What to do when a download has a new version...?

[Nodron]

Sorry if this is the wrong place to ask this question and for my lack of knowledge.....
Hope someone will guide me..... thankyou in advance...

If I've downloaded MetaMaps ( for example ) 6 months ago and there is a later/newer version out....

1) Do I uninstall previous version of the download and reinstall the newest?

or does grabbing the latest version just clean up and add new parts to the old?

2) If yes to just downloading newest version and not deleting the older, I'm wondering about the following... MetaMaps has a knowledge base for my characters.... completed quests - NPC locations I've been to- herb/ore locations... I'd hope that information would not be lost... I would think that it would be lost if I uninstalled older version without saving it somewhere and then adding it to the newer version...

3) If I have to save my older MetaMap knowledge base... how/where would be the best place to save it...

Know enough just to be dangerous...

Safe Journeys....
Nodron....

[secutanudu]

Usually you can just install a new mod over an old one. Any specific data that you have saved is in your /WTF folder, not your /Interface/Addons folder, so as long as the new version is backwards compatible (they usually are) you can just install the new one over top and let it modify changed files.

But, if you haven't updated in some time, you may want to jsut remove the /Addons/MetaMap folder and reinstall it (but dont touch anything in /WTF)

[PathMaster]

I have not installed an addon over itself. I actually unzip addons into a separate folder. Then I have both the temp addon folder open as well as the WoW addon folder open then delete whatever i have new copies of. Then I drag the new ones into the regular addon directory.

I imagine either method is can be done. I am just careful about that type of stuff.

You can actually safely delete the addon folder and not worry about deleting saved data. One thing to watch for is if you have edited any files in the original addon folder. Then the situations changes.

Good luck to you.

[Nodron]

Thankyou both for your information....

I can continue with confidence....

Awesome....

Nodron

[Farook]

Originally Posted by PathMaster I have not installed an addon over itself. I actually unzip addons into a separate folder. Then I have both the temp addon folder open as well as the WoW addon folder open then delete whatever i have new copies of. Then I drag the new ones into the regular addon directory.

I'm updating my addons the same way. ^^

In most cases you'll have no problems at all when just overwriting the old files. But sometimes (especially when updating mods not frequently) new features are added to a mod, file structur or whatever has changed, and you need to make a "clean" install (with the old file deleted), but didn't know about, so you would run into problems ingame probabely. So you are just "on the safe side" when deleting the old folders first.