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  3. Upgrading the Server and Clients

Upgrade Instructions v6.6

Before you Upgrade

  1. Have your "Version 6.6" license to hand
    If you don't have your license yet, request it from license@farmerswife.com.
    To be eligible for a 6.6 license you need to have a valid support subscription with us passed 29. January 2020.

  2. Check your running farmerswife version
    You can only upgrade to 6.6 directly from v6.5 Release rev. 18623 or later.
    Every farmerswife version contains specific upgrade code. You may need to take several steps to arrive at v6.6.

    This is the mandatory upgrade path for all farmerswife Server apps since v6.1 SP1:
    From v6.1 SP1 to v6.2 SP1
    From v6.2 SP1 to v6.3 SP1
    From v6.3 SP1 to v6.4 SP2
    From v6.4 SP2 to v6.5 Release
    From v6.5 Release or later to v6.6 Release 
    Please contact support@farmerswife.com should you have any questions.

  3. IMPORTANT read about the most important changes in this version
    • New macOS 10.15 Catalina support.
      We now provide "64bit" installers for macOS fw Server and Client on macOS Mojave and Catalina.
      If you are running lower OS versions, please contact support@farmerswife for alternative installer files.

      IMPORTANT: First check the current version of the fw Server host Operating System (OS)!
      macOS 10.14 Mojave is currently the best practice starting point for the fw Server app to be smoothly upgraded on Mac.

    • This version requires the fw Client app Full Installer download and to be manually installed; on Windows and Mac the new "64bit" fw Server app supports the auto-upgrade in some scenarios.
      See below the "Client Upgrade" section for more details.

    • New "Built-in PDF Printer" on the 64bit fw Server AND fw Client apps on Windows and Mac.

    • Print Designer - Page Breaks and Rectangles changes continue since v6.5 release; your templates might be affected.

  4. Download the "Public Installers"
    Go to our Public Installers page and browse to the "6.6 Release" folder.
    Download the farmerswife Server Installer for your Operating System, and the farmerswife Client Installers for the client OS platforms in your environment if required. Or distribute the below listed "direct download links".

  5. Inform your colleagues about this new version before you start the upgrade process.

Upgrading your macOS farmerswife Server (from macOS Mojave and Catalina)

  1. Use the "Full Backup Now" button located on the running farmerswife Server application to perform the "Full Backup" right before the upgrade.
  2. Copy the downloaded farmerswife Server package to the machine hosting the WIFE Server.
    NOTE: Ensure the compressed ".zip" installer file is downloaded and un-zipped within the "Downloads" folder on you Mac. Then move the "farmerswife64 Server" app to the "Applications" folder.

  3. Un-zip (if still needed) and rename it to include "NEW" in the package name.

  4. Place it in the same location as the previous running farmerswife Server, i.e. within the "Applications" folder.

  5. Quit the running farmerswife Server.

  6. Rename the previous farmerswife Server, to include "OLD" in the package name.

  7. On both packages do <Control> + click and select "Show Package Contents" in the pop-up menu.

  8. In the OLD package select the "system" and "files" folders and use <Control> + click and select "Copy 2 Items" in the pop-up menu.

  9. Within the NEW farmerswife Server package use <Control> + click and select "Paste 2 Items".
    Note: The "files" folder might not even exist within your WIFE Server's package, since it was possibly broken out to reside on some mounted storage device within your network. Ensure that this Volume is properly mounted.

  10. Copy over any customised files.
    If any of the below points apply, you will need to migrate from the OLD farmerswife Server package > "Show PackageContents" > ... to the new one.
    a) browse to ..."html_templates"
    => Compare your customised files from within the "html_templates" with the new ones from us.
    There might be new functionality available; you'll need to adapt this. Only migrate the customized files.
    b) Do you use SSL on your farmerswife system?
    => follow your own logged instructions in regards to which of these files "server.pem, skey.pem, keystore, jetty.xml" have to be migrated.
    c) 3rd party integration scripts
    => browse to ... contents > lib > scripts > ...
    Only copy the actual integration script files from the sub-folder within the new farmerswife Server package.

  11. Now copy the new v6.6 license files into the "system" of the NEW farmerswife server.
  12. On the 1st start-up only, right-mouse click and use "Open" to launch the fw Server and allow it to run to start the actual upgrade process.
    Note: The upgrade itself might require a couple of "Forced Shutdowns" for it to finish; this depends on your usage of the system.
    From now on you can simply double click on the NEW farmerswife Server package icon to launch it.
  13. If everything upgrades with no error, remove or update any Dock or Desktop links. And if needed remove the OLD Server package.
    If you have any problems, contact us at support@farmerswife.com.
  14. After the upgrade, start the farmerswife Server as usual.
  15. Once you've successfully upgraded, please let us know by sending a short email to support@farmerswife.com; this is very helpful information for us to provide the best support to you.

Upgrading your Windows or Linux farmerswife Server  

  1. Log In to the host machine with the same admin user as on the initial installation of the fw Server application.

  2. Use the "Full Backup Now" button located on the running farmerswife Server application to perform the "Full Backup" right before the upgrade.

  3. Copy the NEW farmerswife Server installer ".exe" on Windows or ".bin" file to the machine hosting the WIFE Server.

    => On Windows this is a .exe file

    => On Linux this is a ".bin" file; use in a command shell: chmod +x Linux64_... to make it executable; more detailed info here: Server and Client installation Linux

  4. Quit the running farmerswife Server.

  5. IMPORTANT: Check any customised files are read-only so they are not overwritten by default ones
    (e.g. some files within "html_templates", server.pem, skey.pem, keystore, jetty.xml 3rd integration scrips, etc.)
    During the installation process,  choose "Ignore" as Installation Wizard is not allowed to modify these read-only files.

  6. Copy the new v6.6 license files (license.dat and license.txt) into the "system" folder of your farmerswife Server app.

  7. Double click to run the installer file in the same manner as the previous installation (i.e. If you used "Run As Administrator" on Windows, then you need to do so as Admin again).

  8. Follow the instructions of the install wizard.
    IMPORTANT: While installing make sure the previous installation path is correctly set.
    And do a "Full Installation", i.e. ensure to include and install "HTML Templates"!

    If you have any problems, contact us at support@farmerswife.com.

  9. After the upgrade, start the farmerswife Server as usual.
    Once you've successfully upgraded, please let us know by sending a short email to support@farmerswife.com; this is very helpful information for us to provide the best support to you.

Upgrading your farmerswife Clients

IMPORTANT: This latest version of farmerswife contains changes to the upgrade process which require a Full upgrade and manual install of the 6.6 version on your user's Desktop client machines.
The Auto-upgrade functionality is only supported on "64bit" fw client and fw server versions!


For "package distribution" on Windows see below info about "/SILENT" support.

Below are the details of how the upgrade is supported on various servers and clients:
For full installs OS admin user permissions Read, Write AND Execute are necessary.

  • If your farmerswife Server is macOS 64bit (Mojave or Catalina) or Windows (64bit):

    • Windows fw Clients will perform an auto upgrade when they first connect to the upgraded 6.6 fw server.

    • macOS (Catalina and Mojave) clients will perform a full install when they first connect to the upgraded 6.6 server.

  • If your farmerswife Server or fw Clients are or running a macOS version earlier than Mojave, or a Windows 32 bit, or Linux your clients will NOT upgrade automatically! 

Use these direct download links for the farmerswife Client desktop application installers:


macOS 10.14 Mojave & macOS 10.15 Catalina "64bit" fw Client: fw_client_v606.dmg


Windows "64bit" fw Client: fw_client_v606.exe


Linux "32bit" fw Client: fw_client_v606-32bit.bin


For your reference below are the client installation instructions:
- Mac Client Installation
- Windows Client Installation

IMPORTANT when upgrading the WIFE Client on Mac: If you have a mix of Admin and Standard users on a Mac, make sure to be logged-in as a Standard user. Then after mounting the .dmg file, drag-and-drop it to the Applications folder. You then need to authenticate with theAdmin users credentials! The farmerswife Client will not work for the Standard user, if installed while being logged-in as the Admin user. 


IMPORTANT when upgrading the WIFE Client on Windows for "package distribution" purposes:

farmerswife does not support .msi files. For Windows we only provide .exe files.
You can use these "silent commands" when installing/upgrading the farmerswife Client application on Windows: If you use in "cmd" on Windows: "fw_client_606.exe /SILENT" .
It will NOT install in the default location. But it will use the previously last used installation path, most likely is: C:\Program Files (x86)\farmerswife Client.
"/VERYSILENT" will also work.

Please refer to these links and try it out on your end what works best for you:
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/71203/is-it-feasible-sensible-to-wrap-an-innosetup-installer-inside-an-msi-for-easier?rq=1
http://www.jrsoftware.org/ishelp/index.php?topic=setupcmdline

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