A while ago we conducted a ZK 9 Release & Upgrade Assistance survey. We received various feedback and encouragements from you, thank you!

We are glad that a lot of you are excited about the new release and recognize our effort in providing new components and features in new versions for improved usability and performance.

On the other hand, we also notice that there are some common misunderstandings preventing you from upgrading your older ZK projects. We’d like to take the chance and address the most common questions here:

FAQ 1 – Theme Compatibility

Many users have not yet upgraded their project because they were concerned about theme compatibility.

Background: ZK 8.5+ has a new default theme

Since ZK 8.5 we have released a new default theme called iceblue. It has a modern flat design and comes with bigger margins and paddings. However if you are not ready to use the new default theme, you can fall back to previous themes, or a compatible theme. Here are some typical cases:

Q: I like the new iceblue theme but the paddings and margins are too large and my current layout breaks…

A: Use the compact themes. Each new theme has a corresponding compact theme. For example iceblue-compact has a similar design as the iceblue theme, while having a smaller font-size, padding and margin compatible with the previous themes. Which means if you are upgrading from an older breeze, sapphire, or silvertail-based project, you can apply the compact theme directly to refresh the look & feel without having to adjust the layout.

In addition to the default iceblue, we have added 23 more new themes since ZK 8.5 and 8.6. If you are with ZK EE, you have full access to all the 24 standard/compact new themes.

Q: What if I have custom themes?

A: If your custom theme was based on  breeze, sapphire or silvertail, you can fall back to one of these themes but still upgrade your ZK version to the latest. Here’s how you can fall back.

To upgrade custom themes, we suggest using the zkThemeTemplate. If you already have a theme based on zkThemeTemplate then you can benefit from the continuous/incremental compile during upgrades. If not, you first have to migrate into zkThemeTemplate to benefit from simper upgrades for future updates.

Q: What about Atlantic and other themes?

A: Atlantic themes are also updated whenever ZK is being updated, check out Github.

Q: Some of the add-ons (ex. ZK Spreadsheet) do not seem to be compatible?

A: Most of the ZK add-ons are compatible with latest ZK version. However, ZK Spreadsheet 3.x is best compatible with the previous default breeze theme. If your project includes ZK Spreadsheet and you wish to upgrade to latest ZK, please fall back to breeze theme. As an alternative you can upgrade ZK Spreadsheet to our latest Keikai Spreadsheet which works with all latest ZK 8 and ZK 9 themes.

FAQ 2 – MVC and MVVM?

Some users were worried that their MVC project will no longer work after upgrade.

Q: Do I have to switch to MVVM after upgrading to latest ZK versions?

A: No, MVC is still supported, so no worries. MVVM automatically does the data binding for you, and many of our customers love MVVM, that is why we promote MVVM over MVC. However it is totally fine to use MVC in new ZK versions. If you prefer MVC or have a MVC-based project you can stick to it when upgrading.

FAQ 3 – Where to look for major changes?

Q: It seems that some packages are missing after the upgrade? Where are they documented?

A: Packages and features are often not removed but being moved to a different package. Ex. ZK Databinding 1 is moved to a legacy module called “zkplus-legacy” since ZK 9. Read the Release Note in Github and search for “Upgrade Notes” under each release to locate these important changes.

More Questions?

We’ve contacted individual participants regarding their specific questions or comments provided in the survey. If your upgrade question is not addressed here, no problem, send us your question or comments at [email protected] and we’ll try to help.

😀 Winner Announcement 😀

Last but not least, it is time to announce the prize draw winners!

We have done a drawing against customers that participated in the survey. Each winner will get a package from us which includes tumbler, T-shirts and a couple of other ZK-themed goods.

The winners are:

E**it
I**ESA I**
O** B**k
P**nant
V**View

Winners will be contacted by email, so remember to check your inbox in the next few days!

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