Install of PhotoPost and VB 3.8.7 Integration Problem

[Mike Jordan]

I really hate asking for help, since I know it has to be something I'm over looking, but after spending 2.5 solid days, several re-installs, reading and re-reading the 32 page thread plus numerous linked threads, I've still not got PhotoPost 7.1 to integrate with my vBulletin 3.8.7.

The short description on the problem is that nothing comes up on my forum home page. The space opens up at the top of my forum but I don't even get the black images that some people saw when it wasn't working right.

I do have PhotoPost working on it's own and I've uploaded images to it (and I believe they are in a category and not just a member area). I've uploaded the photopost-plugin.xml file (plugins are enabled and it's active) and I've edited the FORUMHOME template with the $photopostfeature and $photopostcats lines that need to be added.

I used pretty much a default install using the same database as my VB and with the pp_ prefix on the tables. I can see them if I look at my database. My vBulletin forum is pretty much a plain vanilla install, I don't have any other hacks, plugins or modifications to it. PhotoPost is actually the first one I've tried to add to it.

After I edited the FORUMHOME template, a white space at the top of my home page did open up where I believe the images would be displayed if it was working. There is no bar, no frame or any indication that anything is being put there though.

I did two installs, the first one I had PhotoPost in it's own directory on the same level as the VB forum directory. I corrected the paths for this. After I couldn't get that to work, I did a new install and put it in my forum directory and with the name /gallery since that seemed to be what all the examples referenced and the plugin used.

I believe the problem is a path error, but I'm not sure if it's with PhotoPost, vBulletin or MySQL. I get no errors if I leave the plugin with two dots ../ but if I change it to one dot (i.e. include('./gallery/inc_features.php') I get the same error for the second install as I got the first:

Can't connect to local MySQL server through socket '/tmp/mysql.sock' (2)

So I believe I actually had it configured correctly with the first install... or at least I had the same error that if I could fix the error it would have worked there as well.

I do have the /data/ (there is actually 3 places that has a path line with /data in it and I tried the data/ in all three places with no change), per the instructions I have read (and Chuck must have mentioned in just about every post he's had to write ), I've gone over the paths so many times that I'm sure if I'm missing something, my eyes have long accepted it and over look the same error each time.

I've read up on the socket error above with vBulletins but when the people start talking about making changes and restarting MySQL, especially when I've had my vBulletin working for several years, I figure that can't be it. Besides, I'm on a shared hosting system and I don't have access to all of that.

As I said, I hate asking for help since I know I should be able to figure this out, but it's either ask for help or delete it and just chalk it up as wasted attempt on my part.

If it will tell you anything, my forum URL is (unable to post due to forum restrictions)

PhotoPost is currently in (unable to post URL due to forum restrictions)

If there is anything else I need to add, let me know. At this point I'm pretty much fried working on it. Any help will certainly be appreciated.

Thanks

Mike

PS, the forum won't let me post my URL's because I've not posted 15 posts yet. I don't know how a support site can work without allowing URL info to be posted as most people that buy this software wouldn't be logging in to post 15 chit chat messages before they have a problem. If you need them, I'll PM them.

[Chuck S]

How about you post a url to your gallery like this. photopost dot com. The simply answer is nothing is going to come up on your forum unless you install code mods. The photopost program is going to be installed where the actual gallery is installed. I need to see your site because I have no idea above if your talking about some issue with installing or a code mod.

[Mike Jordan]

Chuck, what code modes need to be installed other than what I've read in the instructions and in the various threads about integrating PhotoPost with vBulletin? Is there more than adding the changes to the FORUMHOME templates? Obvious there is more to customize it, but is there more than the template changes for just a basic image bar?

Ok, on the URL, my forum is at: echobouvier dot com/ebf
The PhotoPost is at: echobouvier dot com/ebf/gallery

Thanks, Chuck.

Mike

[Chuck S]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with your gallery. It is using your vb header footer and stylesheet over our application which is what we show in many examples and in our details. That is a basic stock install.

This would help you put a photo block on your forum index. You can place a link in your navbar if you want

http://www.photopost.com/forum/photo...3-5-3-8-a.html

[Mike Jordan]

Thanks for checking, Chuck. I went back through the 32 page thread you have linked above and I'm still missing what ever it is I was missing before. I have the $photopostfeature line in my FORUMHOME template under the <body>, $header and $navbar lines. And futher down under the <!--main--> line I put in the <br/>$photopostcats<br/> line as show by the instructions. I've uploaded the plug in include('../gallery/inc_features.php'); with /gallery and all of the photopost files in it, within my VB forum directory. I get nothing with ../ and if I just go ./ I get the error I noted above: Can't connect to local MySQL server through socket '/tmp/mysql.sock' (2)

From what I've read, I think I should be using the one dot and not the two but I get the error with one and nothing with two. I'm obviously missing something. I would even be happy to just get the black dots so many others seem to have gotten right at first, but I can't even get those.

I haven't been able to run down the socket error either, and I feel that is trying to tell me something. I didn't see anyone else on here that reported that error either, but it is probably a path or permission problem somewhere.

I tried putting the pull path in the plug in for the location of the inc_features file, but that didn't help either. I'll go back through the 32 page thread and the sublinks that are listed in the thread and see if I can find what I left out. If you have any other ideas, I'm all ears.

Thanks, Chuck.

Mike

[Chuck S]

Mike

well yes please read the first post in that thread as that is all you need to read.

1. You must use the correct path to the file so yes either full path or one dot is correct since your gallery is in your forum directory.

2. You must fill out the proper info for photopost database if its different than vb which is explained in bold in the first post.

[Mike Jordan]

I've read that first post about 5 times now and I have it printed out and sitting next to me. Although I have both my VB and PP pointing to the same database (with PhotoPost using the pp_ prefix) I even tried editing and un-commenting the lines that are referenced in case the database are different. I may have been going around in circles so much on this that I'm running into myself. I have got it so that I don't get the error message but now I get a full white page with nothing on it. At least it's progress... sorta.

It may be better for me to just clean it all out and start over from scratch. Since I have the PhotoPost tables prefixed with the pp_ I should be able to just delete those tables (after doing a 3rd database backup of course), delete my PhotoPost directories and just install and re-configure from scratch. Does that sound correct, Chuck?

Thanks

Mike

Thanks Chuck

[Chuck S]

You can start over sure and maybe this time install vbgallery instead of Pro maybe more to your liking. Has less gallery features but more plugins as it is written specifically for vb.

[Mike Jordan]

I've thought about trying the vbGallery but the PhotoPost had a few features that vbGallery didn't, which is why I wanted to use it. I may have to try that though just to see if I can get it to work. My re-install didn't make any difference.

I have a question. Assuming that I had the integration set up right, when I log into my forum and the row of images comes up along the top, what step actually puts that row there? Is it the $photopostfeature, the $photopostcats or is there something else?

The reason I ask is that it seems to work right up to the step it's suppose to insert the images. If I do $pp_headers="no" in inc_photofeatures.php I get a blank page and nothing of my forum page shows. If I say "yes" I get my forum page and I see the open white area at the top where the images would go but nothing is there.

It's going to be bad enough if I get this to work and find I just left a step out, but if I find I misspelled something that I've gone over and over trying to find, I'm really going to be ticked at myself. But I've done that before. Once I did a piece of code that I put "" in and it was suppose to be " ". It took me almost 4 days to find that one... and my eyes aren't as young as they were when I did that.

Thanks again, Chuck.

Mike

[Chuck S]

there is no inc_photofeature.php file

There is a inc_features.php file but there is nothing about any ppheaders things so I think you may be using the wrong hack or mod.

Again like I said you had the Pro program installed right it looked like.

You just need to setup a navbar link in your navbar template and install a photo block. Those as far as Pro is concerned are hack for vb.

http://www.photopost.com/forum/1144406-post1.html

Basically all your doing here is using that xml file to upload to your plugins in vb to add a photo block. If your using the right info and paths etc and place the $photopostfeature line in the forumhome template a photo block will appear.

If you continue to have issues you can purchase installation service. All this is really not too difficult.

[Mike Jordan]

The pp_headers entry is in one of the instructions in that 32 page installation thread that is referenced. The link you just posted referes to information to make changes to the index.php file that is no longer applicable (or so I gather from later posts). So while all the information is there on how to install this, there are also a lot of false leads, dead ends and mis-directions that have to be weeded out. I've probably gone down one of those paths that no longer apply to the current version of PhotoPost and vBulletin and haven't found my way out yet.

I guess the part that I'm hitting right now is the navbar and photo block. I'm assuming the navbar is the $photopostfeature entry and the photo block should be the $photopostcats entry. If that's the case, then I don't know why at least the frame work isn't showing up on my forum home page unless the path in the plug-in is wrong and I've done everything to putting in full paths based on doing a PWD in my gallery folder to taking it off of the PHP Info file to going into my control panel on my hosting site and going into the file control area and clicking on inc_features.php and seeing where my hosting site says it is.

Yes, it should work and no, it isn't that difficult. But then difficult is relative to what you know and how much you know about the program. I'm sure there are things I do that I think are very simple that just wouldn't make sense to others. Yes, I could pay for the installation service, but then there is no gurentee that that would work either and that would be more money down the drain. This is one reason why I try to only use programs that have a demo period so I can make sure they work for me in my environment.

It looks like you have helped me as much as you can, Chuck. If I have any questions that haven't already been answered dozens of times in the different threads, I'll ask about it. If I ever find out whatever it is I'm doing wrong, no matter how stupid, I'll post it so maybe it will help someone else. Thanks for trying to help, Chuck. I know what it's like trying to support something and help people that seem to have the same problems and questions time after time. And I know what it's like to see something plain as day and have someone else just not understand what I'm saying. Been there, done that and wore out the tee-shirt.

Thanks

Mike

[Chuck S]

Mike you dont want to read or follow that old thread. what the link states is the download xml is based on some old hack or mod. Your not suppose to really do stuff in old mods. Your complicating things I would beleive based on that old 32 page thread from like 2004. There is only so much assistance I can give on mods since its not product support.

All you want to do is this.

Do not click any other links than the one I posted.

1. Download the xml file attached in the first post of the link that I gave you.

2. edit the xml plugin and place the true full server path to that gallery file on your server.

3. If your photopost database info is different than vb you would have to edit your inc_features.php and place the proper info where asked and uncomment out those database lines. If it is the same you can skip this step.

4. Go to your photopost admin panel and under edit integration make sure the data url has a trailing slash after data and your photopost table prefix is entered where asked.

5. Go to your vb admin control panel and upload this plugin to the forumhome_complete hook location.

6. edit your forumhome template in vb and add the variable $photopostfeature.

If you where using vb4 things would be alot simpler.

[motowebmaster]

I'm not sure if this will help, but copied the inc_features.php file to a new filename and renamed the critical variables. They were conflicting with other items within vbulletin.

I also uncommented the mysql connect/select lines and entered the appropriate info because the rest of my site is mysqli.

[Chuck S]

Okay well good to know in the mod thread if you want to post it there since none of this has anything to do with the supported application released from us.