DrupalGuide

Notice: This software is considered Best Effort. The installation, configuration or correction of this software is not covered under our managed support.

Warning: do NOT make direct edits to Drupal-related .php files!

Warning: Drupal is too resource intensive to run well on VPS1 servers!

Drupalbeta

drupal.org

The Problem is with a new Drupal installation, and it's not on a VPS1

1. Is anything other than SuPHP being used? If so, recommend SuPHP be used & check permissions.
   
2. Is the server using lots of RAM, having MySQL issues, or experiencing high load post-install?
   
   1. If yes, the PHP and MySQL settings are likely set too conservatively for Drupal to work properly
      

It's an existing site

1. Are they on a VPS1 or have they upgraded servers recently? If they've migrated/upgraded, check the PHP version.
   
2. Is anything other than SuPHP being used? If so, recommend SuPHP be used & check permissions.
   
3. Is this a new Drupal install? If so, and it isn't working, make sure it was installed properly via cPanel/Fantastico.

===== Drupal 6 =====

Drupal Version 6 is the most widely used at the time of this writing, with many customers anticipating a switch to Drupal 7.

Site configuration in Drupal 6

Go to Site Configuration (Administer > Site Configuration). Most options here are pretty self explanatory, but a few important ones to consider are:

   * Error reporting
     By default all errors are output to the log and screen. When your site is ready for production you should change this to just write errors to the log only.
   * Input formats
     Input formats are incredibly powerful and often missed configuration step early on. The default for most user accounts is Filtered HTML.
     This is a list of tags allowed by normal users to use on your site. There is a very minimal default selection which you can change.
   * Performance
     During development, caching should be disabled (default). Once the site is ready for production you should set caching to normal.
     Experiment with these settings to find what works best for your site.
   * Site information
     In addition to Site name, which was set during install, you can also add a slogan, mission, and footer. Other options include setting
     a name for anonymous users and changing the default front page setting.
   * Site maintenance
     If you need to take your site offline for any reason, here you can do this and set a message as well. It is useful to know how to log
     in once you have turned your site off-line for maintenance.

File system settings

http://drupal.org/node/15368
Drupal provides configuration settings to control whether, and how, users and administrators can upload files for use by Drupal.

The setup page for File system path or Directory and Download method can be accessed by going to:
Administer > Site configuration > File system
system path: http://example.com/admin/settings/file-system

The default Drupal setting for the File system path is sites/default/files. When you run across a text box in Drupal for specifying a
directory to store files, generally the root is sites/default/files. It is good to have all files going to the files directory or directories
within the files directory. Having your files in one place will make backups easier to accomplish.

The default Drupal Temporary directory is /tmp. This is where uploaded files will be stored during previews before saving.

The default Drupal Download method is Public - files are available using HTTP directly.

Note: Un-configured or improperly configured Drupal installations may display one or more error messages at the top of the
File system settings page, indicating that either the "Temporary directory" or "File system path" directories do not exist
and/or their permissions are not set properly. Simply create these directories and set their permissions so that Drupal can
write and read from the directory.

Drupal creates these directories for you in most cases. Generally you can create directories using FTP(file transfer protocol)
software such as Filezilla. To create a directory, connect to your server with FTP, navigate to the location needed, right click,
choose 'create directory' and give it a name. To set permissions for the directory, right click the directory and choose file permissions or properties.

File Structure

While all PHP-based CMS-packages perform what can basically be considered the same task, differences in functionality and scalability arise out of how those tasks are performed. Drupal File Structure

Versions & Upgrading

http://drupal.org/documentation/upgrade/6/7 A number of customers are anticipating the release of Drupal 7; many are likely to want to upgrade.

Upgrading your Drupal installation

The process of upgrading to the latest version of Drupal can vary in difficulty depending on the complexity of your current installation. You can only upgrade from one version to the next version. For example you are trying to move from Drupal 5 to Drupal 7 you first need to upgrade to Drupal 6 before you upgrade to Drupal 7.

Backup Your Current Site

It is always highly recommended to backup your site before any update or upgrade.
A full backup consists of making copies of:

   * all core Drupal files and folders
   * all contributed module files and folders
   * all contributed theme files and folders
   * all other files and assets that have been uploaded via your Drupal site (e.g. /files folder)
   * the Drupal database

For more information about backing up your Drupal site see http://drupal.org/node/22281

Update Your Site to the Latest Stable Release of Drupal 6.x

It is important for your current site to be updated to the latest stable release of Drupal 6.x prior to upgrade because point releases sometimes introduce
minor database schema changes. These changes will be expected to be in place by Drupal 7 when you upgrade.
For detailed information about updating your Drupal 6.x site see http://drupal.org/node/390448

Update Contributed Modules as Required

As part of the upgrade planning process you will have researched whether modules currently installed on your site will be available for Drupal 7.x.
Each module will have a slightly different upgrade path to a corresponding Drupal 7 version. In many cases you will be required to update the modules
on your site to their latest versions for Drupal 6.

Visit the project page for each of module installed on your site for instructions on how to update to the latest version. If you have the Update Status
module installed, it will provide you with links to the project page of each of your installed modules and can help you identify whether you have
completed all the required updates.

Upgrade Process

http://drupal.org/node/570162
About This Article

   * Drupal version: Drupal 7.x
   * Page status: Needs updating
   * Last modified: January 20, 2011

Note: DO NOT run install.php at any time during an upgrade. It will empty your content from the database. Upgrade Steps

1. Backup your existing site and database.
2. Login as user 1.
3. # Place the site in "off-line" mode (Administer >> Site configuration >> Site maintenance).
4. Switch your site's theme to a default theme (Garland).
5. Disable all custom and contributed modules.
6. Remove the Drupal 6 files in the folder or subfolder on your computer
7. Copy the Drupal 7 files into the folder or subfolder on your computer
8. Re-Configure Your Installation

Copy your backed up "files" and "sites" directories to the Drupal installation directory. If other system files such as .htaccess or robots.txt were customized, re-create the modifications in the new versions of the files using the backups taken in step #1.

quoted from upgrade.txt file
10. Empty your 'sites' folder
11. Run update.php (DO NOT RUN INSTALL.PHP). Point the browser to http://example.com/update.php
12. Running update.php at this time makes the necessary database changes to Drupal 7. Your contributed modules are not yet upgraded
13. Copy the Drupal 7 contributed modules and themes to your 'sites/all/modules' or 'sites/all/themes' folders as needed
14. Copy customized modules and themes in the correct place 'sites/all/modules' or 'sites/all/themes
15. Go to Administer → Sites Building → Modules and re-enable the modules
16. Re-Run update.php (DO NOT RUN INSTALL.PHP). Point the browser to http:// yourdomain/update.php
17. Running update.php at this time makes the database table updates needed by the modules
18. Re-activate your theme

Drupal 7.x

Hab' doch g'rad g'sagt das i' es hab'n werde wenn's mir auch lohnt~!

Common Causes of Issues in Order of Frequency

Your first step should be to ignore whatever bits of misinformation the customer is giving you. Remember, these people are web developers; this means they usually have no idea

PHP

Drupal