Table of Contents

ProductCart v3.51 Update Guide

A "Must Read"

Please READ THIS DOCUMENT CAREFULLY before updating your ProductCart-powered store. A list of “To Do Items” is enclosed below. Make sure to review it and make the necessary changes. Downloading the 3.51 Update files using the Check for Updates feature is not enough to successfully update your store. That's because:

At the bottom of this page you can find a list of the main changes/fixed.

v3.51 Patch

A small Patch for version 3.51 was released on 02.27.09. The v3.51 Patch is a small maintenance update, with minimal overlap with add-on's and other file sets.

Applicability

Available Update Files

You can update to version 3.51:

  1. From version 3.5 with a small maintenance update (around 150 files)
  2. From version 3.11 or 3.12 with a more substantial update that combines the 3.5 and 3.51 updates
    Make sure to review the 3.5 User Guide as it contains important information about the 3.5 update. When it comes to additional files (e.g. you use the SEO or MailUp files) you will need the 3.51 version of them.

Updating to 3.51 from version 3.11 or 3.12

If you are updating from version 3.11 or 3.12, you must also read the version 3.5 Update Guide. This page only covers the 3.51 update, which is a small, maintenance update released about a month after the release of version 3.5. Since the version 3.5 update was a more substantial update, you should review the update information provided on the 3.5 Update Guide.

For example, if you use Google Analytics, the Google Analytics files don't need to be updated if you update from 3.5 to 3.51, but they have to be updated if you update from 3.51 from an earlier version. So if you only looked at the “To Do Items” section of this page, you would miss this information.

When it comes to applying special files (e.g. the SEO URL files or MailUp files), always use version 3.51 of those files.

Updating to 3.51 from v3.5 Pre-Release (rare)

This is rare. It only applies to customers that received a pre-release version of 3.5.

If you updated your store to version 3.5 using any of the 3.5 update files date 11.06.08 (November 6, 2008), use the version 3.51 update to bring your store up-to-date.

If you updated your store to version 3.5 using a different file set (i.e. with a different, earlier date in the file name - e.g. 10.28.08), please contact us directly and provide the name of the file that you had been given. We will recommend the best course of action.

If you created a new Web store with version 3.5 (you did not update to version 3.5 from a previous version), but the file you downloaded from Early Impact was dated prior to 11.06.08 (e.g. any October 08 date), please contact us directly and provide the name of the file that you had been given. We will recommend the best course of action.

Backing Up Your Store

Make sure that you back-up your store before proceeding. This is a crucial step of the store update process.

To Do Items

Please see the list below to locate all the items that you need to download and install.A Legend below includes descriptions for the abbreviations used in the following table.

You are using… What you need to download and FTP to your server… How to get the files…
Main ProductCart file set
STD 3.51 Update from UMS Check for updates in the CP
BTO 3.51 Update from UMS Check for updates in the CP
STD + APP 3.51 Update from UMS Check for updates in the CP
BTO + APP 3.51 Update from UMS Check for updates in the CP
BTO + CM 3.51 Update from UMS Check for updates in the CP
BTO + APP + CM 3.51 Update from UMS Check for updates in the CP
Other Add-on's and files
Google Analytics No specific update needed for version 3.51
SEO 3.51 SEO files needed Get the 3.51-compatible files
MailUp 3.51 MailUp Integration Files needed Get the 3.51-compatible files
eBay Add-on No specific update needed for version 3.51 (no overlapping files).
QuickBooks Add-on No specific update needed for version 3.51



Check For Updates is available in the Control Panel under Help.

Legend

Downloading the Update File

Depending on the version of ProductCart that you are using (Standard vs. Build To Order) and on the add-on's installed on your store, the Update Management System will prompt you to download the correct file.

Double-checking the Downloaded File Name

You can double-check that you are indeed downloading the correct file by checking the file name against the following information.

Unzipping the Downloaded Files

Updating Overwritten Files

List of Files

Some of the files contained in the ProductCart v3.51 update overwrite files that you have likely customized. These include:

Synchronizing Overwritten Files

As noted above, this update contains files that you have likely modified (pc/include-metatags.asp).

See File Comparisons and Synchronizations for tips on how to compare and synchronize your edited files.

Installing the Update

Parent Paths Enabled vs. Parent Paths Disabled

Please select the correct update files depending on the version of ProductCart that you are running. Specifically, if you are running ProductCart on a server that has Parent Paths Disabled, please use the files contained in the “Parent Paths Disabled” folder. Otherwise, use the files contained in the “Parent Path Enabled” folder, which is the most common scenario.

If you are unsure of which version you are running, look at the version number in the Control Panel start page (“menu.asp”). If it includes the letters “PPD”, then you are using the “Parent Path Disabled” version of ProductCart.

Step 1 - Back up your store

If you haven't already done so, back-up your store.

Step 2 - Turn off your store

  1. Log into your Control Panel and select General Settings > Store Settings
  2. Enter a descriptive message in the field Message displayed when store is off.
  3. Select Turn store off, then click on the Update button. This ensures that customers do not browse the store while you are updating it.

Step 3 - FTP new files to your server

Upload the files to their respective folders, overwriting the existing files. For instance, you will update the contents of the pc subfolder on your Web server with the files contained in the pc subfolder that you have downloaded from the ProductCart Update Management System.

Please note that the pcadmin folder has likely been renamed on your store. We recommend that you rename the same folder in the update files locally on your computer so that when you FTP the files there is no chance that a new pcadmin folder is created, which would mean that some of your store files are not being updated.

DO NOT delete any of the files that are currently on your Web server.

The ProductCart v3.51 update contains about 150 files and the FTP upload might take a few minutes. Make sure that once the process has finished, your FTP client reported a success message. Most FTP programs have a way to show you whether some files were not uploaded successfully. If that happens, make sure to upload them again until all files have been uploaded successfully.

Step 4 - Update the Store Database

  1. Log into the Control Panel
  2. You will be automatically redirected to the database update page.
    Troubleshooting:
    1. If you are not automatically redirected, replace “menu.asp” with “upddb351.asp” in the browser address field and press the ENTER key on your keyboard.
    2. If you get a “Page Not Found” error, it means that the files were not uploaded to the correct folder or the FTP upload was not completed successfully.
  3. Run the database update script.
    Troubleshooting:
    1. If you receive any errors or warnings (e.g. a table could not be updated), run the database update again. In some cases these errors disappear on the second execution of the update.
    2. If the errors persist even after re-running the database update script a few times, leave the store OFF and open a Support Ticket.

Step 5 - TO DO List

A message will confirm that the store database and version number have been updated.

A “To Do” list will remind you of a actions that you need to take that are also covered in this document. See the “To Do Items” above.

Step 6 - Turn your store back on

When all To Do items have been completed, you can now turn your store back on and verify that the storefront is working properly. We recommend that you place at least one test order to go through the entire checkout process.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter a problem, please review the information in this document carefully to make sure that you have followed every step as outlined above. Specifically, make sure that:

  1. You started with the correct version number (see “Applicability” above)
  2. You correctly uploaded the files to your store (e.g. files in the “pcadmin” folder, which you likely renamed in your store)
  3. You successfully updated the database, as described above
  4. You completed the rest of the To Do items mentioned above

If this still doesn't solve your problem, leave the store OFF and open a Support Ticket. Please make sure to indicate which version of ProductCart you are updating from, which add-on's and other file sets you are using (e.g. Google Analytics integration, etc.), and include the error message that you are receiving.

Disclaimer

The ProductCart v3.51 Update has been tested by Early Impact in a variety of environments. However, there might be environments that have not been tested and that may cause problems.

You are responsible for making a backup copy of your existing store database and store files, as described above. A backup copy of your store will allow you to revert back to your previous, working version of ProductCart in case you experience any problems after running the update.

Early Impact shall not be liable for any loss of data and/or loss of income due to any downtime that your online store may experience as a direct or indirect result of installing this update.

Release Notes

New Features and Improvements

Notable Bug Fixes