Title: Changing plugin name
Last modified: August 19, 2016

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# Changing plugin name

 *  [Ryan Hellyer](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ryanhellyer/)
 * (@ryanhellyer)
 * [18 years, 1 month ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/changing-plugin-name/)
 * I released a [dropdown menu plugin](http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/ryans-suckerfish-wordpress-dropdown-menu/)
   a while back which has been quite popular.
 * I’ve been working on a [beta version](http://pixopoint.com/forum/index.php?topic=189.0)
   of it for a few months now and it is nearly ready for release into the WordPress
   plugins repository as the new stable version.
 * However … it isn’t just useful as a dropdown menu plugin, I’m also working on
   a system whereby it can be used for flyouts, sliders, dropboxes and all sorts
   of other menu types. So the original name for the plugin is misleading.
 * So … how do I go about changing the name of the plugin? I can’t see any way to
   do this as the folder name in the repository seems to be set. It also generates
   the ZIP file with the folder name too.
 * Or should I submit the new version of the plugin as an entirely new plugin and
   just depreciate the old one?

Viewing 5 replies - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)

 *  [Michael Torbert](https://wordpress.org/support/users/hallsofmontezuma/)
 * (@hallsofmontezuma)
 * WordPress Virtuoso
 * [18 years, 1 month ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/changing-plugin-name/#post-761819)
 * I think the latter is the only course of action that works currently. However,
   I suggest that we petition the WP team to allow us to have better control over
   repository info and to remove plugins completely.
 *  Thread Starter [Ryan Hellyer](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ryanhellyer/)
 * (@ryanhellyer)
 * [18 years, 1 month ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/changing-plugin-name/#post-761822)
 * I was worried that might be the case.
 * Thanks for the info 🙂
 *  Thread Starter [Ryan Hellyer](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ryanhellyer/)
 * (@ryanhellyer)
 * [18 years, 1 month ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/changing-plugin-name/#post-761825)
 * Well I renamed my plugin, changed the version number (in readme.txt and main 
   script file), then changed the folder name and the file name of the main plugin
   script. But when I uploaded it to a WP install, I got the message “There is a
   new version of Multi-level Navigation Plugin available. Download version 1.6.4
   here or upgrade automatically.”.
 * Do any of you know how to make WP think it is a different plugin other than the
   methods I’ve tried already?
 *  Thread Starter [Ryan Hellyer](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ryanhellyer/)
 * (@ryanhellyer)
 * [18 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/changing-plugin-name/#post-762262)
 * BUMP!
 * I’m still having troubles trying to work out what WordPress looks for in a plugin
   to determine what makes it different to another plugin.
 * I’ve changed the plugin name, description and version number in the PHP file 
   and in the readme.txt file, but WordPress still recognises it as being the original
   plugin I based it on.
 * Any help greatly appreciated 🙂
 *  Thread Starter [Ryan Hellyer](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ryanhellyer/)
 * (@ryanhellyer)
 * [18 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/changing-plugin-name/#post-762292)
 * I think I’ve figured this out.
 * The plugin is identified by the ‘Plugin URI’ in the PHP file. I had the same 
   URL for the new plugin and the old one. Oddly, editing the URL and re-uploading
   it didn’t get rid of the annoying
 * > There is a new version of …
 *  message. I had to change the folder name too, then it worked. What really threw
   me off, is that changing the folder name back to the original again also worked,
   so I’m guessing the individual WordPress install stores the information somewhere.
 * Anyhows, hopefully this information will be helpful for anyone else trying to
   go through this process 🙂

Viewing 5 replies - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)

The topic ‘Changing plugin name’ is closed to new replies.

## Tags

 * [dropdown](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/dropdown/)
 * [flyout](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/flyout/)
 * [name](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/name/)
 * [zip](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/zip/)

 * 5 replies
 * 2 participants
 * Last reply from: [Ryan Hellyer](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ryanhellyer/)
 * Last activity: [18 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/changing-plugin-name/#post-762292)
 * Status: not resolved

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