Support #25858
openLike to make substantial updates to our library blog
0%
Description
Stephen Klein, GC librarian, writes:
"I would like to make substantial updates to our library blog on the Commons without experimenting on the live site. Would it be possible to provide either of the following?
A test site on the Commons that duplicates our current site, including its content, settings, theme, and activated plugins.or
A copy of the database and the relevant theme and plugin files so I can set up a separate development environment. I could ask GC IT about providing access to their MYSQL server or run it locally using XAMPP/MAMP.
Ideally, I would appreciate both options so I could work locally and then share the changes on a test site on the Commons for review.
In addition to updating the theme, I would like to review our activated plugins. We seem to have little institutional knowledge of why many of them were enabled or whether they are still needed."
Files
Updated by Marilyn Weber 30 days ago
So far I've directed him to https://help.commons.gc.cuny.edu/how-to-create-or-clone-a-site/
Updated by Marilyn Weber 30 days ago
Not so fast! He replies "Thank you! This appears to be a fantastic possible option. If the clone works, then this request might not need to move forward. I will explore.
If it works and I can delete and re-clone the site as often as needed, this would meet my needs rather than moving forward with my original request. Stay tuned."
Updated by Marilyn Weber 30 days ago
Unfortunately, he's updated:
"It's such a 'heavy' site that it failed.
I tried to do this with Tools=>Export/Tools Import before reaching out to you."
See attached.
Updated by Boone Gorges 29 days ago
I'll take a few minutes next week to generate a clone manually.
As for the local copy, this is not straightforward to do for a number of reasons. Let's start with the Commons-based clone - hopefully that'll be enough.
Updated by Boone Gorges 26 days ago
I've managed to create a clone of gclibrary.commons at https://gclibraryclone.commons.gc.cuny.edu/. I've added Stephen as an administrator.
The nature of the cloning process and of the gclibrary site means that media content isn't always preserved in predictable ways. There are cases where, for example, posts on the source site have Featured Images, but those featured images are not properly associated on the destination site. I'm hopeful this is not a dealbreaker in terms of Stephen's initial experimentation, because it's a difficult problem to work around due to various aspects of the Commons infrastructure. If he's got to have a full-fidelity copy, I'll need more time to figure out how best to make that happen.