eMember – How to Merge My Custom Code Changes with Future Plugin Version Updates

[Jerry9]

QUESTION

Is there a procedure you recommend we use to merge our custom changes with any future eMember plugin updates when they are released?

I read this post about Plugin Upgrades, but it did not appear to answer my question.

BACKGROUND

Many of us are aware of StudioPress Genesis child themes that allow for installing updates without overwriting custom user code. I was wondering what Tips and Tricks recommends.

DIFF COMPARE SOFTWARE

After making custom changes to CSS code, or TEXT in language files, or other direct CODE changes in core plugin files, I have Scooter Software’s Beyond Compare which works great for directories and files.

MY METHOD

For version control, one of the things I do is to make a copy of the original file and rename it with some type of version control indicator. For example, if I were changing the wp-content/plugins/wp-eMember/lang/eng.php, I would first make a copy that I will edit using the original name. I then rename the original (in order to retain the original timestamp). After making the changes, I create a backup of my changes with a file name version control convention that I use. So, after my first change, I’ll have three files, as follows.

FILE NAME …………………….. TIMESTAMP

> eng.php ……………………… 03-31-2016

> eng_2016-03-31_001.php …… 03-31-2016

> eng_ORIG.php ………………. 03-26-2016

BBCode Markup Examples, & BBCode Tags, too bad the forum doesn’t have a “Preview” option.

[wzp]

I have addressed this in the past:

https://support.tipsandtricks-hq.com/forums/topic/upgrading-the-plugin-what-exactly-will-be-lost

If you are advanced enough to make changes to the plugin; you should also be advanced enough to know the importance of making backups and having good version controls.

[admin]

You should apply your CSS changes using a plugin like the following which will ensure that the CSS changes won’t get overwritten:

https://www.tipsandtricks-hq.com/wordpress-custom-css-plugin-6413

If you have customized the language file then just keeping a backup of that file is good enough. Language files rarely change. So after an update, you can overwrite with your backedup file. Your current method looks good to me also.

Changing PHP files are tricky because you need to be a developer to be able to do this properly. You should use action hooks or filters to apply PHP file changes (where applicable). That will allow you to put your changes in a custom plugin (call it a child plugin) instead of modifying core plugin files. You are free to customize what you want but we don’t support any customized PHP code. It is almost impossible for us to provide quality support when people make custom PHP code changes and introduce all kinds of problems (without even understanding what the implications are).

[Author]

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