Image Handler 2 (for ZC v1.3.8 ONLY) Support

tpeck:

I've spent a few hours tracking down the reason for the zen_href_link('', '', 'NONSSL') error I was getting when trying to use the Image Manager...

The problem was first(?) noticed and commented about by mrmarcus66 in posts #42 and #56, pages 5 and 6 respectively, in 2006(!) in this very same thread.

Quote:
Once again I think I found what was causing errors with my installation of IH.

The image file name was:
rubber_latex_arm_band(1_stripe)7578_01

the image file name was renamed to:
rubber_latex_arm_band_1_stripe_7578_01

Notice the new file name does not have the ().

Can anyone else try an image with () in the filename and try to add additional images and see what behavour happens.

He didn't get an answer to his question in this thread (unless I missed it), but perhaps he did in another thread:

http://www.zen-cart.com/forum/showthread.php?t=67679&page=2

It seems that circular brackets (parentheses to Americans) in image filenames...these things: ()...do indeed send IH2 into a spin. Oddly enough (except to coders I suppose), square brackets [] do not. (I can confirm this.)

Given that naming files with parentheses is a common enough (although apparently frowned upon) way to name files, I would highly recommend this information be included in the IH2 readme file (it isn't, I checked).

This seems logical.
You are trying to evaluate a function: rubber_latex_arm_band()
with a parameter: 1_stripe
As neither exist you are getting an empty '' result.

Always bad practice to use curved brackets like this.

As well square brackets [] and other mathematical symbols should probably be avoided as well.
You never know when you will get "unexpected" results when they are evaluated.

You're welcome.. and I'm glad you found your answer..:smile:

Like I said earlier.. in my looksee through some of the posts where this error came about that regardless of which module was triggering the error (because it was more than just IH2 where this error is reported), it always appeared that the solution was be related to server configuration or file naming conventions (as in product and category names) used by shop owners.. Without more information from you it's a shot in the dark as to the specific nature of your issue.. and again, it's not reported often here and it appeared to be isolated incidents.. so I was not aware of any other threads on the topic.. (I don't spend that much time trolling this forum..:laugh:)

In GENERAL image file names, as well as Product and Cateories should NOT contain ANY characters. (with the exception of perhaps underscores and dashes.) and image file names should avoid using spaces in the file names.. This isn't just an IH2 recommendation it's just a general Zen Cart recommendation. I recommend to my clients that if they MUST have more meaningful image file names to use upper and lower case files names. For example: SheaButterCream.jpg This way the file name is meaningful and it avoids all the other naming pitfalls.

NOW.. would YOU like to try the newest IH2 files?? I think you will be happy now that you found out that IH2 does indeed work.. Wouldn't it be great to have the latest version now??:smile:

PM if interested..

tpeck:

I've spent a few hours tracking down the reason for the zen_href_link('', '', 'NONSSL') error I was getting when trying to use the Image Manager...

The problem was first(?) noticed and commented about by mrmarcus66 in posts #42 and #56, pages 5 and 6 respectively, in 2006(!) in this very same thread.

He didn't get an answer to his question in this thread (unless I missed it), but perhaps he did in another thread:

http://www.zen-cart.com/forum/showthread.php?t=67679&page=2

It seems that circular brackets (parentheses to Americans) in image filenames...these things: ()...do indeed send IH2 into a spin. Oddly enough (except to coders I suppose), square brackets [] do not. (I can confirm this.)

Given that naming files with parentheses is a common enough (although apparently frowned upon) way to name files, I would highly recommend this information be included in the IH2 readme file (it isn't, I checked).

Isn't life interesting? Especially when fossicking about you find such tidbits as these:

(On the Microsft website re Excel: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/123577) (Thanks Bill! er Ballmer. I wish I'd known this years ago.)

http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/erasmus.html

That's what's been missing in my life.

So there you have it - it was lunula all along.

---

One other thing I discovered was how to remove the annoying "alt" display overlapping the Image Handler mouseover image zooms: (timkroeger post #44 of this thread)

(Purists should turn away now...)

...replace:

return array($src, '', intval($width), intval($height), $parameters);

> 
> ```
return array($src, $alt, intval($width), intval($height), $parameters);
```Thanks DivaVocals for your valiant attempts to help - it was and is appreciated. And yes, you do have to have SAFE MODE turned off in the php.ini file in the home directory. BTW this is the default. And, yes, of course, the image folders do have to be writeable.
> 
> But for me it was those loonytune lunulas.

gilby:

This seems logical.
You are trying to evaluate a function: rubber_latex_arm_band()
with a parameter: 1_stripe
As neither exist you are getting an empty '' result.

Always bad practice to use curved brackets like this.

As well square brackets [] and other mathematical symbols should probably be avoided as well.
You never know when you will get "unexpected" results when they are evaluated.I agree.. NO special characters in file names is always the safest filenaming approach.. and same holds true for product, category names.. I've seen special characters in product names cause issues with other mods and Zen Cart in general..

Thanks DivaVocals, I'm becoming a convert!

I really do recommend that this information be included in the otherwise excellent readme file. Or, of course, some bright person attempt to "fix" the code if at all possible to allow image filenames with parentheses to be uploaded without error. After all, it's not common knowledge that () can cause problems.

Testing with such an image file I can easily upload one with brackets to, say, http://www.freeimagehosting.net/upload.php

Now that it works well, the program is sweet, no two ways about it, but it's obvious that others do name their files this way (it's not exactly forbidden) or the error wouldn't be posted so often and stump much smarter people than me.

Image Handler exists almost solely to manage files (isn't the zooming considered a sort of side benefit?), so it reallly does behoove the distributor to at least mention this hiccup in the documentation - along with the other supposedly known problem with long filenames (I haven't tested this).

And yes, I would LOVE to try the newest files. Thanks. :smile:

Honestly the file naming issue is really less of an IH2 issue than it is just GENERALLY just not a good idea whether you use IH2 or not.. It's more of a matter of educating folks rather than enabling what truly is a BAD practice... (I spend quite a bit of time education my clients so they do NOT continue these bad habits) The fact of the matter is that there really isn't a GOOD reason why they (parentheses) should be a part of any image name.. I'll give adding it to the readme some thought.. (no promises)

tpeck:

Thanks DivaVocals, I'm becoming a convert!

I really do recommend that this information be included in the otherwise excellent readme file. Or, of course, some bright person attempt to "fix" the code if at all possible to allow image filenames with parentheses to be uploaded without error. After all, it's not common knowledge that () can cause problems.

Testing with such an image file I can easily upload one with brackets to, say, http://www.freeimagehosting.net/upload.php

Now that it works well, the program is sweet, no two ways about it, but it's obvious that others do name their files this way (it's not exactly forbidden) or the error wouldn't be posted so often and stump much smarter people than me.

Image Handler exists almost solely to manage files (isn't the zooming considered a sort of side benefit?), so it reallly does behoove the distributor to at least mention this hiccup in the documentation - along with the other supposedly known problem with long filenames (I haven't tested this).

And yes, I would LOVE to try the newest files. Thanks. :smile:

When I put my mouse over the New Products in the left column, I get this bar that appears at the very top and will display whatever I hover over. It will display the description and the picture.
What do I need to fix this.

Forgot to copy some files into my custom template. slaps forehead

FragaGeddon:

When I put my mouse over the New Products in the left column, I get this bar that appears at the very top and will display whatever I hover over. It will display the description and the picture.
What do I need to fix this.

I'm sure you'll all be thoroughly bored by the brackets in filenames topic, but in the interest of thoroughness I'll finish this off.

The reason I didn't twig that the filename was causing the issue was because...

a) I don't have the skills to read these errors meaningfully
and
b) I installed the mod (add-on or whatever) with the images already uploaded. Thus when I went to use the Image Manager and attempted to upload an image with an ordinary "no-brackets" name, it failed. I was unaware that it was the existing images (with brackets in the names) that were the problem.

The revelation is kind of hidden when you spend hours trying to upload all manner of file types UNLESS you upload to a spot behind a no-brackets image. And then you are flummoxed because there seems no rhyme nor reason to the intermittent nature of the error.

Anyway, that's all. I'll certainly be naming my files differently in future.

Not bored.. It's a good discussion and helpful for folks who may have the same issue.. It will make it easy for folks who might be searching for this same issue.

tpeck:

I'm sure you'll all be thoroughly bored by the brackets in filenames topic, but in the interest of thoroughness I'll finish this off.

Well this makes sense.. One thing I keep stressing is that IH2's REAL core functionality is it's image management features. Particularly it's ability to manage the Zen Cart additional images requirements. So IH2 will create the additional images by naming them based on the main product image name.

So if your main product image name contained parentheses, then IH2 would attempt to create additional images using this image name which would then generate the error you were getting..

Error!

Unable to determine the page link!

Function used:

zen_href_link('', '', 'NONSSL')
tpeck:

The reason I didn't twig that the filename was causing the issue was because...

a) I don't have the skills to read these errors meaningfully
and
b) I installed the mod (add-on or whatever) with the images already uploaded. Thus when I went to use the Image Manager and attempted to upload an image with an ordinary "no-brackets" name, it failed. I was unaware that it was the existing images (with brackets in the names) that were the problem.

The revelation is kind of hidden when you spend hours trying to upload all manner of file types UNLESS you upload to a spot behind a no-brackets image. And then you are flummoxed because there seems no rhyme nor reason to the intermittent nature of the error.

Good idea..:smile:

tpeck:

Anyway, that's all. I'll certainly be naming my files differently in future.

Update: Our testing is complete. I have begun rolling out the new code to all of my clients. They are all on various hosts including private servers, Zen Cart certified hosts, and other hosting companies. All is well with each and every one of them..

We have community members who are now happily using the latest version. Though we have finalized the code, we will NOT be submitting this version to the downloads section until we hear back from ALL the testers.

It will take at least 1-2 weeks after submission that for the code to be available in the downloads section. So if you want the new code NOW, PM me and I'll be happy to direct you.

DivaVocals:

If you want to test the new IH2 fileset, PM me and I'll hit you up with instructions to access the upcoming fileset..

I've installed it on my vanilla Zen test site, and it works like a charm.

This version should fix the following issues:

• Watermarks on large additional images

• Issues with some hosting configurations not setting the file permissions of the bmz_cache child folders correctly

If you want the boring details about why large additional images were not watermarking, let me know, and I'll share.. :smile:

You will have to delete your IH2 cache folders for the permissions changes to be applied.. Do not be afraid.. Deleting the cache DOES NOT delete your images (which are still safely in the "images" folder). IH2 will rebuild the cache as soon as peole browse your product pages..

Once I hear back from the code gurus validating my proposed fixes, and the testers who are trying this new version out, and we're all sure that everything is nailed down, I will bundle it up and submit it to the downloads section..

Now I'm off to a vocal rehearsal.. Have a happy afternoon!

Well, I screwed up. I installed the new version without uninstalling the old database. Or at least that is what I think I did.

When I try and uninstall the database, all it does is log me out of Zen Admin.

If someone could tell me what tables are affected or extract the uninstall script for me that would be great. I'd even pay someone to do that, if I have to.

Just FYI, the script is working fine, except it resizes my banner adds. So I am assuming that it is the database entries causing the issues.

The version I have installed at the moment is RC8 and I installed that over the previous original version 2.0.

Thanks for the help.

is it possible to change the base image directory?
from this catalog/images/ to this catalog/images/products

If you are wanting to change the default location Zen Cart uses to store product images when creating products, then I'm not entirely sure that this is an Image Handler support question.. (and no I don't know the answer either..:D)

MB1:

is it possible to change the base image directory?
from this catalog/images/ to this catalog/images/products

DivaVocals:

If you are wanting to change the default location Zen Cart uses to store product images when creating products, then I'm not entirely sure that this is an Image Handler support question.. (and no I don't know the answer either..:D)
I am sure that Diva knows the answer, only did not understand the question the way it was phrased.
When you add images to a product that does not have any you can create them in a subdirectory of your images folder, which you have to create first.
IH2 will read it and give you the choice where to create the main image, all subsequent additional images will be created in same folder.
That is how you plan for scalability and organize your images.
See drop-down arrow to the right of the main images directory in the screenshot, that is how you access sub-folders.

Thank you for both your responses. but i knew that and i just have so many folders in the /images directory that i was curious if i could set-up the IHmanager to point to the /images/products directory instead so it would bypass all the non product folders to make things a bit quicker

My answer was based on my understadnign of the question as follows:

When you create a category in Zen Cart the category page shows as a default in the image directory location "categories". Products on the other hand defaults to the main image directory. Now yes you can create a "products" folder and select it, but the default for all new products will always be the main image directory.

That all said, my answer was that changing Zen Cart to show a different folder by default than the main images directory is more of a core Zen Cart question..:smile:

Now if I did misunderstand, my apologies..

ckosloff:

I am sure that Diva knows the answer, only did not understand the question the way it was phrased.
When you add images to a product that does not have any you can create them in a subdirectory of your images folder, which you have to create first.
IH2 will read it and give you the choice where to create the main image, all subsequent additional images will be created in same folder.
That is how you plan for scalability and organize your images.
See drop-down arrow to the right of the main images directory in the screenshot, that is how you access sub-folders.

giancalr:

Hi, i installed image handler on my test site and it works fine except imageover, but not a problem because I disabled. installed on the live site and does not work, practically does not show more pictures and gives me the preview of image administration, I tried again the installation several times but always lostesso error. Who knows I give a tip. Thanks I state that I have version 1.2.7 and I installed the version on
I found the error but I can not understand where is wrong,
practically the images you must create the folder bmz_cache are many sub-folders, these sub folders are not read and images will not display HELP
example attached:
site that works in my test looks like this:
http://www.erboristeriabio.com/test/bmz_cache/7/71f5bb2aad59a1ca282fbbe781928a4b.image.53x80.jpg

in my live site is not working standards opens thus:
http://www.erboristeriabio.com/bmz_cache771f5bb2aad59a1ca282fbbe781928a4b.image.53x80.jpg

praticamante not call / / separation of folders to fetch the image.
also doing various tests and editing function_bmz_io,
basically one that creates the folders, I managed to make it work, only that the images all end up on the main root and not bmz_cache.

more so I can not explain. Thanks to whoever answers me.
This post is very confusing.
If you mean that you have Zen Cart 1.2.7 I suggest that the first thing you do is upgrade.
Man, I wasn't even born then! :smile:

MB1:

Thank you for both your responses. but i knew that and i just have so many folders in the /images directory that i was curious if i could set-up the IHmanager to point to the /images/products directory instead so it would bypass all the non product folders to make things a bit quicker
If you want to change the default behavior of IH2, read Diva's answer.

All of the developers I consulted have responded favorably with regards to the latest version. So the code currently being tested is officially finalized.

I've heard back from most of the testers, but there's a few (and you know who you are:laugh:) who have not reported back.. All responses received so far have been positive (no issues, works as expected). That said I do not want to submit the new fileset until I hear back from EVERYONE..

Don't make me PM or e-mail you.:lookaroun. Chime in with your feedback please!!!:smile:

In the meantime if anyone else wants to test the new fileset, please PM me for details.

A while back, I was reporting that the newest version of IHv8c wasn't displaying additional images properly, despite fresh installs and numerous re-install attempts.

Today, I have found the culprit of it all. It is a dumb little thing. I never would have found out otherwise except by accident. :lookaroun

If the product doesn't have a name, IH2 will not display the additional images. Having a model number, price or stock amount isn't enough; the product actually needs a product name. If you leave it blank like I did, IH won't display additional images.

:oops:

Who knew? Anyway I'm glad it works!

Latest version works like a charm.