Topic: Top navigation missing after upgrade.

[mack]

Attached 

[AngelinaBelle]

that file looks about right.
 
Those "missing" buttons only show up if the user is allowed to use those things.
So, if you would like me to log in and look, please PM me account details.
 
 

[mack]

Sure .. I'll set up a mod account with access and PM you the details.

All usergroups are able to see those buttons, and have done for about a year .. but I'm guessing you'll have a better overview when you see the site a little closer.

PM will be with you soon.

[AngelinaBelle]

OK -- I see that the user is permitted ?action=search, but the search button does not show up.  And I see that this is true for both guest and the test account you provided.
 
In index.template.php:

Code: [Select]

// How about the [search] button?
 if ($context['allow_search'])
  echo '<li><a href="', $scripturl, '?action=search"><b>' , $txt[182] , '</b></a></li>';

It seems that $context['allow_search'] is not set properly at the point in time where template_menu is called.
 
The problem is not in index.template.php.  The problem is setting that context element.
 
The question is -- is the problem related to SimplePortal?
What happens if you disable SimplePortal, or uninstall it? Does the problem go away?

[mack]

Well my site was working just fine with smf 1.1.2 and sp 2.3.2, and these problems only arose once I upgraded to 2.3.3. So in that sense, yes, it is SP related .. I've not added any other mods etc except this new version of SP for maybe a couple of months (except ofc for the mod Nathaniel requested I added on to get proper eval reports in the moderation log earlier in this thread).

If I completely remove SP altogether (either by disabling or completely uninstalling) the buttons still do not appear .. it's as if something in the upgrade process has changed something fundamental in my main theme. I don't know how, because I followed the instructions exactly as they were written, and not experienced this before using exactly the same theme when SP has needed upgrading.

However, the missing buttons is only one thing this upgrade has disabled/removed .. the news/newsletter rotating text is also gone (which used to appear directly under the site's header banner), and I can no longer put images on the home page (unless they form part of the core functions .. avatar works for example, but images from either my gallery of external images do not appear). ALL of these issues were not there until the upgrade.

[AngelinaBelle]

I'd like to be certain about SimplePortal, one way or the other. Can you uninstall SimplePortal and check to make certain that absolutely all vestiges of SimplePortal are really gone?
 
After uninstalling SimplePortal, either
* ftp fresh, untouched copies of all the relevant files from the 1.1.12 install set (find them in the .zip file) into place,
or else
* check the relevant files manually, to make sure all SimplePortal code is removed.
 
You can find out which SMF files are involved by looking at the manual install instructions at http://custom.simplemachines.org/mods/index.php?action=parse;mod=1104;attach=160883;smf_version=1.1.12
 
Since your Themes/default is not the default theme, you would probably prefer to use the manual install instructions to check index.template.php and Display.template.php for any SimplePortal code.
 
This step will help us get to the root of your problem.
 
If you do not wish to muck around in your "real" forum like this, you might prefer to duplicate your forum files (in a location like /testforum) and then duplicate all your data tables in another instance of the database, or else with a different db_prefix.

[mack]

oh my ..

OK, I'll start looking at doing this .. so give me some time to report back.

I will say this though, I went through a step similar to this the other day and nothing much changed. But yes, I will do as you ask to rule it out.

[AngelinaBelle]

You hadn't mentioned that you had tried this already.
After you completely verified the uninstall -- did the prodigal buttons return?
 
 

[mack]

hehe no .. I went through a couple of stages to try and track downthe problem before posting here .. the basic ones like uninstalling etc, but once it became clear the issue was a little bigger than that I thought I'd better get in touch with you guys

.. and again the missing buttons is just ONE thing that's gone astray during this upgrade

[AngelinaBelle]

OK.  One step at a time.  Please verify that you have completely uninstalled SimplePortal, then let us know if the buttons are still gone.
 
Thanks

[mack]

I think I can confirm this as this was a step I'd previously taken.

I can still make your account a mod account if you need to look further into this, so feel free to ask .. if it helps. Obviously this goes for Nathaniel too.

I'm at a loss how to fix this ..

[AngelinaBelle]

If SimplePortal is not installed, and the problem still exists, then the problem is not with SimplePortal.
 
Did the problem start as soon as you uninstalled SimplePortal? Perhaps something went wrong during the uninstall?
 
The problem seems to be that, even though the user has permission to ?search, $context['allow_search'] has not been set properly at the time template_menu is called.  I do not know what has caused this problem.
 
It could take a lot of effort to track down the source of problem.  Do you have any other mods?
 
It seems to me that the simplest way for you to find your problem would be to start over with a pristine copy of the SMF 1.1.12 files from the SMF package, and a pristine copy of your theme, in a TEST version of your forum, so you don't have to muck around with the real live forum.
 
Check that all is well.
 
Install SimplePortal 2.3.3 and ONLY SimplePortal 2.3.3.  No other mods or customizations. check again.

[mack]

As I mentioned on the first few post everything was just fine with smf 1.1.2 and sp 2.3.2. All of these issues occured when I upgraded to sp 2.3.3. Whatever happened during the upgrade process has done something fundamental, because even removing it doesn't correct the problem.

Yes I run mods, but again these were working perfectly fine before the upgrade, and still do. The issue seems to be how the upgrade has effected the theme somehow and its display, especially given the points we've uncovered in this thread so far. This is why I invited you guys to take a closer look in case other people run into this problem, and to see what possible errors might have occured in the upgrade process.

[AngelinaBelle]

In general, if SimplePortal is not present, SimplePortal cannot cause of the problem.  It's an airtight alibi -- if you were at your grandmother's house on the afternoon of the 14th, you could not be guilty of robbing a bank that afternoon.
 
* If, in uninstalling SimplePortal, something wrong got done to the files, then this could be a cause of the problem.  Restoring "pristine" files that are completely unaffected by SimplePortal install/uninstall could solve the problem in this case.
 
* Another possible cause of the problem could be a bad (and extremely persistant!) cache of the menu buttons.  What SMF caching options do you use?  Try turning it off and seeing if that fixes the problem.

[mack]

I see. All of that should have been visible to you when I gave mod/admin access .. but anyway, I kinda want to move forwards with this now.

It's a shame we can't find out what happened and rectify it. Personally I don't agree that SP has a water-tight alibi given the situation as I've described throughout this thread, especially as we've not been able to establish what happened during the upgrade to make that assertion. However, I can see that I've reached the edges of acceptable support over what's normally a solid, reliable piece of software, with great support.

If my only option is to rebuild everything from scratch (and pray the same error doesn't come up) then that's what I'll have to do. I appreciate this hasn't been an easy one to solve, but i still think identifying the cause could have had some mileage. I've always loved SP and admired/respected your work, so don't want to paint a 100% negative picture in this thread .. but maybe it's something to look into for the future.

Thanks for looking into this as far as you and Nathaniel did .. at least I know what I'll be doing for the next week or so hehe.

[AngelinaBelle]

That account is not allowed to administrate, so I cannot see the cache settings you have used.
 
I do suggest turning off caching, if you have it on.  That's an easy test.
 
Of course, if the SimplePortal uninstall has damaged something, then, well, it was the SimplePortal uninstall. This is why I suggest putting in pristine copies of every file the SimplePortal install/uninstall touches.  That will eliminate the possibility.
 
I agree that it would be good to figure out what caused your problem. If I had a similar problem, I would likely look for the pragmatic fix. Fiddling with a cache setting, replacing a few php files -- if these things rectify the problem, then there's your answer.
 
If you can be ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that you have eliminated every trace of SimplePortal from the software, then you can be ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that you have eliminated every effect that SimplePortal might have on the software. Until then, as you say, you cannot be certain.
 
Please try the cache.

[mack]

- Caching is off, and always has been.

- The account you're talking about was able to administrate when I first made it active .. I've since removed it from the group after you had checked out some stuff following a previous post in this thread.

- The complete uninstall was a step I'd taken before, as I mentioned in a previous post. I can only really vouch for the database and the install files .. I'm not sure I can verify all the code that an install/uninstall 'might' leave behind in all the default and theme files.

- The error took place at the upgrade/install stage .. not at the uninstall stage if I remember correctly.

- I might need a few days to set up a 'pristine' version for testing.

[AngelinaBelle]

I'm glad we can rule out at least one possible source of the problem.
The code that might get left behind in Sources and Themes files can certainly contribute to a problem.  You can see this list of files by looking at the manual install instructions -- all the files are listed.
 
The number of files you would have to replace with pristine versions is really pretty small.
Doing this would remove all possible effects of SimplePortal (you did mention that the problem persisted even after you uninstalled SimplePortal).
 
The problem seems to be that that several $context items such as $context['allow_search']  are not set properly at the time the navigation menu is written to HTML. I do not know what would cause this problem.

[mack]

Yes that would make sense I suppose. I'm assuming to change that would require a LOT of editing in numerous files?

[AngelinaBelle]

I'm assuming to change that would require a LOT of editing in numerous files?

Since I am not familiar with the whys and wherefores of user context loading, I am not going to recommend trying to find out what is going wrong with that and fixing it.
 
I am only recommending steps to make ABSOLUTELY certain that every effect caused by a mod are removed -- replace each affected file with a pristine copy. SMF's Package Manager, while awfully good, is not absolutely perfect. If a mod is completely removed, it absolutely cannot cause any further problems to your forum.
 
Before you take that step, I would recommend that you uninstall any mods that require modifications to any of the files to be replaced (and check, after each uninstall, the behavior of your navigation buttons).