Admin section different charset

[tomzl]

I installed Classifieds on my server and I noticed that the charset in admin panel is different than on the Classifieds page. I would like both to be utf-8. How can I change the charset in the admin panel?

Also, I downloaded version 2.61 but now my admin panel says I have version 2.6 installed. How can I check my version is really 2.61?

[Chuck S]

The charset should be the same as our english file 8859-1 and it is in admin-inc.php

[tomzl]

OK, solved the problem by adding this code to admin-inc.php for my language.

elseif ($Globals['pplang'] == "slovensko")
{
$contentmeta = "<meta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text/html; charset=utf-8\" />";
}

I would still like to know if I have successfully installed version 2.61 or 2.6? Admin panel says 2.6?

[Chuck S]

You do

[tomzl]

I encountered another problem with the charset so I'd like to take advantage of this thread which is already open. I am using utf-8 encoding in my Classifieds and everything seems to be working OK except for ranks from vBulletin forum. My vBulletin forum is also using utf-8 so I'm surprised that this is causing problems.

You can see the example on http://forum.bmwslo.com/oglasnik/sho....php?product=4

Below the ad, it says For sale by user Test and below is the user's rank. But one of the characters in the rank is not showing up correctly. Instead a question mark is displayed. What is the reason for this and how can I fix it? I'm afraid the same will happen with usernames that have that same character.

The charset problem is also present when Classifieds send out e-mails. Characters in e-mails are displayed incorrectly. How can I fix this?

[Chuck S]

What are you referring to here.

Classifieds is released in english there are no supported languages although your loading the vb meta utf-8 tag fine

As far as emails our email program is strict straight php mail. If your trying to send out HTML emails you would need to rewrite the email function to send html emails. You can modify all your files if you choose to. Here is an example of an HTML email string. You would need to of course compare that to the other email strings in the php files and modify accordingly

Content visible to verified customers only.

You can further discuss code modifications in the mod forums outside product support.

[tomzl]

OK, I understand E-mails are a different matter.

But how can I make utf-8 text from vBulletin work with my utf-8 Classifieds? I can write comments in utf-8 in Classifieds without a problem but ranks from vBulletin and usernames show up wrong.

[Chuck S]

I cant tell you that your loading the utf 8 charset so things should display correct but are you dealing with some rank hack your using? Obviously if you can type comments descriptions etc in classifieds then the charset is loading fine and you only have some issue with these custom ranks your doing

[tomzl]

I'm not using any hacks on my forum. Actually it is just a normal user title that is causing the problems (not rank like I said before - my mistake). Users with 0-100 posts have this user title. This is a standard vBulletin feature that's why I find it strange that it doesn't work.

It appears Classifieds cannot read correctly data that vBulletin has written into the database?

I checked my database and Classifieds actually enters these special characters in a different format as vBulletin. That's probably why there are problems...

[tomzl]

I don't know if this is important but my vBulletin forum is using a MySQLi database in order for utf-8 to work. Does this have anything to do with the problems?

[Chuck S]

Well the way vb stores it could definately have an issue with it displaying in our program. The way we store the utf you say though works for our program

[tomzl]

So are Classifieds compatible with vBulletin running with utf-8?

I found this thread about Photopost but I suspect Classifieds are doing the same.

if vB is set to utf-8, photopost still reads in latin1 from the database and messes up the umlaute in german or other unicode characters etc...

Link to thread: php5/mysqli/real utf-8 support

Then I also found this thread with modifications for Photopost to work with MySQLi. Would the same be needed for Classifieds?

http://www.photopost.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123800

I'm guessing the problem is with Classifieds not vBulletin because when I view my database with HeidiSQL, the unicode characters in my vBulletin tables show up correctly, while those in Classifieds table all show up as squares or question marks...

[Chuck S]

It is all how you have your databaase encoding set

Your characters are stored in different formats

Have you simply tried changing your tables to a utf format? You can change encoding in phpmyadmin

Thats an easier test than doing some hack

As stated we release classifieds with english I dont speak slovik or know if the program supports it

[tomzl]

If it was a tables problem then vBulletin also couldn't display the data correctly. Here the problem is that vBulletin reads and displays the same data (vBulletin usernames and user titles for example) correctly and Classifieds do not. If I change the charset for that table to anything else, vBulletin will not work properly since the data in question is in the vBulletin tables. Both programs read the exact same data but only one of them displays it correctly.

My vBulletin is using utf8 format so it is irrelevant which language I am using. All unicode characters should work regardless of the fact which language I am writing in. A unicode character is the same in English as in any other language, that's the point of utf-8.

The main problem is that Classifieds are probably still using latin1 to read/write into the database like my quote in the previous post mentioned. That is why it can read the data that has been entered through Classifieds but not the data in vBulletin tables.

The problem begins when Classifieds need to read data that is really utf-8 format. Because it is reading using latin1, it shows question marks because it cannot interpet some characters.

Looking at the tables from vBulletin and Classifieds with HeidiSQL leads me to believe that the problem lies with how Classifieds write/read unicode characters. When I look at the vBulletin tables, unicode characters are displayed correctly so it seems both vBulletin and HeidiSQL understand the format.

Once again, the problem is that vBulletin usernames and user titles (or any kind of data extracted from vBulletin tables) are displayed incorrectly by Classifieds. Logic tells me that something with Classifieds is causing this since vBulletin has no problems with utf-8.

[Chuck S]

You just pointed out your vb tables are selected to be utf and your classifieds tables use latin swedish so how is it not a tables issue in some part?

Have you tried changing the encoding of your tables?

We do not release a slovic language in Classifieds therefore we do not support this. I can be of assistance with ideas to tell you what to change and that I have done.

If you enter UTF data in classifieds we are encoding the utf to display properly in classifieds so the issue is how vb is storing stuff on there side we are not displaying right so how is it stored in the database in vb?

Make a description in classifieds with the test of a user title and post here how that is stored in the classifieds database and then post how it is stored in the vb database

That way we can see the difference

[tomzl]

Chuck, I appreciate your help very much and I understand that a lot of people are asking for your help but please read through the whole thread carefully.

I was quoting the first message from the thread php5/mysqli/real utf-8 support. I know the thread is about vBgallery but I suspect the person is describing the same problem.

I never said my Classifieds tables use latin swedish. I was guessing that Classifieds uses something else for writing/reading data into the databse, not utf-8.

I have a utf-8 database, my whole server has utf-8 as the default charset. Both vBulletin and Classifieds share the same database. Tables for both programs are in the same database but with different table prefixes.

I am not asking for support for slavic languages but utf-8 support. Utf-8 is used on many English sites as well. Since you keep repeating that you don't support other languages, let's say I am using English but am having problems displaying some characters. It is irrelevant what language I am using. If utf-8 is selected, it should show ALL utf-8 characters. If certain characters are not being displayed correctly, obviously utf-8 is not working correctly. Do we agree on this?

Let me give two examples.
Example 1
I create a user title or username in vBulletin. This data is entered into the database called "Forum" in a table "vb_example1". Database is utf-8. When I view this data with HeidiSQL directly in the database, the data is the same as I entered it. vBulletin shows all the special characters correctly. You can assume they are English words to which I like to add strange characters to make it fun (this way they are not non-English words). However, in Classifieds this user title and username are not displayed like they should be but instead some characters are represented with question marks.

Example 2
I post a comment about one of the ads in the Classifieds. I use English words but again with funny characters to make it interesting. This time the data gets entered by Classifieds into the database "Forum" but this time table "classifieds_example2". When the comment is posted, Classifieds show all the characters correctly. However when I go to view the data with HeidiSQL, I see empty squares and question marks instead of certain characters in the table. I don't know how vBulletin would display the data from this table "classifieds_example2". Probably it would have similar problems as HeidiSQL.


I had to use MySQLi for vBulletin in order to make utf-8 characters work. Since there is a special setting in the vBulletin config file for MySQLi, I assume that same should apply to Classifieds. Especially since someone issued a patch for Photopost for this same purpose.

http://www.photopost.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123800

My guess is Classifieds are not 100% utf-8 compatible and thus not compatible with all vBulletin forums. The excuse of not supporting other languages is a simple way to deny a bug. How is language important if utf-8 is being used? A specific character is the same in English as in any other language.

I would appreciate any help on how to fix this.

[Chuck S]

Originally Posted by tomzl

I never said my Classifieds tables use latin swedish. I was guessing that Classifieds uses something else for writing/reading data into the databse, not utf-8.

You definately did look 2 posts up you say Classifieds is reading in latin

You are not answering my questions here and thus I can not help till you do

I clearly asked you to type in some slovic rank title etc in a classifieds description and tell me how it is stored in the database in classifieds and how it is stored in vbulletin

If you do this I may be able to help.

[Chuck S]

By the way I set my vbulletin to UTF-8 character set and made my user title the one your having problems with.

Here is a default classifieds test ad. I seem to have no issues displaying that title

http://www.reeftalk.com/classifieds/...php?product=26

[tomzl]

The main problem is that Classifieds are probably still using latin1 to read/write into the database like my quote in the previous post mentioned. That is why it can read the data that has been entered through Classifieds but not the data in vBulletin tables.

The quote above is the one you are probably talking about. This text is talking about a quote I made from another thread where a user had the same problem. I said Classifieds are PROBABLY using latin, not that my database is latin. I was guessing as to what was causing this behaviour since all the settings were utf-8 yet the characters were not displaying correctly.

I answered your question in my last post. How you managed to read it in 4 minutes and write a reply is beyond me.

Maybe it will be easier with a live example.
http://forum.bmwslo.com/oglasnik/sho....php?product=4
Look at the description in this ad. That is how the username and user title should be displayed correctly. In the "For Sale by" section below you can see that Classifieds display question marks in both cases (username and title).

The description from the ad is entered into the database like this:
Username: TestÄ?????đć
User title: ZaÄ?etnik

The username of the user who posted the ad is entered like this in the column "user" of the "classifieds_products" table:
Test?šž??

The same text entered by vBulletin if I were to write a post on my forum would look like this in the vBulletin table:
Username: Testčšžđć
User title: Začetnik

Classifieds and vBulletin use the utf-8 meta tag, the database is utf-8 yet the question marks. What do you think is the problem then?

[tomzl]

Originally Posted by Chuck S

By the way I set my vbulletin to UTF-8 character set and made my user title the one your having problems with.

Here is a default classifieds test ad. I seem to have no issues displaying that title

http://www.reeftalk.com/classifieds/...php?product=26

Are you using MySQLi for your vBulletin?