Joomla! Documentation™

Joomla! 1.6.6 was released yesterday (July 26, 2011) while Joomla! 1.7.0 was released a week prior (July 19th, 2011). Joomla 1.6.6 is a security release and is intended only for those users who are unable to use version 1.7.0. Most users should update to 1.7.0 unless there are specific reasons why they cannot use 1.7.0 at this time. Version 1.6 will reach end of life on 19 August 2011. All users of version 1.6 should update to version 1.7.0 before that time. The update process is very simple, and complete instructions are available here.

At the time of this writing (July 27, 2011), however, the automated backend Joomla installer only gives version Joomla! 1.7.0 as a possible upgrade route, so this tutorial will show how to you how to upgrade manually to 1.6.6 from any 1.6 version if there are specific reasons why 1.7.0 at this time can't be used. Alternatively you can also use a Joomla! extension to automate the process of loading version updates. See Admin Tools for Joomla! for more information.

Review the release notes for the new version.

It is risky to upgrade a live site without testing the upgrade process first. So before upgrading the live site you need to set up a test site which is as close as possible to the configuration of your live site, then test the upgrade on that. When you are happy with the process you can apply it to the live site (having taken a fresh backup of the live site first, of course).

Step 1: Download the upgrade file

To download 1.6.6:

• Proceed to the Joomla 1.6.6 download area.
• Download Joomla_1.6.5_to_1.6.6-Stable-Patch_Package.zip if you're using 1.6.6 otherwise download Joomla_1.6.0_to_1.6.6-Stable-Patch_Package.zip for any other 1.6.x version.

If you have questions about these instructions or want to use tar.gz or tar.bz2 instead (e.g. if the file is taking an extremely long time to download), read the Additional Information below this table.

Additional information:

Step 2: Backup your site

Before you actually upgrade, you really should make a backup of your site. Backup your existing Joomla site files and store all the files and database in case something gets messed up, you wont have any problem reverting back.

All upgrades should be first tested on a copy of your site before being applied to a live site.

Step 3: Install the upgrade file

There are different ways of installing a package file depending on your particular circumstances. If you have difficulty with one of these methods, then simply try another.

• Alternative 1: Unpack the package file on your local computer then use an FTP client to upload them to your site.

• Alternative 2: Use an FTP client to upload the package to your site, then use a terminal session (eg. SSH) to connect to your site and unpack the files there.

• Alternative 3: If your hosting provider gives you access to your site via some sort of web control panel like CPanel or Plesk, you can use the control panel file manager to upload the package, then use a terminal session (which might also be available via the control panel) to unpack the package file and overwrite all changed files on the server.
  • If you are using CPanel, there is specific information on Uploading and extracting an archive file with CPanel.

Step 4: Check your live site to make sure it is working correctly

Don't assume that the upgrade will work flawlessly just because the test upgrade worked. Check to make sure that nothing untoward has happened. It could be that differences between the live site and test site platforms will bring out a problem that you did not notice during testing. If you find a problem and it cannot be resolved quickly you might have to rollback the upgrade using the backup copy you created in step 2.

Hopefully all will be well and you can relax. If you have any questions before, during, or after the upgrade then please ask them on the Joomla! 1.7 Migrating and Upgrading Forum.