reliable option. I am going to describe the manual method of upgrading drupal 7 to drupal 7.2. This type of upgrade is considered to by a minor one as it contains only certain important security patches and bug fixes.

Step one:

Backup!!!!!!!!!
The most important step. You need to back up your entire drupal installation (to be rock safe) and the entire data base.

How to back up the entire drupal site?

For this you need to have a FTP client. Filezilla is a free and very useful ftp client.

You can download Filezilla from here.

After download is complete install it.

*you have separate versions for windows and linux

Choose the correct version for your operating system. Install the ftp client.
Key in your FTP address, user name and password. You can leave the port empty no problem the client will do it for you. After logging into your website server migrate to the folder in which your drupal installation is installed. If it is the root folder you need to back up the entire public html folder. If it has been installed in a subdomain then the installation folder should be completely backed up.

After backing up your Drupal installation using FTP client like Filezilla the data base needs to be backed up. It is in the database that the articles are stored.

How to back up your drupal database?

In order to backup the database you can make use of the Backup / Migrate module which is available in drupal 7. You can download this module from here. You need to have installed and enabled this module. If you have not done it is high time you do it now. For backing up the drupal database you need to log into your Drupal site using your administrator account.
1. Click the configuration button which could be seen on top of the page
2. Click on the menu Backup and migrate
3. In the next page specify the download location (from your local computer) Usually the default backup folder would be download.
4. Choose back up. Now you will see a dump of the drupal 7 database in your local computer. This database backup can be restored at anytime when you need it just by going again to the backup / migrate module and clicking the restore button.

1, a photo by drtbalu on Flickr.

2, a photo by drtbalu on Flickr.

Downloading Drupal 7.2:

You can download the current version from here.

If you are using microsoft windows then choose the .zip version of the file.
If you are using linux operating system then choose .tar version of the file.
These are nothing but varying zip formats.

Unzipping the downloaded Drupal 7.2 installation:

Now is the time to unpack the goodies. Right click on the file and unzip the files to your convenient location. Usually Desktop is the most obvious location. Don’t think I need to explain the unzipping process in detail. I assume the reader would be fully conversant with unzipping procedure.

Uploading unzipped files to the webserver:

These unzipped files should be uploaded to your webserver using the FTP client. Preferably Filezilla.
These files should go into the same folder where the earlier version of Drupal is installed. Upload
all the files except the following ones:

1. .htaccess

3. robots. txt

It is important not to copy these files to your webserver.

Now is the time for real action. Log in to your Drupal 7 site using Administrator username and password.

Click on the modlules link. In the modules page disable all the non core modules.

3, a photo by drtbalu on Flickr.

You should make a careful note of all modules (non core) which you are disabling because you need to re enable them after the upgrade is over. Don’t log out of the site. Keep the logged in browser window. Minimize that window if necessary.

Open a new tab in your browser and type the url of your site. “wwww.example.com” replace example with the exact name of your site. Now key in www.example.com/update.php. This should take you to the web based update window. Just follow on screen instructions. Finally you will get a confirmation that your upgrade is over.

If you are unable to access update.php file please follow these steps:

Open the settings.php file from your downloaded installation using any text editor. Look out for the line “$update_free_access = FALSE; and change the FALSE to TRUE. Save the file and reupload it to your webserver using the FTP client. Now try out www.example.com/update.php. You should be able to proceed further.

After update is over then go to the minimized administration window of your website and uncheck the maintenance mode. Re enable the modules which you have disabled. Save these settings.

You have completed the upgrade isn’t it?