How to handle customized widgets after patch

[archie5]

Hi,

1. We have a few OOB widgets that were customized and I also see some patches applied on it in the version history. Do the patches apply to the OOB version that's why we still see it in version history? Or do they apply on the customized version? How does this work? 

2. Should we revert to base system widget? By doing this do we get the latest patch?

3. What's the best way to customize and also have the fixes of the patches? 

[Ankur Bawiskar · Accepted solution]

@archie5 

Responses inline

1. We have a few OOB widgets that were customized and I also see some patches applied on it in the version history. Do the patches apply to the OOB version that's why we still see it in version history? Or do they apply on the customized version? How does this work? -> Patches are applied only to the Out-of-the-Box (OOB) version of widgets. If a widget has been customized, the customized version does not receive patches automatically. The version history shows patches applied to the OOB widget, but these changes do not affect your customized widget unless you manually incorporate them into your custom version

2. Should we revert to base system widget? By doing this do we get the latest patch?

Reverting to the base system widget will restore the OOB version, including all patches and updates applied to it. However, this will overwrite any customizations you have made. If you need both the latest patches and your customizations, reverting is not ideal unless you plan to reapply your changes after reverting

3. What's the best way to customize and also have the fixes of the patches? - Best practices you can follow are below

• Clone the OOB Widget: Before customizing, clone the OOB widget. This ensures that your customizations are isolated from updates to the original widget.
• Monitor Updates: Keep track of updates and patches applied to the OOB widget by reviewing its version history.
• Manually Merge Fixes: When a patch is applied to the OOB widget, review and manually incorporate relevant fixes into your cloned/customized widget.
• Testing: Regularly test your custom widget against its OOB counterpart to ensure compatibility and functionality after updates.

If my response helped please mark it correct and close the thread so that it benefits future readers.

[Robert H · Accepted solution]

Hello @archie5 ,

I said "custom/cloned" because nowadays it's not possible to customize OOTB widgets. Yours must have been customized years ago when that was still allowed.

But anyway, the rule that I mentioned is still true: as soon as you customize something it will no longer be updated when patching/upgrading. You own it now and are responsible for keeping it up to date and functional.

If the widget is broken now you should revert it to the OOTB version. If you still need the customized behavior you can then clone it and add your custom code in the cloned widget.

Regards,

Robert

[Robert H]

Hello @archie5 ,

1. The patches will only be applied to the OOTB version of the widget, not to your customized copy.

2. If you no longer require the customizations that you made then yes, you should revert to OOTB and this will ensure the widget will always be kept up to date automatically when patching.

3. If you still need the customizations you can use the following instructions to compare your customized widget to the patched OOTB one, and merge the latest OOTB code into your customized widget.

Regards,

Robert