Test System Licensing

[John Pepper]

I'm running version 3 and am going to upgrade to the current version

Can I install the latest version on a test system using the same license as the live version without disabling the live version?

 

[Morgin]

Yes. Append -TESTINSTALL to your license key.

 

[Mark H]

Yes, the license terms do allow a test install, though it must not be accessible to the general public in any manner.

If you wish to perform a test upgrade of your live site, you can do the below, but note that when it comes time to upgrade the live site, you have to upgrade that site in-place. (You can't "merge" or "import" the data from the live site to the test install you make.)

Make a copy of the live install to the test location, change the details in the conf_global.php file as needed for the URL and the new database you make as part of the copy process, then login directly to the admin panel and update the 2 settings "Upload URL" and "Path to upload directory" in ACP -> System Settings -> General Configuration. If you have Blog or Gallery, they each have similar settings you need to check. Once you are done with that, you can perform the upgrade.

When it prompts you for your license key, enter your key plus -TESTINSTALL appended to the end of it.

Please also note also that when you wish to have your live site upgraded to version 4, we can do that for you if you wish. There's no charge, just file a ticket requesting it.

[John Pepper]

Thank you

[AlexWebsites]

is there a way to prevent the system from sending any types of notification emails if one should get triggered when on a test install?

[Stuart Silvester]

1 hour ago, AlexWebsites said:

is there a way to prevent the system from sending any types of notification emails if one should get triggered when on a test install?

You can configure the 'EMAIL_DEBUG_PATH' constant in your constants.php file. This will effectively prevent any outgoing emails and store them locally on the file system instead.

See email debugging: