Using Joomla

Upgrading Extensions

We wish we could tell you one simple way to upgrade your extensions in Joomla, but we can’t. When developers release new versions of their extensions, the complexity of the changes varies dramatically. They may have only updated a few files, so just overwriting the old files with the new ones would be sufficient to update. But it becomes more complex when there are changes to the extension’s database tables. Simply overwriting the files usually won’t work. Some smart developers take this into consideration and add checks to their code to automatically upgrade the database tables if it notices the code has been upgraded.

The bottom line is when upgrading an extension, you need to look at the process of that specific extension and determine what you need to do on a case-by-case basis. Typically, developers will document the steps needed to upgrade their extension from a previous version. Other times, there’s no documentation and you are left to guess.

Note

If you uninstall and reinstall an extension, there’s a risk of losing data in the extension’s database tables. Some extensions think that when you uninstall, it’s forever and not just for an upgrade. Some extensions allow you to install on top of the existing version and it will automatically upgrade it. Carefully consult the upgrade procedures of each extension and perform a backup before you change anything.