I do as most have suggested here. I keep a local copy of all the files on my hard drive at home that mirrors what's on my server. Any time there is a minor update, I extract the files to a separate directory and then use scootersoftware.com to do a line-by-line comparrison between the new version and my "hacked" version.
I actually have two boards on my server. One is a test board that has all of my hacks, two categories, and three boards which I use to "beta" test any hack before rolling it out to my production site. I've learned the hard way that you don't throw something into production that you haven't tested. It makes for bad business. []/forum/images/icons/wink.gif[/]
I too will be installing v6.0 on my test board and beating the *snot* out of it to find any problems. Once the final version is released, I'll add all of my various hacks back in, modifying those that need to be modifed as necessary.
I also keep a directory on my hard drive that contains the install instructions (some original, some I've cleaned up) for any hacks I've installed. That way if I have to do a clean install I can quickly refer back to the instructions to re-implement any hacks. That's what I'll end up using for v6.0.
At any rate, welcome to the wonderful world of "tweaking". I swear we all need to start a "Tweakers Anonymous" group. []/forum/images/icons/laugh.gif[/]
