IIRC, with v10 there wasn't a simple, direct upgrade path from v9 due to theme differences. Since v11 looks and feels so much different from v10, will upgrading v10 to v11 have a similar issue as v9 to v10?

The main reason I'm asking is, I might have a project coming up later this year and I don't want to install v10 if upgrading to v11 when it's released is going to be challenging. I know a release prediction is impossible, but I'm hoping v11 will have a stable release by the time I start my project later this year so I can go straight into v11.

sholzy said

IIRC, with v10 there wasn't a simple, direct upgrade path from v9 due to theme differences. Since v11 looks and feels so much different from v10, will upgrading v10 to v11 have a similar issue as v9 to v10?

The main reason I'm asking is, I might have a project coming up later this year and I don't want to install v10 if upgrading to v11 when it's released is going to be challenging. I know a release prediction is impossible, but I'm hoping v11 will have a stable release by the time I start my project later this year so I can go straight into v11.

From “Upgrading”, 10th Apr 2025

Hello, I apologize for the delay in getting the post approved. I'm still trying to toy with Composr.app so it prevents spam without inconveniencing regular members. I haven't gotten there yet.

You are right; v9 -> v10 upgrades required downloading a special omni-upgrader file; you could not simply upgrade from the Admin Dashboard / website.

I can understand intuitively you would think v10 -> v11 upgrades will have the same problem since the upgrade path is even more complicated than v9 -> v10. However, we've made a lot of progress on the upgrader and am happy to report you will probably be able to upgrade to v11 just like you would any other upgrade from the Dashboard. That goes without saying, of course, that you should take a backup of your site. Also, you have to upgrade to 10.0.50 or later first before upgrading to v11 (earlier versions of v10 will encounter an internal error if you try to upgrade them to v11). And you will likely need to make some manual adjustments and fixes after upgrading. The themes, unfortunately, do not "upgrade". While technically your v10 theme might work to a partial capacity on v11, you will need to manually edit all of the custom files in that theme so they work with v11. Or, just create a new theme off of v11's new default theme and go from there.

For new projects, I would recommend starting with v11 even though it is still in beta (and likely will still be at the end of the year since I stepped back from development due to economical issues, and Chris is still busy with his life circumstances). You will probably encounter some bugs, but it would be easier to deal with than starting a new v10 project and then upgrading it all to v11 later on. Plus, v11 is much more secure since v10 is not regularly maintained anymore.

Any issues you have, feel free to report them to the tracker under Support -> Report Software Issue. Unfortunately, bug fixes might be very slow until someone can step up as a developer and keep the project going. Or, you could hire me or someone else if you want; despite my situation, I'll always prioritise development and fixes for those who are financially supporting me.

Thanks for the reply. It's good to know the upgrade path will be much easier with v10 -> v11.

I'm still toying with which version I'll move forward with. I want to go with v11, but v10 is stable. First world problems! I'm leaning towards v10.0.50 because of the phpBB forum importer, although it has problems with the newer 3.8.* phpBB version.

My project is moving a forum, that I'm taking back over again, back to Composr. I've been working on importing a phpBB forum into a test install of v10.0.50. There are issues with the importer leaving imported phpBB posts and signatures full of XML tags since phpBB stores all it's posts as XML. I'm currently working through that mess. I have a feeling v11 would be worse, but in a few days I'll try running the importer on v11 just to see what happens.     [edit] I just realized I may not even be able to install an importer in v11.

I would love to do sponsorships like I've done in the past, but I'm retired now and don't have the means anymore for that, so I'm a little leary moving to a version that will be slow in development moving forward. My members wouldn't be happy finding bugs that could go unfixed for awhile.  

Understandable. Just a couple notes to help with your decision process:

* v10 is not regularly maintained anymore, so while the importer may work better than in v11 right now, its current state is probably how it will stay for the rest of its life span. In v11, it is more likely the importer will get fixed down the road, but since it's a feature not officially supported, it likely won't happen unless you do it yourself, someone else does it, or you hire someone to do it.

* v11 development will be much slower, but it will still be faster than v10 which is in long-term maintenance (critical bug fixes only) stage.