Updating an Flectra installation

Introduction

In order to benefit from the latest improvements, security fixes, bug corrections and performance boosts, you may need to update your Flectra installation from time to time.

This guide only applies when are using Flectra on your own hosting infrastructure. If you are using one of the Flectra Cloud solutions, updates are automatically performed for you.

The terminology surrounding software updates is often confusing, so here are some preliminary definitions:

Updating (an Flectra installation)

Refers to the process of obtaining the latest revision of the source code for your current Flectra Edition. For example, updating your Flectra Professional 1.0 to the latest revision. This does not directly cause any change to the contents of your Flectra database, and can be undone by reinstalling the previous revision of the source code.

Upgrading (an Flectra database)

Refers to a complex data processing operation where the structure and contents of your database is permanently altered to make it compatible with a new release of Flectra. This operation is irreversible and typically accomplished via Flectra’s database upgrade service, when you decide to switch to a newer release of Flectra. Historically, this process has also been known as a “migration” because it involves moving data around inside the database, even though the database may end up at the same physical location after the upgrade.

This page describes the typical steps needed to update an Flectra installation to the latest version. If you’d like more information about upgrading a database, please visit the Flectra Upgrade page instead.

In a nutshell

Updating Flectra is accomplished by simply reinstalling the latest version of your Flectra Edition on top of your current installation. This will preserve your data without any alteration, as long as you do not uninstall PostgreSQL (the database engine that comes with Flectra).

The main reference for updating is logically our installation guide, which explains the common installation methods.

Updating is also most appropriately accomplished by the person who deployed Flectra initially, because the procedure is very similar.

Note

We always recommend to download a complete new up-to-date Flectra version, rather than manually applying patches, such as the security patches that come with Security Advisories. The patches are mainly provided for installations that are heavily customized, or for technical personnel who prefer to apply minimal changes temporarily while testing a complete update.

Step 1: Download an updated Flectra version

The central download page is https://www.flectrahq.com/page/download. If you see a “Buy” link for the Flectra Professional download, make sure you are logged into flectrahq.com with the same login that is linked to your Flectra Professional subscription.

Alternatively, you can use the unique download link that was included with your Flectra Professional purchase confirmation email.

Note

Downloading an updated version is not necessary if you installed via Github (see below)

Step 2: Make a backup of your database

The update procedure is quite safe and should not alter you data. However it’s always best to take a full database backup before performing any change on your installation, and to store it somewhere safe, on a different computer.

If you have not disabled the database manager screen (see here why you should), you can use it (link at bottom of your database selection screen) to download a backup of your database(s). If you disabled it, use the same procedure than for your usual backups.

Step 3: Install the updated version

Choose the method that matches your current installation:

Packaged Installers

If you installed Flectra with an installation package downloaded on our website (the recommended method), updating is very simple. All you have to do is download the installation package corresponding to your system (see step #1) and install it on your server. They are updated daily and include the latest security fixes. Usually, you can simply double-click the package to install it on top of the current installation. After installing the package, be sure to restart the Flectra service or reboot your server, and you’re all set.

Source Install (Tarball)

If you have originally installed Flectra with the “tarball” version (source code archive), you have to replace the installation directory with a newer version. First download the latest tarball from flectrahq.com. They are updated daily and include the latest security fixes (see step #1) After downloading the package, extract it to a temporary location on your server.

You will get a folder labelled with the version of the source code, for example “flectra-13.0+e.20190719”, that contains a folder “flectra.egg-info” and the actual source code folder named “flectra” (for Flectra 10 and later) or “openerp” for older versions. You can ignore the flectra.egg-info folder. Locate the folder where your current installation is deployed, and replace it with the newer “flectra” or “openerp” folder that was in the archive you just extracted.

Be sure to match the folder layout, for example the new “addons” folder included in the source code should end up exactly at the same path it was before. Next, watch out for any specific configuration files that you may have manually copied or modified in the old folder, and copy them over to the new folder. Finally, restart the Flectra service or reboot the machine, and you are all set.

Source Install (Github)

If you have originally installed Flectra with a full Github clone of the official repositories, the update procedure requires you to pull the latest source code via git. Change into the directory for each repository (the main Flectra repository, and the Professional repository), and run the following commands:

git fetch
git rebase --autostash

The last command may encounter source code conflicts if you had edited the Flectra source code locally. The error message will give you the list of files with conflicts, and you will need to resolve the conflicts manually, by editing them and deciding which part of the code to keep.

Alternatively, if you prefer to simply discard the conflicting changes and restore the official version, you can use the following command:

git reset --hard

Finally, restart the Flectra service or reboot the machine, and you should be done.

Docker

Please refer to our Docker image documentation for specific update instructions.