Let me give some guidelines on how i upgrade smf, since it's a bit unusual and it may help others. And in the process i'll answer gri's questions.
First:
I keep two copies of the forum software in different places. One is the real one we use here, and another is basically a copy of this one, that i always upgrade and test first on. I do this because I have modified so many files that there is always something i forget. Having the test installation lets me safely experiment first.
Second:
I always unpack the smf (and all web scripts i install) locally on my pc, where i keep a mirror image of the server account. Then I use
Beyond Compare to compare the new and old version (on my pc and moved to like smf_OLD), and see what has changed. This is also when i merge any of my modifications into the new upgraded smf files.
Third:
After I've unpacked all the files and merged all of my changes, I ftp into the TEST server, and upload all files (or all new files). Then i test my test forum, make sure all works well - if not i modify the files locally and reupload.
Fourth:
After I know all the files work well on the test server, i ftp into the real server and upload the new files.
So to answer gri's question about how do i set permissions and create directories - for smf installation i do it all from the FTP client. (i've been trying
SecureFX recently but any one will do). Certain directories like the attachments directory need to be made writable by all (right click on the folder and chmod to +777 or +w for all. I think smf will alert you if you haven't dont this properly.
You do not need anything special as far as a control panel or special database access - it can all be done through a normal ftp client.
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