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Main chapters

  1. LimeSurvey Cloud vs LimeSurvey CE
  2. LimeSurvey Cloud - Quick start guide
  3. LimeSurvey CE - Installation
  4. How to design a good survey (Guide)
  5. Getting started
  6. LimeSurvey configuration
  7. Introduction - Surveys
  8. View survey settings
  9. View survey menu
  10. View survey structure
  11. Introduction - Questions
  12. Introduction - Question Groups
  13. Introduction - Surveys - Management
  14. Survey toolbar options
  15. Multilingual survey
  16. Quick start guide - ExpressionScript
  17. Advanced features
  18. General FAQ
  19. Troubleshooting
  20. Workarounds
  21. License
  22. Version change log
  23. Plugins - Advanced
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Upgrade from version 6 to 7

From LimeSurvey Manual

This page contains changes which are not marked for translation.
Other languages:
  • English


LimeSurvey 7 Major Version

LimeSurvey 7 is released in several steps. Each step focuses on a specific part of the platform and is documented separately.

This page serves as an overview of the major changes introduced with LimeSurvey 7 and links to the relevant documentation pages.

Major changes in LimeSurvey 7

Response table and fieldname refactor

LimeSurvey 7 introduces a structural cleanup of how response tables and fieldnames are generated. This change improves consistency and makes the platform easier to maintain and extend.

More details:


Question Editor

LimeSurvey 7 also introduces a new Question Editor with an updated user interface and improved workflows for creating and managing questions.


More details:

Requirements

LimeSurvey 6 LimeSurvey 7
PHP 7.4 or higher 8.1 or higher (8.3 recommended)
MySQL 8.0 or higher 8.0 or higher
MariaDB 10.3.38 or higher 10.3.38 or higher
PostgreSQL 12 or higher 14 or higher
MSSQL 2016 or higher 2019 or higher
URL format get or path path, required for the new editor

You do not need Node.js or npm. The new editor is included in the LimeSurvey package and is ready to use.

Make a full backup of your files and your database before you begin, and test the upgrade on a copy of your installation first. Once the upgrade has run, there is no way back other than restoring that backup.

Plan a maintenance window. LimeSurvey switches the site into maintenance mode while the database is being upgraded, and on installations with a lot of response data this can take a while.

Recommended: Use our ComfortUpdate service

The easiest and safest way to upgrade is to use our ComfortUpdate service. It downloads and installs the new version for you, so you do not have to replace any files manually.

If you prefer to upgrade by hand, follow the steps below instead.

Upgrading manually

  1. Back up your files and database, and put the site into maintenance mode.
  2. Keep the following files and folders from your old installation:
    • application/config/config.php
    • application/config/security.php
    • application/config/allowed_hosts.php
    • the upload/ folder, which holds your uploaded files, user themes and user plugins
    • the plugins/ folder, if you installed plugins into it by hand
  3. Download the LimeSurvey 7 package and update the installation using one of the following methods:
    1. Delete the old files first. Move the files listed above out of the way, delete everything else in your LimeSurvey directory, unpack the new package into it and put the kept files back.
    2. Or copy the new files over the old ones. Unpack the new package over your existing installation and let it overwrite what is already there, leaving the files listed above untouched.
  4. With either option, use the new .htaccess from the package, as the 6.x one does not work with the new editor. Afterwards, empty tmp/runtime/ so no cached data from version 6 is left behind.
  5. Set the URL format to path in application/config/config.php.
  6. Make sure your web server serves the /editor/ folder directly and passes the Authorization header through to PHP. More details: New Question Editor in LimeSurvey 7
  7. Run the database upgrade. LimeSurvey detects the older database version and offers to upgrade it. Confirm, and let it finish without interrupting it.
  8. When it completes, switch maintenance mode off and work through the checklist below.

After the upgrade

  • Check the version number in the footer of the admin pages.
  • Re-activate the plugins you need, one by one.
  • Open a survey and confirm that the new editor loads.
  • Run one full test response through each active survey, covering conditions, quotas, e-mails and the end URL.

Troubleshooting

"Action needed" message about the URL format. The URL format is still get. Change it to path and clear tmp/runtime/.

The editor loads but stays empty. The Authorization header is not reaching PHP.

/editor/ shows a LimeSurvey page or a "not found" error. Check your web server configuration and make sure the /editor/ folder is served directly instead of being routed through LimeSurvey.

"You cannot use this theme with the new question editor". The survey uses a theme that is not based on fruity_twentythree. Switch the theme, or continue in the classic editor.

A plugin causes errors after being re-activated. It is not compatible with LimeSurvey 7. Deactivate it and check with its maintainer.

Notes

Each major change is documented on its own page. This helps keep the documentation focused and makes it easier to find the information relevant to your setup.

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