Patching

Patching is moving from an earlier version of SMF to the next version in the same series (e.g. from 2.0 to 2.0.1). This process will only work if the part of code interested by the patching han not been changed (i.e. no mods changed it). A similar procedure to update the forum is Updating. If you are moving up more than one version in the same series, (e.g. 1.1.10 to 1.1.13) you could repeat patching for each version update. If patching reports errors and/or you have mods installed then you should use the Upgrading procedure. If you want to install a Forum from scratch, please see the instructions on Installing SMF. If you want to convert to SMF from another Forum software, please see the instructions for Converting to SMF.

Patching an SMF forum is easy! It can be done in three quick and simple steps:

Download the patch through the admin panel
When you enter SMF's Administration Center if a patch has been released you will be notified through a box "Update Available!". Selecting the link present in this box SMF will automatically download the patch from the Simple Machines website and will bring you to the package manager.

Download the patch from SMF website
In certain cases is necessary to manually upload the patch to your server before applying it. In these cases the first thing to do is download the patch.

Go to the Upgrades download page on the SMF website and download the patch you need.

Patch names are in the form "SMF v1 to v2" where v1 is the starting version of SMF (i.e. the current version of your forum) and v2 is the version your forum will be after the application of the patch.

You need to download the patch where v1 is the version of your SMF installation.

Once downloaded the patch to your computer, go to: Admin > Main > Package Manager > Download Packages and upload the patch.

Than select the link Install Mod.

Finishing the Patching procedure
In the new page you will be notified of any problem. If no errors are reported, selecting the button "Install Now" will start the actual patching procedure.

Once finished you will be informed that the package has been installed successfully.