Using Drupal to present your genealogy

I get a lot of emails asking how this site is created so I have decided to share what is behind www.aussierhonda.com

The site, as it is now, is presented using the CMS (Content Management System) Drupal. I have tried several different CMS's over the years and whilst learning Drupal is not an easy task I find it a wonderful system.

In the past I have integrated phpgedview to display our family gedcom but the sign in between the two was a nightmare so it was removed, not because I didn't like phpgedview (In fact I love it) but purely because of the lack of complete integration with Drupal.

Now I use TNG (The Next Generation) by Darrin Lythgoe which is also a wonderful CMS for our genealogy. The fact that it integrates well with Drupal is an asset. Ah you can't see where it is? Sorry, it is for for family members only to view, see what I mean, it integrates wonderfully ;) One day I might get adventurous and set up an alternate sub-domain and allow public access.

Back to this site, with Drupal you get a base (out of the box) or 'core' setup and then you add on the modules that you need to improve the functionality of the site.

You can view the current modules I have installed on the powered by drupal page (opens in a new window so you don't get lost).

Gosh, no wonder I shudder every time I have to update the core! In fact in the early days (almost) every time I upgraded I would bugger up the site and have to start from scratch and copy and paste everything back purely because I didn't know how to back step and fix what I had done, now I have mastered both. We have this rule in my family "If you want to find out how to break something let mum at it!"

If you are like I was - here my procedures to make sure I get it right every time.

NB I use these procedures with file manager in my control panel at Bluehost

1. Turn you site onto maintenance mode admin/settings/site-maintenance
2. Switch main and admin theme back to garland admin/build/themes
3. Disable all modules that are not core admin/build/modules (I take a screen shot to make it easier to enable the correct modules)
4. rename sites and files folders to current number e.g. 5.6-sites 5.6-files
5. back up or rename .htaccess and robots.txt if you have modified them eg 5.6.htaccess
6. delete the original 'core' install (I compare against the new install and delete everything that is in there)
7. upload drupal –x.x.tar.gz to your core install
8. unpack tar
9. rename 5.6-files to files (I only changed this directory as a precaution)
10. copy across content from old 5.6-sites to new /sites/ directory
11. Enable modules
12. run update.php

CHECK YOU CHANGED THE THEME!

Apply any patches to core that you may have previously used e.g. anonymous-contact patch

Check that it upgraded by looking at the CHANGELOG.txt

I hope this helps those newbie's out there tackling Drupal and wanting to set up a genealogy site as well.

Good luck, Rhonda