One of our users reported an issue where their location import stopped working after updating the Power add on to a new release. This was never an issue for our SaaS users given the strict nature of the directory configuration, WordPress version, and PHP version running on that platform.

If a user downloads a new version of the Power add on (a zip file) and already has a prior version of the slp-power.zip file in the download directory on their laptop, the browser may create a new file named slp-power-2.zip without direct notification or confirmation it has done so.

If the user uploads this file to the WordPress installation it will create a NEW installation of the Power plugin at ./wp-content/plugins/slp-power-2/. This may or may not reside alongside a version of the older installation at ./wp-content/plugins/slp-power/ which is the standard installation path.

Even if a user deactivates and deletes the existing Power add on , which is best practice, before uploading the new slp-power-2.zip , the new path for the plugin will not match the prior path.

This causes the JavaScript for location imports included in the Power add on to not be loaded.

While some users may still encounter this issue depending on how their servers are configured (WordPress version, PHP version, and other variables can impact how the plugins behave).

There is a patch out in the latest version of the Store Locator Plus® WordPress plugin v2511.05.01 and Power add on v2511.05.01 that make this process less fragile. That will alleviate issues on some server configurations, but best practices should still be followed when updating plugins.

Premier users can login to their account at the SLP WordPress plugin store, scroll to the bottom of the page and click the downloads link to get the latest versions of all SLP plugins.

Tired of dealing with plugin version issues, server issues, and Google API billings? Try the Store Locator Plus SaaS edition. It works with WordPress, no plugins required, as well as most other online presence services including Squarespace, Wix, Weebly, and others.

Workaround

Make sure the downloaded zip files for the plugin follow the standard naming convention:

  • SLP plugin should be named store-locator-plus.zip
  • Power add on should be named slp-power.zip

Deactivate and delete the installed versions of any plugins that are being updated.

Upload and install the most recent plugin zip file.

The Issue

If you upload slp-power-12.zip to a WordPress site your new power directory will be ./wp-content/plugins/slp-power-12/

That is NOT and issue if you’ve NEVER had power installed before (my plugins detect whatever random directory you put in the first time).

However if you UPDATE an existing Power plugin that was already installed at wp-content/plugins/slp-power with a zip file named slp-power-12.zip the app will break. First of all you’ll likely end up with TWO power plugins listed in your plugin directory. Out of habit you will likely delete the older one, which inevitably will be the one in wp-content/plugins/slp-power, leaving the revised path of wp-content/plugins/slp-power-12/ as the new path.

Plugin Update Best Practices

Rename your zip files to the base name only:

  • store-locator-plus.zip (or store-locator-le.zip if you are an original old-school SLP user from version 5 or earlier)
  • slp-power.zip
  • slp-experience.zip
  • slp-premier.zip

If it won’t let you, sort folder on your computer by name and delete the old copies…. then rename the downloaded zip file t one of the above.

Install the properly named zip file on WordPress:

First delete the original plugin (deactivate/delete) then upload the new zip file.

This process MIGHT work with the inline update like the pic below, but some systems cannot handle the duplicate directory on the server automatically (some do, but not all) .   Thus it is safer to deactivate/delete first versus using the “fancy updater” that does an inline replace in WordPress.