Tips on How to Update a Website in Different Versions of Droopler

Updating the software allows using the latest version, which includes bug fixes, new functionalities, and security patches. Downloading updates is important as it helps you fight technological debt. Falling behind with updates may lead to serious security flaws. Therefore, in this article, we'll show you how to properly update a website in Droopler.

Updating a website in Droopler

The benefits, in this case, are similar to those we described in the introduction. If you want to use the most stable version of Droopler, which has the latest security patches and functionalities, be sure to use the latest version. There is no universal solution to automatically update Droopler in the case of the customized versions of this tool. The unmodified versions have a designated update path which is almost automatic.

The most troublesome aspect is the configuration updates. The process is automatic and easy in the standard, unmodified version of this tool. However, if changes have been made to the configuration, our update module won't automatically overwrite the configuration files, and it'll display information about the need to perform a manual import. The process depends on the changes introduced to the configuration, and there aren’t generic ways to deal with these types of problems.

You should also bear in mind the changes made to the templates and styles. In the updated version of Droopler, the functionality you’ve overwritten may have changed. There isn’t a generic way to perform the required modifications as the number of variables is almost infinite. The required modifications must be made manually.

In addition to dealing with modified configurations, templates, and styles, there are also (depending on the version we're updating to) some manual steps that need to be taken whether Droopler has been modified or not.

It's worth noting that the process is more convenient the more often we update the tool. Updating Droopler from version 2.0 straight to version 3.0 isn't recommended, and we suggest that you update and test the intermediate versions first.

Update to version 3.0 from version 2.2

If you currently have version 2.2 and want to update to version 3.0, just update your composer.json file and upgrade your droptica/droopler package to ^8.3.0.0. Next, execute the drush updb command or perform the database update process on the update.php page.

Update to version 2.2 from version 2.1

Just like before, in this case, also upgrade the package version. After that, we suggest that you verify the appearance of paragraphs, as with this release, we've provided new configuration options (d_settings) for every paragraph. We've also created a migration script that should update all the necessary settings automatically.

Update to version 2.1 from version 2.0

You should upgrade the droptica/droopler package to version 2.1. In this version of Droopler, we haven’t made any significant changes that would require manual action.

Update to version 2.0 from version 1.4

Update your profiles/droopler directory and make sure that modules in modules/contrib file and profiles/droopler/modules/contrib file aren't duplicated (if a module is duplicated, remove it from modules/contrib). Also, change the theme to droopler_theme if you haven't introduced any custom overrides to the droopler_subtheme theme. Thanks to this, you no longer have to maintain your subtheme. If you have a custom subtheme, follow all of the steps below.

Updating regions

Update the themes/custom/droopler_subtheme.info.yml file and make sure the following regions are defined in it:

regions:
  header: Header
  secondary_menu: 'Secondary menu'
  primary_menu: 'Primary menu'
  lang_menu: 'Language menu'
  page_top_content: 'Page top'
  page_top: 'Page top'
  page_bottom: 'Page bottom'
  page_bottom_content: 'Page bottom'
  highlighted: Highlighted
  featured_top: 'Featured top'
  breadcrumb: Breadcrumb
  admin_tabs: 'Admin tabs'
  content: Content
  facets_top: 'Facets top'
  facets_left_top: 'Facets left top'
  facets_left: 'Facets left'
  sidebar_left: 'Sidebar left'
  sidebar_right: 'Sidebar right'
  featured_bottom_first: 'Featured bottom first'
  featured_bottom_second: 'Featured bottom second'
  featured_bottom_third: 'Featured bottom third'
  footer_first: 'Footer first'
  footer_second: 'Footer second'
  footer_third: 'Footer third'
  footer_fourth: 'Footer fourth'
  footer_fifth: 'Footer fifth'
  footer_sixth: 'Footer sixth'
  footer_main: 'Footer Main'

Updating files in a subtheme

We've refactored the process of building assets. In order for it to work in your subtheme, you need to update the gulpfile.js and package.json files in themes/custom/droopler_subtheme with the files available on the Droopler GitHub page. After that, you should also delete the package-lock.json file.

Next, you should compile assets by executing the following commands:

• npm install in the profiles/contrib/droopler/themes/custom/droopler_theme directory

• gulp compile in the profiles/contrib/droopler/themes/custom/droopler_theme directory

• npm install in the themes/custom/droopler_subtheme directory

• gulp compile in the themes/custom/droopler_subtheme directory.

Keep in mind that Droopler 2.0 works with version 14 of the Node.js package.

Updating Composer (optional)

In version 2.0, we changed the Composer's template to the one provided in Drupal 8.8. This isn't a required step but carrying it out will make the maintenance of the project easier. To perform an update, execute the following command: composer self-update --1

Restoring the blue colour scheme (optional)

Since Droopler 1.4, the colour palette has been changed from blue to red. If you want to undo this change, we've prepared the

themes/custom/droopler_theme/scss/config/_old_color_scheme.scss file,

which changes the colour scheme to blue. To restore it, copy its contents to the

themes/custom/droopler_theme/scss/config/_color.scss file or modify the

themes/custom/droopler_theme/scss/config/_all.scss file like this:

@import "layout";
@import "colors"; // Delete this line
@import "fonts";
@import "paths";
@import "bootstrap-overrides";

@import "layout";
@import "old_color_scheme"; // Add this line
@import "fonts";
@import "paths";
@import "bootstrap-overrides";

After this, recompile SCSS. If you've modified Droopler's default color scheme, you may use that old color scheme file as a guide to transferring your changes to version 2.0.

How to update a website in Droopler? Summary

For most websites that use the Droopler installation profile, the update process is largely automatic. Having the latest package is useful for security reasons. The update unlocks the full possibilities that the next iteration of Droopler has to offer. However, for updating some modified websites, the process requires having programming knowledge. In such a case, we recommend that you seek help on the project page at Drupal.org or contact us directly. Our team of Drupal developers will be happy to help you update your website.