Step 7 install problem (Imbue Menu with Magic)

mindstorm · 2014-07-21 04:59:23

Trying to install the WordPress CE4 stuff. Most is working, but the 'magic menu sync' is not. I go to the /galleries/phplugins/phplugins.php file on the server and edit it. Problem is what I put in that magic "line 2" as described in Step 7 of the CE4-102 doc.

Your instructions seem contradictory, and my guess is apparently not right, since it does not match the gallery menu to the main menu.

You tell us to cut-and-paste (OK), then edit line 2.

1) Get the PHPlugins path -- which you show ending in /phplugins

2) Trim it back... by you added "/blog" to the trimmed path? Why? Where does that come from?

3) You then say you update Line 2 to a path that has no relationship to the prior two lines of instructions, giving a "/var/www/vhosts/ ... /httpdocs" path. Where did that come from? How do I map to my path??

I tried the following line 2, but it fails. What the heck should I really be putting here???

define('__ROOT__', '/home/users/web/b1535/nf.mindstormphoto/public_html/mindstormphoto.com'); // SET PATH TO WORDPRESS

(BTW, the base of my site is www.mindstormphoto.com)

Matthew · 2014-07-21 12:14:31

2) In my example, using Campagna Pictures, that's where my blog is located. You point the path at your own blog. That should be:

<code>
define('__ROOT__', '/home/users/web/b1535/nf.mindstormphoto/public_html/mindstormphoto.com'); // SET PATH TO WORDPRESS
</code>

Then if you've correctly created and assigned a menu in the Wordpress dashboard, it should work.

mindstorm · 2014-07-21 12:58:09

hmmm... At this point in the installation, I don't think I have created the blog yet. I have the 'galleries' folder, but not a 'blog' folder yet.

Even if so, your docs say nothing about a blog folder? The above paragraph talks about the 'galleries' folder. That Step 7 is very confusing from the point where you say to copy-paste to the end.

I will try to look at it again tomorrow (just got back from a "wild music and dance party" here in Ecuador), but right now it still does not seem to compute...?

Matthew · 2014-07-21 16:15:17

You don't need a /blog folder. You need to have WordPress up-and-running, and then line 2 of your function needs the path to that WordPress installation. That is all.

mindstorm · 2014-07-22 02:00:22

I put WordPress at the top root of my site, as your instructions said to do. When I look at the phplugin directory, I get:

/home/users/web/b1535/nf.mindstormphoto/public_html/mindstormphoto.com/galleries/phplugins

Since I have WP at my root, I changed that to:

/home/users/web/b1535/nf.mindstormphoto/public_html/mindstormphoto.com

making my line 2 read:

define('__ROOT__', '/home/users/web/b1535/nf.mindstormphoto/public_html/mindstormphoto.com'); // SET PATH TO WORDPRESS

When I do this though, my top level menu does not copy to the gallery?

(BTW, this is where I got before posting the initial query)

rod barbee · 2014-07-22 02:17:47

When I do this though, my top level menu does not copy to the gallery?

can you check something? Make sure that your 'galleries' autoindex has phplugins enabled and that the server path to phplugins is set to: /home/users/web/b1535/nf.mindstormphoto/public_html/mindstormphoto.com/galleries/phplugins

any subsequent page you create (autoindexes, galleries, publisher templates from either of those) will also need this path entered.

if that's not it, consider posting the contents of you phplugins file in this thread.

mindstorm · 2014-07-22 04:05:34

Yes, that autoindex and all other LightRoom templates so far have that enabled, and that is the path.

Not sure how to add an image to this comment (when I try, it just shows the image and not the rest of the text?). I created a screenshot of that section of the site info, and put it here:

http://www.mindstormphoto.com/ScreenShot.png

Similarly, not sure how to attach a file in this forum either? I created a zip file in the same folder as the original php, so you can download it from here:

http://www.mindstormphoto.com/galleries … ns.php.zip

rod barbee · 2014-07-22 05:26:52

the phplugins file looks fine.
But it doesn't look like your galleries page is calling it. can you confirm that this phplugins.php file is in the /galleries/phplugins/ folder? The phplugins-sample.php file can be there too as it won't do anything, but this modified phplugins.php file needs to be there.

Another test to see if the phplugins are working as intended is to enable custom css. Look for this section in the phplugins.php file:

/* DELETE THIS LINE
// CUSTOM STYLESHEET
// This function implements a custom stylesheet from which users may provide additional page styling or override existing styling set by the plugin
// Edit the custom.css file in /phplugins/css/ to define styles
// Serves as an example of a function being applied globally
function ttg_head_end( $style, $path ) { 
    echo '
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="/phplugins/css/custom.css" />
    ';
} // END
DELETE THIS LINE */

change this line: <link rel="stylesheet" href="/phplugins/css/custom.css" />
to this: <link rel="stylesheet" href="/galleries/phplugins/css/custom.css" /> (to match your particular setup)

and remove the "DELETE THIS LINE" lines.

mindstorm · 2014-07-22 06:31:42

Yes, that file is in the galleries/phplugins folder. In fact it is sitting right next to the zip version that you downloaded to verify the contents.

I tried making the css change you described, and I don't see any change in behavior from that either?

To be clear, I start at the root of my site:

www.mindstormphoto.com

I see the menu that I created, which has only 'home' and 'galleries' on it. I then click the 'galleries' menu, which is an autoindex site (no sub galleries, so the page is empty other than the 'Lorem ipsum' stuff on top).

That page shows the default menu, with 7 entries rather than the two I defined on the home page.

I am expecting that the galleries menu will reflect the menu on the main page. That is correct, isn't it?

I have uploaded another screenshot. This shows the full directory layout of the main web site. Perhaps something else was not put where it was supposed to be?

http://www.mindstormphoto.com/ScreenShot2.png

rod barbee · 2014-07-22 07:13:59

I tried making the css change you described, and I don't see any change in behavior from that either?

just activating that section of the page won't make any changes to the page seen in the browser, but I should see a reference to it in the page code. And I'm not seeing it.

I am expecting that the galleries menu will reflect the menu on the main page. That is correct, isn't it?

That is correct. But for some reason, the page isn't using the phplugins.php file. If it was, I'd be seeing this in the page code:

<link rel="stylesheet" href="/galleries/phplugins/css/custom.css" />

right before the closing head tag. But I'm not seeing it. This says to me that phplugins has not been activated correctly.

The screen shot of yours:

Shows that the path is entered correctly (this was from your autoindex, correct?). The phplugins file you linked to looks in order.

Right now the only thing I can suggest is to re-export the autoindex you're using for the galleries page and uploading it again. Perhaps it didn't get re-uploaded after you activated phplugins earlier? Anyway, give that a try.

by the way, you can post images to the forum by clicking on the image icon in the row above the message box. It's right next to the color wheel. Then just paste the url to the image in between the IMG tags.

Last edited by rod barbee (2014-07-22 07:14:39)

mindstorm · 2014-07-22 07:43:11

Well... bummer...

I deleted the 'galleries' folder via FTP. Made a slight change to the title of the auto-index page so I could verify the new one was really there. Exported and uploaded the new galleries folder.

The menu still does not 'magic' for me...

Starting at: www.mindstormphoto.com

I see the 2 menu items. Press the 'galleries' menu. I see the new auto-index (title now says 'Index Attempt 2'), but it has all 7 default menus.

At this point, I think maybe I will just manually create the menu on each page. This 'magic' thing doesn't seem to want to work for me.

I did see that 'image' icon, but didn't realize I was supposed to put a url for an uploaded image between the tags. Will do that next time I need to show an image.

rod barbee · 2014-07-22 08:30:46

it's not the "magic" thing that's the problem, it's the implementation of phplugins.

If you've enabled phplugins in the autoindex and if you've modified the exported phplugins-sample.php file correctly and saved it as phplugins.php AND uploaded it to the /galleries/ folder, then at the very least I should be seeing the reference to the custom.css file (is it still activated in the file?)

But I can't even see a custom.css file. And since it's created when you enable phplugins, I can only guess that things are not being put in the right place.
If the phplugins folder was in the right place I'd find a custom css folder here: http://www.mindstormphoto.com/galleries … custom.css but I get a Page Not Found error

I am seeing it at this address though: http://www.mindstormphoto.com/galleries … custom.css

That tells me that you've activated phplugins but that you've perhaps not changed the name of the phplugins-sample/ folder to phplugins/ (or uploaded a folder by that name)
(the phplugins-sample/ folder isn't shown in your earlier screenshot either, but it's clearly there)

Is that phplugins.php.zip file still in the phplugins/ folder? Maybe try getting rid of that?

mindstorm · 2014-07-22 11:12:11

Small oops...

When I uploaded galleries the second time, I forgot to rename the 'samples' back to 'phplugins' that time. I have done it now, and the css is where you expected it (at the first url you said was giving 404 earlier).

Unfortunately, the menus still do not map from the home page to the galleries page.

Here is an image of my current folder structure, starting at the root (www.mindstormphoto.com):

rod barbee · 2014-07-22 11:32:44

one issue taken care of. But the page still isn't calling the custom css file. This means that something is amiss in the phplugins set up.

I just want to make you've enabled phplugins in the Autoindex you've named "galleries" and you've removed the REMOVE THIS LINE comments from before and after the custom css section of the phplugins.php file. This is the easiest way I know of to test to see if phplugins are working or not. And since your host meets the TTG requirements I don't see why it shouldn't be working.

everything is in the right place. Just double check that the autoindex you are using for the "galleries" page has phplugins enabled. For the current testing purpose you can remove the server path from the path field, just to eliminate one variable.
Re-export and upload. Make sure your FTP program is set to overwrite the files. Either that or delete the current one and upload a new one.

mindstorm · 2014-07-22 11:52:42

Yes, the phplugins is definitely activated, as shown in a LightRoom screenshot earlier in this thread. I also verified it was still active on the last upload (I deleted the old folder, then uploaded fresh, which is how the folder name returned to '-sample').

I did not re-edit the php file on this last upload. Sorry, didn't realize you still wanted that.

Did it now, and it definitely does make the page look different. Red borders now, though I don't see any text about the css, which I thought you described.

And the menu still does not map...

---------------
I just had another thought... This website was originally created as a stand-alone gallery using CE3. That code is all still there, just moved to an 'old' directory. Thus, if you go to:

http://www.mindstormphoto.com/old/

you see the earlier version of the website. Any chance that is interfering somehow?

Last edited by mindstorm (2014-07-22 13:15:04)

rod barbee · 2014-07-22 13:55:15

that old site is definitely not a TTG CE3 gallery. I'm pretty sure Matthew would slit his wrists before using tables for design purposes

But at least now we know that your phplugins are working. I can see the reference to your custom css in the page code and, more obviously, you now see the bright red background that the sample css in the custom.css file creates.

when you created your menu in WordPress, did you save it to the Site-Navigation item?

from the tutorial:
Under the “Manage Locations” tab, assign your newly created menu to the "Site-Navigation" item.

(I deleted the old folder, then uploaded fresh, which is how the folder name returned to '-sample').

Did you paste the code from the tutorial into the newly exported phplugins file too?

Last edited by rod barbee (2014-07-22 14:06:19)

mindstorm · 2014-07-22 14:19:19

Did you paste the code from the tutorial into the newly exported phplugins file too?

Ugh... No, I didn't on the second upload. I just deleted and uploaded the newly generated code without stepping through the tutorial again...

I did it now, and... IT WORKS!

Thank you for sticking to this. Apparently I must have had something non-obvious wrong the first time, and it took a few attempts before I got everything set up this second time, but the problem is now solved!

I have now commented out the CSS line again, and it looks like I can finally start developing the rest of my site tomorrow.

Thanks again!

rod barbee · 2014-07-22 23:22:49

glad to help

mindstorm · 2014-07-22 23:42:44

All of this jumping through hoops did leave me with one philosophical question...

Why doesn't the LightRoom CE4 export just create all that stuff correct from the start??

IOW, why does it create a "phplugin-sample" folder that must be renamed? And why is it missing that code that must be copied/pasted into it? And why isn't the path to WP entered correctly automatically?

Seems that just makes it far more likely for the user to have problems like this. Every time I make a change to my index page, I am going to have to do all those steps again. Even if I remember to do it over the next couple weeks when developing my site, I will almost certainly forget it when I come back and update the site a year or so from now.

It seems to me that the steps up to this point could have been reduced to a simple 'export and ftp' one line instruction. Or am I missing some key rationale for all this?

rod barbee · 2014-07-23 00:25:10

Why doesn't the LightRoom CE4 export just create all that stuff correct from the start??

Matt could do this, but it would make the modules incredibly slow to work with. You may have already noticed that refreshing the view in Lightroom can take a little time. There's already a lot going on behind the scenes.

IOW, why does it create a "phplugin-sample" folder that must be renamed?

Because it used to be way too easy to export, upload, and accidentally overwrite the phplugins file that you've spent so much time creating. This is a change Matt made with CE3 and it's prevented a lot of headaches.

And why isn't the path to WP entered correctly automatically?

Because not everybody has the same set up and server paths can be wildly different from one host to another.

Every time I make a change to my index page, I am going to have to do all those steps again.

No, because pages exports a phplugins-sample folder instead of phplugins. That way you won't overwrite what you've already done. See what a good idea that was

It seems to me that the steps up to this point could have been reduced to a simple 'export and ftp' one line instruction. Or am I missing some key rationale for all this?

the latter

I suppose it could have been all set up ahead of time, but then users who aren't doing that exact thing would have to jump through other hoops just to disable or change things. For example, my site isn't based on WordPress, I use Pages. And I'd guess that at present, most TTG users are using a Pages based site over Wordpress.
Matt's made it as easy as feasibly possible by providing several built in functions in phplugins as well as providing copy/paste tutorials.

Last edited by rod barbee (2014-07-23 00:25:54)

Community @ The Turning Gate

#1 2014-07-21 04:59:23

Step 7 install problem (Imbue Menu with Magic)

#2 2014-07-21 12:14:31

Re: Step 7 install problem (Imbue Menu with Magic)

#3 2014-07-21 12:58:09

Re: Step 7 install problem (Imbue Menu with Magic)

#4 2014-07-21 16:15:17

Re: Step 7 install problem (Imbue Menu with Magic)

#5 2014-07-22 02:00:22

Re: Step 7 install problem (Imbue Menu with Magic)

#6 2014-07-22 02:17:47

Re: Step 7 install problem (Imbue Menu with Magic)

#7 2014-07-22 04:05:34

Re: Step 7 install problem (Imbue Menu with Magic)

#8 2014-07-22 05:26:52

Re: Step 7 install problem (Imbue Menu with Magic)

#9 2014-07-22 06:31:42

Re: Step 7 install problem (Imbue Menu with Magic)

#10 2014-07-22 07:13:59

Re: Step 7 install problem (Imbue Menu with Magic)

#11 2014-07-22 07:43:11

Re: Step 7 install problem (Imbue Menu with Magic)

#12 2014-07-22 08:30:46

Re: Step 7 install problem (Imbue Menu with Magic)

#13 2014-07-22 11:12:11

Re: Step 7 install problem (Imbue Menu with Magic)

#14 2014-07-22 11:32:44

Re: Step 7 install problem (Imbue Menu with Magic)

#15 2014-07-22 11:52:42

Re: Step 7 install problem (Imbue Menu with Magic)

#16 2014-07-22 13:55:15

Re: Step 7 install problem (Imbue Menu with Magic)

#17 2014-07-22 14:19:19

Re: Step 7 install problem (Imbue Menu with Magic)

#18 2014-07-22 23:22:49

Re: Step 7 install problem (Imbue Menu with Magic)

#19 2014-07-22 23:42:44

Re: Step 7 install problem (Imbue Menu with Magic)

#20 2014-07-23 00:25:10

Re: Step 7 install problem (Imbue Menu with Magic)

Board footer