Upgrade path from 6.1.2 to 6.1.6 etc

I haven't got around to upgrading one site for some time and need to go from 6.1.2 to 6.1.6

Is there a more direct route than using upgrade patches 4 time (to 6.1.3 then 6.1.4 then 6.1.5 then 6.1.6)?

Alternatively is it possible to backup some specific data/files, then do a fresh install of 6.1.6 then restore the data/files? And if so, what data/files would I need to backup/restore?

And on a related issue, I've wondered for some time about the upgrade instructions. For example:

http://www.boonex.com/trac/dolphin/wiki/6.1.2to6.1.3

It says "Step 4: Upload all files accordingly to their location in the script and in the patch file by file overwriting them."

- does this mean you have to do one folder at a time, to avoid any file permission conflicts etc, or can we just tell the FTP client to upload the whole thing.  It seems a bit ambiguous and could mean a massive difference in how long to do the upgrade (especially if I have to do it four times as mentioned above).

Thanks,

Kevin

Bugger - I was hopeful someone would know this :(

I guess I will experiment and hope for the best.

You can do the best thing to use map for map for overwriting files.

Tip: make a site backup, or if you are on a shared hosting account, make a total backup from your site before go updating.

The best advise I have: upgrade from version tot version.

Thanks for the reply.  I think I will do a version to version, copying all files by Ftp at once (per version) and hope it works.