Migrating RSForm!Pro from Joomla! 1.5 to 2.5 and 3.x

Many of our users are migrating their websites from Joomla! 1.5 to Joomla! 2.5 or 3.x and we felt that we should provide some indications on how this can be done without encountering any issues.

Before migrating your forms, please make sure to first update RSForm!Pro on both installations to the latest available revisions for your Joomla! versions (rev.44 for Joomla! 1.5 and rev. 45 or higher for Joomla! 2.5 and 3.x). You can read more about updating the component here.

There are, basically, two ways in which the migration can be done:

1. Migrate using the Backup / Restore feature

   RSForm!Pro forms, along with their submissions, can be exported / imported using the built-in 'Backup/Restore' feature.

   Exporting is done from Components >> RSForm!Pro >> Backup / Restore >> 'Backup' tab. Just select the form(s) you want to back up and click on 'Generate a Backup File'. A .zip archive containing the form(s) will be generated and you will be prompted by your web browser to save that archive on your hard drive.

   Please note that, if you wish to also backup the forms' submissions you need to check the 'Include submissions in the backup?' option.

   Restoring the form(s) is done from Components >> RSForm!Pro >> Backup / Restore >> 'Restore' tab. All you need to do is browse for the previously generated backup file and click on 'Restore'. Your form(s) and the submissions will be automatically added in your Joomla! installation.

   This method is easy to use, but it can cause some issues when you have forms that are being displayed in articles, modules, menu items, etc. When restoring the form(s), the form id(s) can be changed due to the fact that if the same form id will be found on the new Joomla! installation, a new id will be assigned to the imported form, thus rendering it to no longer appear in the content where it was referenced by it's old id.

2. Migrate by transferring the RSForm!Pro database tables

   To perform a migration in this manner, you will need to use a database editor that incorporates table export features, like phpMyAdmin.

   The RSForm!Pro database table names are all preceded by the database prefix, for example:

   databaseprefix_rsform_forms

   Please note that the number of RSForm!Pro tables that can be found in your Joomla! installation's database may vary depending on what integration plugins you have installed for your component.

   Please remember to:

   1. Rename the migrated tables so that the database prefix reflects the new database in which they were added.
   2. The table structure used in the Joomla! 2.5 and 3.x version of RSForm!Pro is different from the one used in the Joomla! 1.5 version. After importing the tables, please perform an update of the component using the latest version available for Joomla! 2.5 & 3.x so that the table structure is adjusted for the latest component version.

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