Upgrading from earlier versions

In versions of AspDotNetStorefront prior to 10 skin names were numbered (for example "Skin_1"). In version 10 and higher we use more conventional skin names that are a bit more descriptive. When you upgrade your skin to version 10 you have the option to keep your traditional numbered skin name. For more information about upgrading a skin to version 10 see Upgrading a skin from v9 to v10.

Converting from a numbered skin to a skin with a friendly name

1. If you currently have as skin named something like "Skin_1" and you would like to transition to a friendly name you can do that by changing the name of the folder in windows explorer or visual studio.
   So This:
   
   Becomes This:
   
2. Now navigate to the admin panel and assign the the skin to your store via the skin management page (Content > Manage Skins). This will also assign all of your existing customers for the chosen store to the new skin. If you miss this step, your existing customers may not see the new skin, but instead see the default. Also make sure to apply the new skin separately to each store you want to apply the new skin to. This will ensure that each store's customers see the appropriate skin.
   
3. You're done! Enjoy your new friendly skin name. Take the front end for a test drive.

Technical Details

The software is still using integers to keep track of which skin is which in code. In the case of friendly skins we derive the id from the name of the skin folder. We do this by hashing the name into an integer. Because of this, if you look directly in the database at the stores table, you will see that a store's skinId can sometimes be a very long number. We make an exception to this rule for traditional skin names (e.g. Skin_1). For these skins we use the id specified in the skin's folder name.

Forcing a friendly name skin to use a particular skin id.

In case for some highly sophisticated reason you need to specify a skinId for a friendly skin name, we've added a way to force a friendly named skin to a specific id.

1. Open up the /Skin/{SkinName}/SkinInfo/skininfo.xml file.
   <Skin version="1.0">

       <!--You can specify an identifier here if you need to. Make sure it is unique among your other skins.-->

       <!--<Id>1</Id>-->

       <DisplayName>Default</DisplayName>

       <Description>This is the default skin that ships with AspDotNetStorefront. It is a great starting point for your own custom skin.</Description>

       ...

   </Skin>
2. Uncomment (or add if it does not exist) the <Id> node to specify the id you'd like for your skin.
   <Skin version="1.0">

       <!--You can specify an identifier here if you need to. Make sure it is unique among your other skins.-->

       <Id>42</Id>

       <DisplayName>Default</DisplayName>

       <Description>This is the default skin that ships with AspDotNetStorefront. It is a great starting point for your own custom skin.</Description>

       ...

   </Skin>