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By Aveu on
I have "inherited" the role of webmaster for a non-profit using Drupal and I could use some help. I have the PortableApps XAMPP suite (http://portableapps.com/apps/development/xampp) installed on a large USB keydrive and I am wondering if I can use this to clone/edit/synch my website safely.
In other words, what I would like to do is download the entire existing website file directory and get it running on my keydrive, then edit the website locally, and finally upload my edits so that my work becomes the live website.
Is this possible and if so has anybody done it already who could give me some pointers? I am an old IT guy who is having to learn webmastering as I go so please bear with me if I sound dumb. Thanks.
Comments
Drupal offline
Yes you can.
I used MoWeS Portable (was WOS - web on a stick) simply because they have already installed Drupal and several other programs pre configured. Here is the link http://www.chsoftware.net/en/useware/mowes/mowes.htm
All you need to do is download the complete directory structure from the server via fpt and copy it to your stick in the relavent directory.
Then copy the database file to your stick and re-define your database setup information.
I built my complete site that way, so was able to work almost anywhere, if you are interested its at http://www.usbstickfinder.com Used Drupal version 5.9.
There is another complete post somewhere that is step by step, if I find it I will update with the link.
John K
Found three locations for
Found three locations for you to look at.
http://drupal.org/node/39991
http://drupal.org/node/139661
http://drupal.org/node/260462
enjoy...!
John K
Will this work for an existing install ?
As I mentioned this is an "inherited website" so would using MoWeS's preinstalled software create any problems with versions from my website? I am new but instinct tells me it probably isn't as simple as just overwriting the MoWeS Drupal files. Then again, maybe it is?
This is really a big part of my question/concern... If I am modifying the website's design on my laptop but users are adding content while I do that, what happens to that content when I upload my modifications?
It rather depends on the
It rather depends on the content. All of the content on my site is generated by myself so i dont have experience of what your are talking about.
But if you are developing modules so long as you dont break the database structure for that module i assume it will still work. Essentially you could consider module development as 'upgrading' the version level of Drupal itself it is really quite simple if you have a look at the upgrade guides.
If I were you I would go through the developing a module documentation elsewhere on this site. As i like to have something to read away from the PC I can also recommend the 'official' development books they are both quite good.
In terms of equalising the dynamic content of a live database and content you have created that is a bit of SQL programming, merging the variance between both databases. Again get stuck into the development stuff to understand how modules are developed and the data structures. Unfortunately some modules are not as well documented as others so you will probably have to reverse engineer them to understand how you are going to merge the data. Normally the module developers are helpful if you have questions.
John K