> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.ecomelixir.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Updating manually when the merger fails

> Move your settings and page layouts into a new theme version by hand when the dashboard updater cannot do it

The [theme updater](/updating) in the Elixir dashboard handles updates for you. When it fails or
cannot reach your store, you can move to a new version by hand: upload the new version alongside
your current one, then copy your settings and page layouts across.

<Warning>
  This is the fallback, not the normal route. Try the [theme updater](/updating) first. Nothing here
  touches your live theme until the final publish step, so your store keeps trading throughout.
</Warning>

## What actually moves

Your configuration lives in JSON files. Copying those is the whole job.

| File | Holds |
| - | - |
| `config/settings_data.json` | Every theme setting: colours, fonts, spacing, and your licence key |
| `templates/*.json` | The sections on each page, their order, and every setting inside them |

Everything else, the section and snippet code, is what you are updating, so it stays as it comes.

## Step 1: Upload the new version

<Steps>
  <Step title="Download the new version">
    Get the theme ZIP from **Premade Templates** in the [Elixir dashboard](https://app.ecomelixir.com/templates).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Upload it to Shopify">
    In Shopify admin, go to **Online Store → Themes → Import theme → Upload ZIP file**.
    It uploads unpublished, so your live theme is untouched.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Your Theme Library now holds both: the version you are running, and the new one.

## Step 2: Open both themes side by side

Open two browser tabs, both on **Online Store → Themes → ⋯ → Edit code**:

* one on your **current** theme, the source
* one on the **new** theme, the destination

You will be copying from the first into the second.

## Step 3: Copy the files across

For `config/settings_data.json` first, then each file in `templates/`:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Copy from the old theme">
    Open the file, select all, copy.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Paste into the new theme">
    Open the same file in the new theme, select all, paste over it.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save">
    Save before moving to the next file.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  Template filenames can differ between versions. If a file exists in your old theme but not the
  new one, or has been renamed, there is nothing to paste it into. Skip it and rebuild that page in
  the editor afterwards.
</Note>

## Step 4: Fix the save errors

This is the part that catches people out. Some settings change type between versions, and Shopify
refuses to save a file whose values no longer match the new schema.

You will see errors like:

```
Setting 'option_1_compare_at_price' must be a valid number
Setting 'option_4_custom_price' must be a string
```

They come one at a time. For each:

1. Use the editor's search to find the setting named in the error.
2. Correct the value to the type it asks for.
   * **"must be a valid number"**: an empty `""` becomes `0`
   * **"must be a string"**: a bare `0` becomes `""`
3. Save again.

Repeat until the file saves cleanly. Quantity break price fields are the usual culprits, and there
are often several in the same file.

<Tip>
  Fix every instance of the setting, not just the first. If a template has four quantity break
  options, the same field appears four times and Shopify only reports one per attempt.
</Tip>

## Step 5: Re-enter your licence key

The new theme may still show **License Required** even after the settings are copied. Open the new
theme in the theme editor, go to **Theme settings → License**, paste your key from the
[Licenses page](https://app.ecomelixir.com/licenses), and save.

See [Activate your license](/guides/license-activation) if it does not take.

## Step 6: Check, then publish

Preview the new theme before publishing anything:

* Homepage sections present and in the right order
* Product page, including quantity breaks, variants, and the buy button
* Cart drawer opens and reaches checkout
* Mobile layout
* Any custom CSS you added in theme settings

When it looks right, publish it. Keep the old theme in your library until you are confident.

<Warning>
  Custom code you added directly to theme files does not travel with the JSON. If you edited Liquid,
  CSS, or JavaScript in the theme's code, reapply those changes by hand and re-check them, since
  class names and section structure can change between versions. See [Custom CSS](/guides/custom-css).
</Warning>

## Troubleshooting

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="A file will not save no matter what I change">
    Read the error text exactly. It names one setting and the type it expects. If you have fixed
    that one and it still fails, another instance of the same setting is further down the file.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="A page is empty after pasting">
    That template either did not exist in the new version or is named differently. Rebuild the page
    in the theme editor rather than forcing the old file in.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="The theme says License Required">
    Copying `settings_data.json` should bring the key across, but re-enter it in
    **Theme settings → License** if the message persists. Confirm the licence is assigned to this
    store's `.myshopify.com` domain.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Something looks different from before">
    Sections change between versions. Open the section in the editor and check its settings rather
    than editing the JSON further.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>


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