Cannot login to PP directly

[dr-agon]

I'm installing PP for the first time, integrating with VB3. Having changed the VB3 image paths in the StyleVars for the Default Style from relative to absolute, I am able to successfully view PP, and to reach the Admin panel (via the link in the PP navbar). However, I can only view PP if I am currently logged into the forum.

If I attempt to access PP or the PP Admin panel directly (i.e. before logging into the forum first), the login fails. On failure, an extract of the php error log reports:

"File does not exist: ... /public_html/photos/clientscript/vbulletin_md5.js"

Based on the paths and URL's that I've set in the PP settings and in config-inc ($PP_PATH) and config-int ($vbpath, $pppath, $url_path, $vb_urlpath), I would expect that PP would correctly locate ../clientscript within the VB3 path, but instead is looking for it under ../photos/ (my PP location)?


INSTALLATION DETAILS

o/s: FreeBSD
php: v4.3.11
mySql: v4.1.9
forum: vBulletin v3.5.3
____________________

COOKIE SETTINGS

In PP, I have the cookie settings as follows:
PhotoPost Cookie Path: /
Forum Cookie Prefix: bb
PhotoPost Cookie Domain: (blank)

In VB3 options, I have the cookie settings as follows:
Path to Save Cookies: /
Cookie Domain: (blank)
And in the VB3 config file:
$config['Misc']['cookieprefix'] = 'bb';

[Chuck S]

You have guests locked down to view nothing on your site meaning your using some vb login template shown over photopost. To have that work you would need to correctly edit the links in that vb template to point to the forum by full url not relative. Your login does not work because it is looking for it in the photos directory

Gotta love the relative urls in vbulletin

[dr-agon]

Many thanks. I had suspected that my customisation of the STANDARD ERROR template may have caused a problem over the weekend. So I reverted that template back to the original in my test install (and found another way of achieving the result I was aiming for so I can revert to the original in live also). I should have mentioned that I have been using my test install (/testvb/) since, with the standard template, to work on the PP integration.

With Chuck's pointer, I was able to eliminate the 3 errors that were appearing on my error log, relating to the following files not being found:

vbulletin_md5.js
vbulletin_global.js
vbulletin_menu.js

These were caused by relative references in the following VB3 standard templates: "STANDARD_ERROR" and "headinclude". I've amended these 2 templates and am not getting the errors in the log now...


Unfortunately, I mistook the errors in the log as being related to the main problem I'm having, since the behaviour reported above is still occuring and I'm getting the following when I attempt to log in to PP directly (which is what was being displayed before also, although I didn't mention it):

"Internal Server Error, this is an error with your script, check your error log for more information."

What's more, there's nothing being posted in the error log that I'm looking at. Since I'm not very technical, I'm wondering if there's more than one error log and I'm looking at the wrong one, or perhaps it's common for this generic error to not have an error message posted?

In any case, I'm not sure where to go from here?

[Chuck S]

I doubt your ever logging into Photopost directly since we do not show a login prompt in Photopost in vb integration.

http://www.domain.com/photos/

This is the url to your photopost that I see

What is the url you use to try and login EXACTLY?

[dr-agon]

Yes, that's the URL I'm using exactly.

Agreed, users will normally login via the forums and so bypass the problem. There are 2 specific exceptions that I'm trying to deal with, though:

1) If one member shares a PP link with another (say to a specific photo), then, unless they happen to be logged into the forum already, they will be directed to the login screen (since the forum requires Registration), and this login is routed from PP, and hence the user gets the Internal Server error.

2) I would like to access the Admin panel without going through the steps of logging into the forum, clicking on Photos in the VB3 navbar, then clicking on Admin on the PP navbar. Although, I can definitely live without this one...

so, it's really 1) above that I need a solution (or workaround!) for.

Many thanks!

[Chuck S]

As stated this issue with with your login template in vbulletin. You need to edit that template and correct that relative url to a full url to the vb login.php or the file will not be found.

I beleive the template you want to edit is this

STANDARD_ERROR

[dr-agon]

Fantastic!... thanks, Chuck. I looked at STANDARD ERROR again and corrected a couple of relative links I'd missed, and now the Member login works nicely.

The Admin login is still behaving strangely, though...Do you know of another standard VB3 template I need to correct to get the PP Admin panel login cleanly executed?

...If I go to http://domain.com/photos/adm-index.php and login, I get sent to the VB3 login screen and the address is shown as ..photos/misc.php. When I login there, it displays a redirect message, then displays a blank page. I can, however, get logged onto Admin, but it takes these 5 steps:
1) Log in to Forum
2) Goto PP home
3) Click on Admin...I get sent to the light blue PP admin login
4) Click Submit...takes me back to PP home
5) Click Admin a second time...I'm into PP admin panel.

Many thanks.

[Chuck S]

Check your cookie settings more than likely your missing the cookie prefix in your cookie settings which is normally bb in a default vb install

[dr-agon]

I've rechecked the cookies and they look spot on.

They are set as follows:

In PP, I have the cookie settings as follows:
PhotoPost Cookie Path: /
Forum Cookie Prefix: bb
PhotoPost Cookie Domain: (blank)

In VB3 options, I have the cookie settings as follows:
Path to Save Cookies: /
Cookie Domain: (blank)
And in the VB3 config file:
$config['Misc']['cookieprefix'] = 'bb';

Is there anywhere else that I should be setting the prefix?

I tried changing the Cookie domain to .nsrdragonstar.com, but then I get duplicate cookies, one with host .nsrdragonstar.com and one with host www.domain.com, and so it got worse...so, I changed it back to blank.

I double checked the settings table and that reflects what I set in the PP admin panel.

[Chuck S]

Change your domain back to .doman.com in both vb3 and photopost.

Clear all cookies in your computer and login again. There is only one cookie created

[dr-agon]

Yep, you're right. I've changed the domain to .nsrdragonstar.com in both PP and VB3, and it does actually create a unique set of cookies.

However, the PP Admin login behaviour is the same as when I had the domain as (blank). So, I'm stuck again. Any suggestions?

[Chuck S]

You do not have your cookies set right or the license number

Photopost cookie settings should be this

cookie path /

cookie prefix bb

cookie domain .domain.com

Your vb license number is at the top of every vb file and must be entered exactly in the config-inc.php file of photopost in the $vblicense variable.

Most common mistake on vb installs is customer does not input the proper prefix or incorrect vb license number and these are crutial. The vb password cookie is a encrypted hash of these two variables and the user password and the user will not authenticate without this.

[dr-agon]

Hi Chuck

I've checked these items once again, and they are both set correctly. Cookie's show up in the PP Admin exactly as you have indicated, and the licence number is in config-inc.php - I even cut and paste from a VB script again just to make certain, and get same result.

My current thinking is that it may have something to do with the fact that both VB3 and PP have a file called misc.php, and that they are getting mixed up due to a relative reference in some standard VB template that is being called. The reason being that when I do get logged into the PP admin panel the address bar shows /photos/adm-index.php, but when I try to login directly (and get the blank screen) the address bar shows /photos/misc.php. Unfortunately I haven't found such a template yet.

Many thanks

[Chuck S]

I can only tell you what I see.

Your Photopost is completely integrated with vb fine. It shows the admin button and your logged in with Photopost and vb but when you click the admin button you need to login again.

There are many threads on this and the only issue this can be that I know of is the fact the cookie prefix or license number are incorrect.

Now do a test undo that very restrictive login thing you have for vb and see if things work properly

[dr-agon]

OK, thanks for your commitment to seeing this through, Chuck. Here's the story of where I'm at and how I got there...

...I tried what you suggested, to try relaxing the options. The way I lock the whole site out to non-members is to set the default "Can View Forum" permissions for the "Unregistered / Not Logged In" to No. So, I changed this to Yes, and tried again..no difference.

At this point my wife began to get fed up with my whining and sat down with me for some debugging (she used to be a Unix programmer), and in the course of that discussion, it was identified that when I switched the integration of PP with my VB3 test instance, instead of the live one, I didn't change the User database setting in config-inc. This is what led to be a strange login loop that was making it so tough to get into the PP admin! I fixed the config file, and now I can get into PP admin via the Admin link on the PP home page (i.e. so long as I log into the user front end first).

I still cannot log straight into PP admin directly from adm-index.php (displays a blank screen), but I figure that maybe it was never intended to get directly into admin without first logging into the front end, in a VB integrated configuration. In any case I'm happy going via PP home page.

In summary, the key to the problems I was having was down to the relative URLs in the VB3 STANDARD_ERROR and headinclude templates.

Thanks again, Chuck.

[Chuck S]

Yep no problems

[Sky Pilot]

Could somebody point me in the right direction here. Not being a php or html person. Is the relative URL, the bit following the "src= and what should the path be.

<script type="text/javascript" src="clientscript/vbulletin_global.js?v=$vboptions[simpleversion]"></script>

My forums are on /home/carandim/public_html/forums.

Oh, and they are vB3.6.0

[Chuck S]

we auto rewrite relative urls but yes after the src="