However, what if your current installation is older than 2.0.6? If you still have a copy of the older WordPress version on your local PC, you could use WinMerge (open source, Win32) to identify the changed files and copy them to a directory from which you can then upload them. Simply unzip the latest version of WordPress, run WinMerge, chose File > Open and select the directory containing the previous and current version. Make sure that “Include subfolders” is checked:
WinMerge will then compare all files and show the results in a list. Sort the list by clicking on “ Comparison result” at the top. Now select all files which are different and copy them to an empty directory by right-clicking and choosing Copy > Right to…:
This, of course, assumes you opened the new version’s folder on the right side. You could also unselect certain files you don’t want to change before copying them (e.g. files in the “wp-content” folder).
Now all you have to do is to upload the changed files, overwriting the existing ones. If you want to make a ZIP of changed files available to others, WinMerge can do this, too, but you’ll have to install the 7-zip plugin for this option to become available.
Warning: Using this method you can save a lot of time, but you should be aware of the following limitations:
- It won’t delete any files which have become obsolete. Always scroll down in WinMerge’s sorted list to see if any files are no longer part of the newer version.
- It won’t “repair” any files which might have been compromised (other than the ones you’ve selected for upload).