Preparing for Upgrade to K4 6.6r1

I realize we are behind the curve, running K4 v6.4r4-2 (love the numbering system). We are not moving to version 6.7 yet because I want to be sure we are moving to a known stable version of K4. We are looking forward to having an editorial web client that does not use Java and we should move to 6.7 once it is battle tested.

The upgrade instructions for v6.6 are clearer than past versions. This is a definite improvement, I do not want to spend $2,000 for hand holding. I have been through K4 v6.x upgrades often enough to be comfortable doing it on my own. Fortunately there is no need for us to upgrade MySQL now. I will upgrade MySQL after we have upgraded K4. I am concerned that at some point K4 will no longer support our version of MySQL.

The only step I found hazy was removal of Tomcat and preservation of any Tomcat custom preferences. The upgrade document refers to the Install document for removing Tomcat but I did not find the reference there. I have requested information from MEI. I assume that Tomcat installation might vary on different platforms. UPDATE. On the Mac I just need to delete the Tomcat folder in the K4_6_Server folder in the Applications folder. I will keep the context.xml file in the conf folder since it looks like it was modified and the port was changed from the default.

I'm reviewing the release notes of the versions following 6.4. A few features/fixes that might interest you:

  • Version 6.5 brings in Simplified Task Workflow that is similar to the workflow in K4 5.9. You can switch back and forth between the regular task workflow and the simplified one.
  • Version 6.5 also sees the return of the K4 Revision Manager.
  • In the Query Panel you can filter by any text column.
  • 6.6 allows for assets to be placed on a file server instead of placing them in the K4 database.
  • Some batch editing is possible.
  • Users can be exported from one publication and imported into another.
  • Automatic reconnect by clients. This is important because previously after losing a connection a user reconnecting could use an extra license.
  • DPS integration seems to be improved with every K4 release.
  • So many bug fixes that I'm not going to mention any of them.