I've done a bit of googling and haven't been able to find any documentation on this, but I need to upgrade my Seeddms (Document Management System) server from 5.1.25 to 6.0.19. I am running a Linux Lamp 4.19.0-19-amd #1 SMP Debian 4.19.232-1 (2022-03-07) with a Seeddms web server on it. I tried copying the contents of the .gz download file of the latest version over my current /var/www/html/dms/ folder and it didn't work, I did a similar thing to update my dokuwiki site so I thought I'd give it a try here. I am still new to Linux so any advice would be greatly appreciated!
1 Answers
I was able to find the solution, in the seeddms-quickstart-x.x.x/seeddmsxxx/seeddms-x.x.x/doc/README.Install.md.
Here is what is says on upgrading versions if anyone has trouble with this as well. Make sure your server meets the requirement as well.
UPGRADING FROM A PREVIOUS VERSION OF SEEDDMS
As SeedDMS is a smooth continuation of LetoDMS there is no difference in updating from LetoDMS or SeedDMS.
You have basically two choices to update SeedDMS:
- you install a fresh version of SeedDMS and copy over your data and configuration
- you replace the software in your current installation with a new version
The first option is less interuptive but requires to be able to set up a second temporary SeedDMS installation, which may not be possible, e.g. because of storage limitations. It can be the only option if you change servers.
The first update procedure is only needed if the version changes on the minor or major version number. Changes in the subminor version number will never include database changes and consequently it is sufficient to use the existing data directory and database with the new version. Choose the second update option in this case.
In both cases make sure to have a backup of your data directory, configuration and database.
Fresh installation and take over of data
The first update option is to set up a new instance of SeedDMS and once that is running take over the data from your current (old) instance.
- just do a fresh installation somewhere on your web server and make sure it works. It is fine to use SQLite for it, even if your final installation uses MySQL.
- replace the data directory in your new installation with the data directory from your current installation. Depending on the size of that directory (and whether the new installation is on a new server or the old server) you may either copy, move or place a symbolic link. The content of the data directory will not be changed during the update. Its even perfectly save to browse through your documents and download them after finishing the update. The data directory will not be modified until you actually modify documents.
- copy over the configuration
settings.xml
into your new installation. This will effectively make your new installation use the data from your old installation, because all paths are still pointing to the old installation. - if you use mysql you could as well make a copy of the database to make sure your current database remains unchanged.
- modify the
settings.xml
to fit the environment of the new installation. This will mostly be the httpRoot, the paths to the installation directory and possibly the database connection. - create a file
ENABLE_INSTALL_TOOL
in theconf
directory and point your browser at http://hostname/seeddms/install The install tool will detect the version of your current SeedDMS installation and run the required database updates. If you update just within the last version number (e.g. from 5.1.6 to 5.1.9), this step will not be required because such a subminor version update will never contain database updates.
Upgrading your current installation
Instead of setting up a new installation, you may as well replace the php files in your current installation with new versions from the quickstart archive.
- get the SeedDMS quickstart archive
seeddms-quickstart-x.y.z.tar.gz
and unpack it somewhere on your disc. - copy the directory
seeddms-x.y.z
from the unpacked archive into your current installation and make the linkseeddms
point to this new directory. - copy the directory
pear
from the unpacked archive into your current installation, replacing the existing directory. Make a backup ofpear
before the replacement if you want to ensure to be able to go back to your old version. - you may compare your
conf/settings.xml
file with the shipped versionconf/settings.xml.template
for new parameters. If you don't do it, the next time you save the configuration the default values will be used. - create a file
ENABLE_INSTALL_TOOL
in theconf
directory and point your browser at http://hostname/seeddms/install The install tool will detect the version of your current SeedDMS installation and run the required database updates. If you update just within the last version number (e.g. from 5.1.6 to 5.1.9), this step will not be required because such a subminor version update will never contain database updates.

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