How to upgrade zen cart version 1.3.8 to the latest version of zen cart

Question

How to upgrade zen cart version 1.3.8 to the latest version of zen cart

Many of the files has been changed.

Answer 1

I'm unfamiliar with the tool, but typically the steps for open source php apps is to create a backup (config file, db files, php files, etc.), to overwrite all files, and to follow the steps to upgrade the DB schema if needed (which is typically done from the admin area).

Answer 2

Zen Cart database upgrades are done using the code based installer that comes with the new release, taking care to select the upgrade rather than installation option. But this is the easy part.

Harder is merging your changes to any code files into the new codeset. For that a tool such as Beyond Compare and WinMerge are recommended.

There is a step-by-step process laid out for upgrades in the Zen Cart tutorials area. You'll find it here => http://tutorials.zen-cart.com/index.php?article=98

Answer 3

I ran into this issue when one of my Zen Cart websites became vulnerable to hacking because I had neglected to update it. I had made so many changes to the default Zen Cart setup to customize my store that it was difficult.

Unless you are a seasoned expert at Zen Cart, which I'm guessing you're likely not because of the question being asked, I'd recommend that you find someone who really knows the software backwards and front and simply pay him/her to do the upgrade for you. I found someone using oDesk.com's outsourcing site.

Once you're updated to 1.5.0 or greater, it won't be such a difficult task to keep up to date. The updates from 1.3.8 to 1.5.* included some pretty major changes.