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  3. Upgrading the Server and Clients

Upgrade Instructions 6.8 SP2

Before you Upgrade

  1. Not yet running version 6.8? Have your "Version 6.8" license at hand
    If you don't have your new farmerswife (fw) license yet, request it from     license@farmerswife.com.
    To be eligible for a 6.8 license you need to have a current support subscription     with us, valid past the release date of 8th June 2022 for the 6.8 Release version. 
    And if you already have your v6.8 license, you do not need to request another one for the upgrade to 6.8 Service Pack 2 (SP2), which was released on27th October 2022.

  2. Check your running farmerswife version
    You can only directly upgrade from v6.7 SP1 to v6.8 SP2 or later.
    Every farmerswife version contains specific upgrade code. To ensure data integrity you may need to do several fw-Server-side-only upgrade steps, if you upgrade from older versions.

    This is the mandatory upgrade path for all farmerswife Server apps since v6.1 SP1:
    • From v6.1 SP1 rev. 16195 to v6.2 SP1 rev. 16524 
    • From v6.2 SP1 rev. 16524 to v6.3 SP1 rev. 17162
    • From v6.3 SP1 rev. 17162 to v6.4 SP2 rev. 17824
    • From v6.4 SP2 rev. 17824 to v6.5 Release rev. 18623
    • From v6.5 Release rev. 18623 to v6.6 SP2 rev. 19691
    • From v6.6 SP2 rev. 19691 to v6.7 SP1 rev. 20130
    • From v6.7 SP1 rev. 20130 to v6.8 SP2 rev. 20613

      Please contact support@farmerswife.com should you have any questions.

  3. IMPORTANT read about the most important changes in this version
    • New native macOS 10.15 Catalina (and later) support
      Since v6.6 we provide "64bit" installers for macOS fw Server and Client, which can be used for macOS Mojave, Catalina, Big Sur and Monterey.

      !! v6.8 is the last version to support the 32bit fw Server and Client apps on Mac and Windows !!
      If you are running older OS versions than Mojave, you will need to use the legacy "32bit" fw Client installer file; please contact farmerswife support to request the download link. And please consider phasing out old Macs which can't be upgraded to Mojave.

      IMPORTANT: First check the current version of the fw Server host Operating System (OS)!
      macOS 10.14 Mojave is the best practice starting point for the fw Server app to be smoothly upgraded on Mac from versions below v6.6!

    • 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 "Full fw Client app installer download 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     Release installers page and browse into the "6.8 Service Pack 2" folder.
    Download the farmerswife Server Installer for your Operating System, and the farmerswife Client Installers for the fw Client app 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 farmerswife Server on macOS Mojave, Catalina, Big Sur and Monterey

  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) Have you SSLed your farmerswife system in the past?
    => use your own logged instructions in regards to which of these files "server.pem, skey.pem, keystore, jetty.xml" have to be migrated or protected during the upgrade; if you SSLed them, they should have been manually set to be "Read Only" by you in the past.
    IMPORTANT: Since v6.8 the "jetty.xml" is no longer used for locally SSLing the built-in Jetty web server!
    Use these updated SSLing-instructions.
    c) 3rd party integration scripts ... browse to ... fw Server app package > Show Package Contents > 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 v6.8 license files into the "system" of the NEW farmerswife server.
    NOTE: If you are upgrading from v6.8 Release rev. 20523 to v6.8 SP2 rev. 20613 then you can simply move forward with the upgrade, since you already are using a valid v6.8 license.
  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 hosted 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 during the upgrade process (e.g. some files within "html_templates", or within /lib/scripts?)
    Have you SSLed your farmerswife system in the past?
    Use your own logged instructions in regards to which of these files "server.pem, skey.pem, keystore, jetty.xml" have to be migrated or protected during the upgrade; if you SSLed them, they should have been manually set to be "Read Only" by you in the past.
    IMPORTANT: Since v6.8 the "jetty.xml" is no longer used for locally SSLing the built-in Jetty web server!
    Use these updated SSLing-instructions.
    During the installation process, choose "Ignore" as the Installation Wizard is not allowed to modify these read-only files.

  6. Copy the new v6.8 license files (license.dat and license.txt) into the "system" folder of your farmerswife Server app.
    NOTE: If you are upgrading from v6.8 Release rev. 20523 to v6.8 SP2 rev. 20613 then you can simply move forward with the upgrade, since you already are using a valid v6.8 license.

  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 installation on your user's Desktop client machines.
The auto-upgrade functionality is only supported on "64bit" fw client and fw server versions!

!! v6.8 is the last version to support the 32bit fw Server and Client apps on Mac and Windows !!


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, Catalina, Big Sur, Monterey) or Windows (64bit):

    • Windows fw Clients will perform an auto upgrade when they first connect to the upgraded v6.8 fw Server.

    • macOS (Mojave, Catalina, Big Sur, Monterey) fw clients will perform a full install by downloading the installer .dmg when they first connect to the upgraded v6.8 fw 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! 

!! v6.8 is the last version to support the 32bit fw Server and Client apps on Mac and Windows !!

Are you using a 32bit version of the farmerswife application? This will be unsupported in the next version of farmerswife later this year. Please contact support@farmerswife.com or your Systems Administrator to upgrade.


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


macOS Mojave, Catalina, Big Sur and Monterey "64bit" fw Client Retina optimized: fw_client_v608-SP2.dmg


macOS Mojave, Catalina, Big Sur and Monterey "64bit" fw Client non-retina: fw_client_v608-SP2-nonretina.dmg


Windows "64bit" fw Client: fw_client_v608-SP2.exe


Linux "32bit" fw Client: 

Please contact support@farmerswife.com if you need use the fw Client app on Linux.


For your reference below are the fw 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 the Admin 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_608.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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