The obvious and painless solution is to upload the files directly to the server using FTP and then control the blog from within wp-admin. In this case, though I knew the simple solution, I wanted to get to the root of the problem. It turns out that weird permission issues with IIS and WordPress and in some extreme cases such as mine, can be solved with simple but somewhat hidden features to get the desired results.

A Google search revealed that adding a few lines of code to the end of your wp-config.php can solve most issues. As from Firdouss.com guide, try this solution first. Open up your production wp-config.php, find the end of the file and add the following lines at the end. Then save the file, upload to your server and try the process again.

if(is_admin()) {
	add_filter('filesystem_method', create_function('$a', 'return "direct";' ));
	define( 'FS_CHMOD_DIR', 0751 );
}

If that does not solve your problem, you can use WordPress constants to solve your problem. It turns out (thanks to a comment on the Firdouss.com guide) that there are a host of constants that can be added to wp-config that can fix broken upload and install/upgrade problems among other things. That link to the Codex contains a detailed explanation of the constants and what they should be set to. Please refer to that link since it will continue to be updated. In my case, I had to add the following to the end of my wp-config.php file. I could also have modified the above code to return ftpext instead.

define('FS_METHOD', 'ftpext');

Now in my case, there were other permission issues that had to be resolved. Our Plesk install had a borked permission system and in order for uploads to be deleted after they are unzipped and copied (WP need to switch to a move), I had to also CHMOD the files. So I ended up with the following code at the end of wp-config.

if(is_admin()) {
	add_filter('filesystem_method', create_function('$a', 'return "ftpext";' ));
	define( 'FS_CHMOD_DIR', 0755 );
}

Now the uploads/upgrades/installs work fine. YMMV.

As for the weird installation issue, it turns out that when I uploaded the WordPress install files on the server and visited the URI, I got redirected to the following along with a white screen of death with no errors.

http://example.com/index.php/wp-admin/install.php

I needed to change that URI manually to the following for the install to continue. That was all.

http://example.com/wp-admin/install.php

Do you have any other suggestions? Are there any tricks that have helped you get similar issues resolved?

One of the features that I really like is the ability to bulk update my plug-ins.  In previous versions of WordPress you had to update each plug-in individually by clicking on the automatic upgrade link in the WordPress plug-in, entering your FTP credentials and then waiting for the update to happen. If you had a lot of plug-ins this process could take a while to do.

To utilize the new bulk update process go to the Tools>Upgrade menu in the admin panel: 

There you will find a screen that looks something like this":

Select the check boxes for all the plug-ins you want to update and then press the Upgrade Plug-in button at the bottom and you will then be taken to a dialog box your familiar with to provide your FTP credentials. Once you have plugged those in the upgrade process will happen and once it is done you will be presented with this results page:

That is it for the process.  The only change I would recommend in a future update to WordPress is to place a link for this functionality on the actual plug-in admin page – maybe in the bulk action drop down menu.  From what I could see this bulk update option is only available on the main upgrade page.

So what is your favorite new feature of WordPress 2.9?

However, WordPress 2.0 was revolutionary in many ways.  Think back to WordPress 2.0 and how that changed WordPress as we knew it at the time. Some of those changes we now take for granted included:

• Completely Redesigned Backend
• Included Spam and Backup Plugins
• Inline Uploading
• Faster Posting
• Post Preview
• User Roles labelled
• Header Customization

WordPress 2.0 certainly set us on the path to the WordPress we know and love today.  Congratulations 2.0 on a terrific service life – rest in peace “Duke”.

Time For An Upgrade?

What does this mean for you as an individual blogger, website developer or site admin?  Well the first thing it means in my opinion is that you should get upgraded to the latest and greatest version of WordPress which is version 2.8.2 and was mentioned on this site about two weeks ago by Keith – WordPress 2.8.2 Security Update.

Although it was published to fix a XSS vulnerability it has been out in the blogosphere for long enough to reveal any issues with the fix.  In fact for me it fixed an issue of posts not being published when they are scheduled ahead of time.  Plus I am a geek and like all my stuff to be the most up to date they can be

What about you though? Have you updated to the latest version of WordPress? Have you made the jump to version 2.8 at least?  What keeps you from making that leap to the latest version of WordPress?

If you have open registration on your blog, the WordPress.org team recommends that you upgrade your install to WordPress 2.6.2 A handful of other fixes are also included in this upgrade. Here is a list of changed files.