SMF (Simple Machines Forum) is a free, professional grade software package that allows you to set up your own online community within minutes. SMF is written in the popular language PHP and uses a MySQL database.

PREPARATION

Download the patch version for the latest version of SMF for your current version from the SMF web site. Extract the file locally to your computer.

Note: If you are currently using a version other than the next to newest or have made modifications, download the larger upgrade file.

UPLOAD

Upload the files/folders to the forum folder, overwriting the files on the server. This should upgrade the files to the latest version.

Additionally, run http://www.example.com/forum/upgrade.php to upgrade the database.

On the upgrade page, set the following:

Backup tables in your database with the prefix "backup_smf_".
Put the forum into maintenance mode during upgrade.

Check the other options if desired. Click Continue.

UPGRADE ISSUES

On the upgrading page you will see "Updating and creating indexes... Unsuccessful!". This is a MySQL issue and can be fixed by editing upgrade_1-1.sql and Sources/ManageSmileys.php:

upgrade_1-1.sql

Replace the follow (lines 180-181):

ALTER TABLE {$db_prefix}smileys
ORDER BY LENGTH(code) DESC;

With:

ALTER TABLE {$db_prefix}smileys
ORDER BY code DESC;

The second code replacement is related to editing smileys in the Smileys and Message Icons section of your admin panel.

Sources/ManageSmileys.php

Replace the follow (lines 654 and 990):

ORDER BY LENGTH(code) DESC", __FILE__, __LINE__);

With:

ORDER BY code DESC", __FILE__, __LINE__);

If you edited the copy of these files on your computer (not the copy on the server) upload these files, overwriting the copies on the server. Click Try again on the upgrade page and the upgrade should successfully complete.

Click the link in the text "Now you are ready to use your installation of SMF."

SECURITY/CLEANUP

After upgrading is complete, remove the following:

upgrade.php
upgrade_1-1.sql