Question about upgrading.....

[tens1822]

Will upgrading erase all the work I've already done on my site? Will I have to re-download avatars and pictures already on the site? Will I have to re-create the skins and emoticons I already created and are currently in use on my site? Or will everything I already have be unaffected? I don't want to lose all the hard work I've already put into my site. Thank you.

[RedBassett]

Greetings,

No, you will not lose anything. The only things that may give you a little trouble are skins (now called themes), and old header and footer codes.

When you convert the forum, the converter will do it's best to replicate your existing skins as themes, however how themes work varies a little from skins, so this conversion may not look perfect, and may require some tweaking (which is very easy).

As for codes, the underlying structure of the page has changed in V5. While this does mean much easier access to change what you want, it also means that the old codes from V4 won't work. Codes that just change the layout of the page are now obsolete, as this is a built-in feature of themes called templates. Some other functions commonly achieved with codes in V4 are now built-in in V5. For anything that still isn't built-in, there are now plugins, which are much easier to install than codes were, and are a greatly improved way to add things to your forum.

[Tumbleweed]

Just to add to what RedBassett said, you may want to make a v5 copy of your forum and just take a look at what you need to do to get it back to how your V4 forum looks. There is also an option to opt out of the conversion until the end of the year leaving you plenty of time to get your copy forum looking like you want. But keep in mind the copy is just that, a copy, so you'll need to note what plug-ins you used and any other tweaks you made to the copy so when that day comes that your V4 forum will finally be converted, you can quickly make the changes needed.