Upgrading

Usually upgrade procedure is straightforward: update the package and run migrations. Some versions require special attention from the developer and here we provide upgrade instructions for such cases.

from 3.x to 3.3

django-filer version 3.3 contains a change in security policy for file uploads. By default, binary file or files of unknown type are not allowed to be uploaded. To allow upload of binary files in your project, add

FILER_REMOVE_FILE_VALIDATORS = [
    "application/octet-stream",
]

to your project’s settings. Be aware that binary files always are a security risk. See Checking uploads for viruses using ClamAV for more information on how to configure file upload validators, e.g., running files through a virus checker.

from 2.x to 3.0

The dependency on django-mptt is dropped as of django-filer 3.0.

This implies that three fields are removed from the Folder model:

  • level

  • lft

  • rght

  • tree_id

Those fields were used by django-mptt for performance optimization and are not required any more.

Also, upload restrictions exist for HTML and SVG files by default. Please check Validation of uploaded files for more details.

from 0.9.1 to 0.9.2

From 0.9.2 File.name field is null=False.

Warning

Data migration in 0.9.2 changes existing null values to empty string.

from 0.8.7 to 0.9

0.9 introduces real separation of private and public files through multiple storage backends. Public files are placed inside MEDIA_ROOT, using Djangos default file storage. Private files are now placed in their own location. Unfortunatly the default settings in django-filer 0.8.x made all new uploads “private”, but still placed them inside MEDIA_ROOT in a subfolder called filer_private. In most cases these files are actually meant to be public, so they should be moved.

Note

Quick and Dirty: set FILER_0_8_COMPATIBILITY_MODE=True. It will pick up the old style settings and configure storage backends the way they were in 0.8. This setting is only meant to easy migration and is not intended to be used long-term.

Manually (SQL)

faster for many large files

Fire up the sql-console and change is_public to True on all files in the filer_file table (UPDATE filer_file SET is_public=1 WHERE is_public=0;). The files will still be in MEDIA_ROOT/filer_private/, but serving them should already work. Then you can move the files into filer_private in the filesystem and update the corresponding paths in the database.

Automatic (Django)

Have filer move all files between storages. This might take a while, since django will read each file into memory and write it to the new location. Especially if you are using an external storage backend such as Amazon S3, this might not be an option. Set FILER_0_8_COMPATIBILITY_MODE=True and make sure you can access public and private files. Then run this snippet in the django shell:

from filer.models import File
import sys
for f in File.objects.filter(is_public=False):
    sys.stdout.write(u'moving %s to public storage... ' % f.id)
    f.is_public = True
    f.save()
    sys.stdout.write(u'done\n')

After running the script you can delete the FILER_0_8_COMPATIBILITY_MODE setting. If you want to use secure downloads see Secure Downloads.

from pre-0.9a3 develop to 0.9

In develop pre-0.9a3 file path was written in the database as relative path inside filer directory; since 0.9a3 this is no longer the case so file must be migrate to the new paths. Same disclaimer as 0.8x migration applies: SQL migration is much faster for large datasets.

Manually (SQL)

Use whatever tool to access you database console and insert the correct directory name at the start of the file field. Example:

UPDATE filer_file SET file= 'filer_public/' || file WHERE file LIKE '20%' AND is_public=True;
UPDATE filer_file SET file= 'filer_private/' || file WHERE file LIKE '20%' AND is_public=False;

Then you will have to move by hand the files from the MEDIA_ROOT/filer directory to the new public and private storage directories

Automatic (Django)

Make sure the console user can access/write public and private files. Please note that the “filer/” string below should be modified if your files are not saved in MEDIA_ROOT/filer Then run this snippet in the django shell:

from filer.models import File
import sys
for f in File.objects.filter(is_public=True):
    sys.stdout.write(u'moving %s to public storage... ' % f.id)
    f.is_public = False
    f.file.name = "filer/%s" % f.file.name
    f.save()
    f.is_public = True
    f.save()
    sys.stdout.write(u'done\n')
for f in File.objects.filter(is_public=False):
    sys.stdout.write(u'moving %s to private storage... ' % f.id)
    f.is_public = True
    f.file.name = "filer/%s" % f.file.name
    f.save()
    f.is_public = False
    f.save()
    sys.stdout.write(u'done\n')

Double access modification is needed to enabled automatic file move.