Backdrop 1.4.0 includes a built-in Redirect module. For existing sites that have upgraded from a previous version of Backdrop, this module must be enabled to use its new functionality. This can be done by visiting the modules page (admin/modules), and checking the box for Redirect.
If your site previously was using the contributed module version of Redirect module (available from GitHub), the old module will continue functioning on your site. However, due to differences between the core Redirect module and the contributed Redirect module, it is recommended that the old module be removed from your installation to prevent problems in the future.
You can identify if your site is running the old version of Redirect module by checking your site's code directories. If a directory exists at /modules/redirect or /sites/*/modules/redirect, then your site is running the old Redirect module. The new core Redirect module resides at /core/modules/redirect and should not be changed.
Note that the core version of Redirect is slightly different from the contributed version. In particular:
- The default redirect type is now always a 301 - Moved Permanently, the most SEO-friendly option.
- From a programming stand-point, redirects are no longer entities. However this has no impact on the user interface or functionality of redirects from the contributed module version. Redirects are still objects however, so a method call like
$redirect->save()will work just like it did previously.
Otherwise, the new core version of Redirect is identical to the previous contributed version and has no reduced functionality. You may switch to using the Core Redirect module by performing the following steps:
- Delete the directory containing the old module from your installation (usually
/modules/redirect. - Visit the modules page in the Backdrop UI to let Backdrop pick up the new core module location within
/core/modules/redirect. - Run update.php to have the new core module clean up its installation.
If you have never used the old contributed Redirect module, then no special steps are necessary. You may enable the new Redirect module at any time on your existing sites. The new Redirect module is enabled by default on new installations of Backdrop.