How QCFUM Preserves Data During Upgrade, Downgrade, Uninstall, and Reinstall

QCFUM 2.0.4 follows a preservation-first lifecycle. Normal upgrades repair forward, plan downgrades lock unavailable execution without deleting saved premium configuration, and uninstall intentionally preserves QCFUM-owned business/configuration tables for recovery or reinstall.

That design reduces accidental data loss, but it does not replace a current Joomla backup before structural extension work.

Upgrade: Repair Forward, Do Not Rebuild from Scratch

The component package uses Joomla’s upgrade install method. On update, QCFUM verifies and repairs its canonical tables/columns before ordered SQL updates run, then repeats idempotent checks afterward. Existing QCFUM tables are not dropped, truncated, or replaced merely to bring the schema forward.

Normal update practice is therefore to install the current outer package over the existing version after taking a site backup.

Downgrade: Preserve Configuration, Gate Runtime Access

If Effective tier drops—for example after a Max Preview ends or a paid entitlement changes—QCFUM keeps saved premium configuration. Extra Profiles and Invite Packs, HTML-email configuration, Custom CSS, and other higher-tier settings are not automatically deleted simply because the current plan cannot use them.

The lower tier controls execution and allowance. When entitlement returns, preserved configuration can become usable again subject to current source rules and ACL.

Uninstall: Remove Integration, Preserve QCFUM Data Tables

The component’s uninstall policy deliberately removes executable integration state and QCFUM Scheduled Task rows while preserving QCFUM-owned business/configuration tables and saved customer data. The Scheduled Tasks plugin uninstall also removes QCFUM task rows.

Joomla still removes the installed extension files/package members. “Data preserved” does not mean the extension remains runnable after uninstall.

Reinstall: Reconnect to Preserved State

Reinstalling the current package recreates any missing canonical QCFUM tables without replacing existing tables, applies schema repairs, seeds/verifies required defaults, restores current package members, and recreates/repairs the Scheduled Tasks integration. This is why reinstall can recover an accidentally removed executable installation without requiring the database to be wiped first.

What Uninstall Is Not

Uninstall is not QCFUM’s data-erasure workflow. Do not uninstall/reinstall expecting all Profiles, invitations, created-user tracking, settings, email templates, or other QCFUM-owned records to disappear. If a true data-removal operation is ever required, treat it as a separate controlled database/privacy task with a verified backup and explicit scope.

Safe Lifecycle Practice

  • Back up Joomla before every major update, uninstall, or manual database intervention.
  • Use install-over-existing for normal updates.
  • After a plan change, diagnose feature locks before deleting preserved configuration.
  • After reinstall, check Status, entitlement-task integrity, Scheduled Automation, version, and the frontend Dashboard.
  • Never drop QCFUM tables as a routine update troubleshooting step.

Community Discussion

Want to compare Joomla user-onboarding workflows, share practical QCFUM tips, or discuss how other administrators use this feature? Visit the QC Frontend User Manager Community. For private support, bug reports, account-specific entitlement problems, or feature requests, use the QuantaCade support system.