Multiple extra fields being created

[Kirkus]

I don't know if this is a bug or something I'm doing wrong, but here's my problem.

When creating a category we add an extra field for the photographer's name. Usually a text area or drop down. We populate this field when creating the category to save us from entering the photograper's name for each photo (attach 1).

After uploading photos to the category, the photo display pages often (more times than not) repeat this extra field. Sometimes twice, sometimes multiple times.

Here's a photo display page with the extra field properly displayed:
Svetlana Kuznetsova - TennisPhotographs.com Galleries
(attach 2).

Here's a photo display page -- from the same category, uploaded at the same time -- with the extra field displayed 2 times:
Svetlana Kuznetsova - TennisPhotographs.com Galleries
(attach 3).

Here's a photo display page -- from the same category, uploaded at the same time -- with the extra field displayed 10 times (and throwing off the table):
Svetlana Kuznetsova - TennisPhotographs.com Galleries
(attach 4).

::

There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason as to which photo pages display correctly and which photo pages have multiples. This happens in every category we create.

[Chuck S]

well I guess the issue here is what do you truly mean by "We populate this field when creating the category to save us from entering the photograper's name for each photo "

This is probally the root of your issue if you are hacking the code to do something not with in it.

Extra fields one creates per category so when a user uploads a photo they input the information when they upload the photo. There is not a way to pre populate extra data prior to a photo upload.

[Kirkus]

I'm not hacking the code. I've not gone anywhere near the code.

What I mean by "We populate this field when creating the category to save us from entering the photographer's name for each photo" is illustrated in the first attachment below. When creating the category, we create an extra field named "Photographer" and we enter one option (the photographer's name) into that field.

Then, when uploading photos into this new category, the extra field named "Photographer" is populated already by the photographer's name (because it was added as the only option for the extra field) -- attachment 2 below.

This is all done through the admin center when setting up a new category.

[Chuck S]

Okay thanks well I guess my issue is how do you go about getting the issue. How have you reproduced the issue?

I see nothing in the actual code that would cause this and the extra field options have been around along time and I use them on my own personal site. I just created an additional extra field put the only option as option and uploaded a test

http://www.reeftalk.com/gallery/Memb...-DSCN0516.html

Therefore please let me know more info exactly how you get the issue.

[Kirkus]

I can't reliably reproduce the problem. It's not always on the 4th photo or only when we upload 26 photos, or anything like that. It's insanely random.

::

We've been using PhotoPost Pro for more than 3 years now and this hasn't been an issue the entire time. I'm going to go back through our photos and see if I can nail down when this started and how we might have changed our work flow around the same time.

I'll post what I find out. Thank you, Chuck, for helping me with this.

[Chuck S]

not a problem at all. all I need to know is how you would get an issue. As I noted in my testing I have not seen anything so the first thing I would check is you go view your category extra fields make sure you have not replicated multiple extra fields under your categories.

[Kirkus]

OK. I spent some time looking at this. I've discovered that this issue began around the same time that we started adding a single option (default value) to the extra field, "Photographer".

We used to not add any options (photographer's name) when creating the extra field, but rather made it an empty text field and then type the photographer's name in for every photo.

::

I also checked the categories where this issue appears (all of them since we started adding the default value) and there aren't multiple extra fields in any of them. Only the one extra field.

What is very odd is that this issue doesn't affect every photo in an individual category the same way. One photo displays the extra field info correctly but the very next photo might display the extra field info multiple items. And it might display the extra field info twice or 10 times. I simply can't find a pattern.

::

I've instructed my photo people to create the extra field as a drop-down menu for the photographer's name and include two options (not just one default value). This is nothing more than a shot in the dark, but perhaps if doing it this way doesn't create the issue, it might give you more information. We'll be publishing photos from a tournament next week, so we'll know how this shot in dark goes pretty soon.

[Chuck S]

Okay well I will simply keep trying to reproduce the issue.

[Kirkus]

Any luck reproducing this, Chuck?

::

I don't know if this means anything, but in a recent category containing 41 photos, all but four photo pages display the extra field correctly. The 4 that display the extra field twice per page are photos 11, 21, 31, and 41. This might be significant because we process photos in groups of 10. So the problem photo pages listed above would be in the first position on each new page when uploading/processing the photos. (i.e., photos 1-10 are processed on a single upload photo page, then photo #11 is the first photo on the next upload photo page, photo #12 is the first photo on the next upload photo page, etc.)

[Chuck S]

No I havent.

Thanks for the information. I will have to try something like that meaning bulkuploads of more than 10 images and see if I can reproduce that. This at least gives me somewhere to look.

[Kirkus]

We just finished our last event of the year, so also our last photo category of the year. I noticed that none of the custom fields ("Photographer") were duplicated.

I don't have a clue what causes the multiple custom fields on some of the individual photo pages.

I'm curious Chuck... are these pages created on the fly each time they're called from a browser? Probably, huh?

[Chuck S]

well the strange part here is how to get the issue. Any testing I have done results in no issue at all. I cant replicate it. I mean you cant even replicate it which makes it a bugger to figure out.

Each page is generated based on the information retrieved from the database. Additional extra fields would be created in the category editor. when uploading a photo you fill in the info.

We have not recieved any response to this issue in months from you. So your last event you held basically your saying you could not replicate the issue?

[Jesh]

I have this issue all the time, or atleast something similiar. It has to do with extra fields.

Say you create a category called "Dollars", then under it you have "Liberty Seated Dollars" and a bunch of other categories. If you add extra fields to "Dollars", and tell it to go to all child categories, it won't, until you go add a new field to 'Liberty Seated Dollars'.

So:

MAIN CAT
|_ SUB CAT

Add extra to main cat, then tell it to go to children. SUB CAT won't have MAIN CAT extra fields until you add one to SUB CAT, then they all show up.

My gallery is huge, I know this is an issue because if you look at the size of my gallery, you'll see there are hundreds of categories. It's extremely annoying. Extra categories in PP is NOT movable either...otherwise you'll lose the data.

[Chuck S]

Jesh yours is not an issue it is how the option is designed.

If you add an extra field and want it to be created on all children it can only be done when you create it. Therefore you can not move categories afterwards and have them have those fields. So when you create or move a new cat under the parent there is no way to create those fields again for instance. It is all done on the initial creation of the field.

So if you move photos into other categories that data would not be transferred. It has to do with how the data is stored in other tables and arrays and such. There are limitations because of how the data is essentially stored in other tables so moving alot of things around are not a good idea when using that system of fields like the main 6 extra fields which are stored in the photos table for each photo in the same row with all the other photo data.

[Kirkus]

I know this is years old, but I'm hoping we can pick up where we left off (we had some pretty serious health problems in the family and I've been away from administering my sites for well over a year -- but the health problems are fixed and I can now get back to the tasks at hand).

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I've noticed after upgrading from 7.0.1 to 8.0.3 this issue is still there. I'm sure because it's part of the database now.

Chuck, is there anyway I can modify the database to remove the multiple Photographer extra fields that are already there? Make the photo pages display properly for photos that are already a part of the system? Then as we publish tournaments this summer I can instruct my staff to try different extra-field options, hopefully to find a workflow that will not add these multiples.

Basically, what I'd like to do, if it's possible, is to clean up the photo display pages that are already online.

::

Are you wondering if it's really worth the extra $39.00 you all received when I extended my membership?

[Chuck S]

Deleting them from the category manager would be best as if you delete an entry from any category it deletes the extra field. I can not say why you have extras but this should help.

Before you delete any field from the category manager add this code in bold to adm-cats.php around line 728 this will help you also delete any extras from the photoextras table any entries photos have answered any info on this fields.

Content visible to verified customers only.

Basically as stated I am not able to reproduce any issue. I use this feature on my personal site. The way the feature is coded and works for me is this.

I went into detail in my last post in this thread on how this feature works for me and others.

[Kirkus]

Thanks, Chuck. I really do appreciate all your help and support.

Just to be clear then, my only option to remove the multiple extra fields on the show photo pages is to completely remove the extra field, and therefore corresponding info, from the category using the category manager. Is this right? If that's the way it is, that's cool. I just want to make sure I understand.

I don't understand what you were saying about adding that code to adm-cats.php, but I did it anyway.

::

I've learned that once I completely remove the extra field I can put the photographer info back in by adding the custom field like shown on the attached. Do you see any problem with me doing it like this from now on? We never have more than one photographer per category, so we really don't need the actual field options, just "Photographer: Christina Ward"

Will that colon mess me up somewhere down the road?

[Kirkus]

One more thought...

When I first started using PPostPro, I needed to add a custom viewing order to my database. if you read the last few short posts here

Sorting by descending order?

you can see that I found instructions online on how to do this.

Do you suppose this modification could be causing the multiple field lists in my show photo pages?

It is a modification to the default script.

[Kirkus]

This is just very interesting, and more than a little puzzling.

When processing photos 10 per page and I set up the category to show photos starting with the oldest first -- counting from the first photo, #1 and #11 show double custom fields. #1 and #11 are the first photo on each page during processing.

When I set up the category to show photos starting with the newest first -- counting from the end, #1 and #11 show the multiple custom fields.

Same photos.

If I then change the category to show photos randomly, the same photos, the top ones on each processing page show double custom fields.

I've tried using different filed types, checkbox, text, drop-down, etc. I've tried actually having multiple options in the drop downs. It just makes no sense to me.

::

If you tell me that listing my photographer the way I showed in the attachment above, that's what I'll do from now on and I can get passed this.

[Kirkus]

Sorry for the train of thought here. I just want others who might need this information to have it available.

Scratch the idea that I posted about above with the attachment. I tried that as I processed 21 photos, 10 per page. #1 and #11 show like this attachment.

It looks like the only way to get rid of this extremely frustrating problem is to go back into the category after photos have been added, delete the custom field, then go back in a third time and re add it like the attachment above.

It's obviously something with my installation, server, workflow, something. No one else has this problem.

Of course no one else seems to be using the program to present non-member type photo galleries.

Crazy!

Anyway, thank you Chuck for all your patience (over the years ) and help.