• From: Orlando, FL
  • Registered: 2015-02-06
  • Posts: 46

Topic: Unable to install Showkase

Dear Showkase:

If I may tag onto this thread --- I'm sorry, it's listed as "solved" but I'm having some problems related to the thread.

I'm really loving Showkase but it looks like I have to solve some problems which I think are related to PHP being too restrictive. Note that I can change my PHP configuration myself, I have full access to the WHM (Web host manager) for my Apache at my service provider, and I can change permissions at will by FTP. And I can read to you any directives which are restricted. My PHP has been restricted by a firewall I installed on my Joomla-based site, which is also running on this web server. So it would concern me to "unrestrict" PHP but the Joomla site is pretty stable at this point and I'm not adding any more plugins, and the firewall already keeps external hackers from attempting to log in and do exploits. Are you familiar with all the PHP directives which are used by Showkase and which ones I should change in the configuration?

When I installed Showkase the fie tests failed. I set the permissions as instructed for the folder containing Showkase and for the files within and it still failed. I set all folders to 755 and all files to 644 as requested but the file test failed. I then upped the permissions for the folders to 777 (which I know is very bad), and the file tests passed. This was a bad omen but I hoped I could move on. And for the most part I was able to. However, I see after Showkase has been operating for a time, some of the folders it has created have reverted to 755, and some of its files are 644. This may or may not be the actual problem. Obviously I can't keep on altering permissions to make things work, we have to solve the problem elsewhere. I hope it's with PHP or else then I've found a bug in Showkase  :-(

I'm using Showkase Pro and creating the galleries with Juicebox Pro plugin in Lightroom, and uploading the gallery with Lightroom's FTP feature. All that is working.

My problem is I began to find some attributes that I could not fix in the gallery. The back button is now stubbornly installed though I had turned it off in both Showkase and in Lightroom (just in case). Its text is still there and it is still calling a link that I no longer have configured in Showkase. Then by trashing the gallery with rm -rf in a terminal, removing the gallery from within Showkase.... and then starting all over again from a Lightroom upload and a Showkase import and the back button problem remains. I wasted a few hours playing with the configurations and just could not get rid of the back button or its text, which is sitting right on top of the text for the gallery title within the gallery.

Finally when I tried to trash the gallery from within Showkase it reported "Cannot move page to trash", which I think is a symptom of the overall problem. I know the problem is with Showkase and not Juicebox because if I access the single gallery directly by addressing the gallery subfolder in a browser directly, the back button is not there nor is the problem. It only occurs if I access the gallery through Showkase by addressing the Showkase root folder in a browser.

Another note: My first gallery is in a folder called Landscapes (upper case L). At some point, some mechanism creates ANOTHER folder called landscapes with a lower case l...  I don't know what to do about that! Hopefully it's all related to the same PHP issue.

bobkatz's Website

  • From: Orlando, FL
  • Registered: 2015-02-06
  • Posts: 46

Re: Unable to install Showkase

Aha, I see why there is a duplicate of Landscapes in my hierarchy...  according to another thread here, Showkase creates a duplicate folder when it imports a Juicebox gallery. I think that's counterproductive, but it does explain what's going on. But what's going to happen when I reupload some changed images from Lightroom? Should I re-import? Trash then import? This really seems counterproductive. I'll continue reading the thread about the duplicate folder and see if there is a better solution.

bobkatz's Website

  • From: Orlando, FL
  • Registered: 2015-02-06
  • Posts: 46

Re: Unable to install Showkase

While I'm waiting for a forum reply I'm still playing. I was able to trash the landscapes folder from within Showkase. But my system would not allow it to trash the folder Landscapes which was uploaded by Lightroom. I'm going to try the temp folder (outside of the Showkase folder) approach and see what happens.

bobkatz's Website

  • From: Orlando, FL
  • Registered: 2015-02-06
  • Posts: 46

Re: Unable to install Showkase

Well, I removed some of the PHP safe mode parameters, and to no avail, so I need more specific guidance. Did I find a bug. Please visit my site which is [disguised here as a true link is not allowed in your forum)

go to bobsgallery.digido.com

Mouse over image and you will see the recalcitrant back button text and a functional link. I can't find ANYTHING in the configurations that include a back button request or a link. This is a gallery imported from a temp folder created in Lightroom. If you choose bobsgallery.digido.com/temp/Landscapes you will see the pure Juicebox version that was originally uploaded and as you can see, it does not have a title or a back button link....

bobkatz's Website

  • From: Orlando, FL
  • Registered: 2015-02-06
  • Posts: 46

Re: Unable to install Showkase

Oh, safe mode is not enabled, and it has not been enabled... just some parameters are enabled. When I make a gallery by import from the temp folder as its defaults, it still has that title and back button.

bobkatz's Website

  • From: Orlando, FL
  • Registered: 2015-02-06
  • Posts: 46

Re: Unable to install Showkase

Wow....  with standard permissions, Showkase can hardly do anything right.
Now for a sequence of events:
1) All permissions set normally (664 for files, 775 for all folders, starting at the bobsgallery folder which is the root)
2) Folder "landscapes" exists. Want to remove the page to try again, so I choose "trash". It is unable to trash this folder or page. I try to import the Landscapes gallery again from the temp folder, but Showkase reports it is "unable to create the folder landscapes 2"
3) Change all permissions to 777 on folders and files (dangerous, not recommended for security reasons). I forgot to delete landscapes, but anyway I do an import from the temp folder and now it creates "landscapes 2" and furthermore it does it without the nasty back button bug!

So I'm operating (unhappily) with all permissions set to 777 and awaiting your reactions. Thanks in advance.

bobkatz's Website

7 Reply by bobkatz (edited by bobkatz 2015-02-06 19:15:55)

  • From: Orlando, FL
  • Registered: 2015-02-06
  • Posts: 46

Re: Unable to install Showkase

Aha! I deleted "landscapes" (which is no longer an active page) from terminal. Now I have a remaining gallery and folder named landscapes 2. In Showkase I change the name to landscapes, which changes the name of the folder and the nav link. Aha!!!!!! As soon as I do that, the old bug with the back button appears.

I think this is a problem with a config file or some other initialization bug. As long as I name my folder and nav menu something other than Landscapes, I do not have the back button bug.

bobkatz's Website

  • Registered: 2012-12-16
  • Posts: 950

Re: Unable to install Showkase

If I may tag onto this thread --- I'm sorry, it's listed as "solved" but I'm having some problems related to the thread.

I've moved your query to a new forum thread to keep each case separate. You may have similar symptoms to another user but the solution may be different. (The original poster's solution was to remove an 'open_basedir' restriction and turn off Safe Mode.)

Are you familiar with all the PHP directives which are used by Showkase and which ones I should change in the configuration?

There are too many PHP directives to list individually but the Showkase Server Compatibility Test should flag any problems which should be addressed.

But what's going to happen when I reupload some changed images from Lightroom? Should I re-import? Trash then import? This really seems counterproductive.

Showkase was designed with the idea that galleries would be created and edited within the Showkase interface. The import functionality was added as a convenience for users who already had existing Juicebox galleries and did not want to have to recreate them all from scratch.
If you want to add images to an existing gallery which has been imported into Showkase, just edit the gallery page in question, go to the 'Upload' tab and upload your additional images.

Mouse over image and you will see the recalcitrant back button text and a functional link.

I do not see a Back Button in the gallery whose link you provided. (Perhaps you have changed the gallery since I have had a chance to look.)

I can't find ANYTHING in the configurations that include a back button request or a link.

I can't imagine that a Back Button would have been present in a Juicebox gallery without some Back Button configuration options being set. However, I would really need to see the problem for myself to be able to troubleshoot it further.

Wow....  with standard permissions, Showkase can hardly do anything right.

Just for the record, I've installed Showkase on several different web servers (each with a slightly different configuration, no doubt), but I've never had to change any permissions to get Showkase to work.
I do not know why you may need permissions of 777 on your own web server but if this is the only thing that works, then you might need to keep them. More information on file permissions within Showkase can be found here.

As long as I name my folder and nav menu something other than Landscapes, I do not have the back button bug.

It sounds like the problem may be to do with caching. Try completely clearing your browser's cache before reloading your web site to see if this helps.

If you continue to experience difficulties, then we should perhaps try to tackle each issue individually.

First of all, with permissions set to 777 (which seems to work on your web server), make sure that all tests in the Showkase Server Compatibility Test pass OK. If any tests still fail, then they should be looked into further.

Also, if you still have a gallery which still displays a Back Button, please post the URL so that I can take a look at the configuration options from my end (using a browser that has never visited your web site) to see if any Back Button settings are being used.

[Query moved to new thread to keep each case separate.]

  • From: Orlando, FL
  • Registered: 2015-02-06
  • Posts: 46

Re: Unable to install Showkase

Thanks, Steve. I'm still reading your reply, but replying "in pieces". I DID run the compatibility test, several times. It only passes when I use 777 permissions on the files  :-(

bobkatz's Website

  • From: Orlando, FL
  • Registered: 2015-02-06
  • Posts: 46

Re: Unable to install Showkase

I have removed browser's cache several times whenever the back button bug came up. As for the import functionality being added as a convenience, I'm very glad it's there. I run a Lightroom workflow, it's my main database, and my goal in life would be to confirm any Showcase gallery to the gallery I first create in Lightroom, choosing images from my database and interactively putting them into the gallery.

bobkatz's Website

  • From: Orlando, FL
  • Registered: 2015-02-06
  • Posts: 46

Re: Unable to install Showkase

I did eventually fix the back button bug by by creating a gallery with a new name, other than Landscapes. Let me see if the bug comes back right now if I rename the gallery to Landscapes. Interesting! Now the bug is gone...   I won't look a gift horse in the mouth. Teething problems?

bobkatz's Website

  • From: Orlando, FL
  • Registered: 2015-02-06
  • Posts: 46

Re: Unable to install Showkase

So we're down to permissions having to be 777 to make things work with Showcase. I just tried setting all folders to 775 right now, and the compatibility test fails. Since the difference between 775 and 777 is simply that "Others" get write permissions. That's the extent of my Linux permissions knowledge, but I wonder if it's possible to assign the Showkase "app" to be owner or group, then the 775 permissions might work?


Here's the compatibility report when folders are 775:

File handling tests
No base directory restriction.

The test program will now carry-out a few file operations. If these produce any error messages then you should check the permissions on the ‘sktest’ folder and all of its contents and then run the test program again. See the help document for information on file permissions.

Attempting to create test folder g1/…

Warning: mkdir() [function.mkdir]: Permission denied in /home/digido/public_html/bobsgallery/sktest/filetest.php on line 98
Failed to create test folder

Attempting to copy test file gallery.xml…

Warning: copy(g1/gallery.xml) [function.copy]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /home/digido/public_html/bobsgallery/sktest/filetest.php on line 103
Failed to copy test file

Attempting to read contents of test file gallery.xml…

Warning: file_get_contents(g1/gallery.xml) [function.file-get-contents]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /home/digido/public_html/bobsgallery/sktest/filetest.php on line 108
Failed to read test file

Attempting to open test file gallery.xml for writing …

Warning: fopen(g1/gallery.xml) [function.fopen]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /home/digido/public_html/bobsgallery/sktest/filetest.php on line 113
Failed to open test file

Attempting to write to test file gallery.xml…

Warning: fwrite() expects parameter 1 to be resource, boolean given in /home/digido/public_html/bobsgallery/sktest/filetest.php on line 118
Failed to write to test file

Deleting test files …

Warning: fclose() expects parameter 1 to be resource, boolean given in /home/digido/public_html/bobsgallery/sktest/filetest.php on line 123
Problems with some file operations: please check file and folder permissions

bobkatz's Website

  • From: Orlando, FL
  • Registered: 2015-02-06
  • Posts: 46

Re: Unable to install Showkase

Wait! I just gave myself an idea. I set the permissions for the folder and contents of sktest to 777 but set the permissions of all other folders and files to normal permissions  ---- and the compatibility test passes. I wonder if Showkase will work normally still.  I'll check and get back to you.

bobkatz's Website

  • From: Orlando, FL
  • Registered: 2015-02-06
  • Posts: 46

Re: Unable to install Showkase

Well, that idea didn't work. I have to have all folders at 777 in order for Showkase to create a new page, for example.

bobkatz's Website

  • From: Orlando, FL
  • Registered: 2015-02-06
  • Posts: 46

Re: Unable to install Showkase

What would be the best process to update a Gallery that's been tweaked in Lightroom. Perhaps I would add new images, that would be the most common change. I would prefer to do the upload from Lightroom as opposed to importing images into Showkase. But since these would or should land in the "temp" folder...  I would have to do a reimport? What would happen if instead of re-import.... through FTP I replaced the contents of the Juicebox gallery. Would that screw up Showkase's database?

bobkatz's Website

  • From: Orlando, FL
  • Registered: 2015-02-06
  • Posts: 46

Re: Unable to install Showkase

OK, I tried the ftp approach and Showkase didn't know what to do, it screwed up its database. But here's another puzzle related. I did a new import, with the result of a folder being named landscapes-2. When it is named landscapes-2, all 8 images show up in the gallery. But when I try to name it "landscapes", suddenly it reverts to having only 7 images, which was the state of the old landscapes folder that existed before the new import. I think this is a bug, related to back button bug I had. Something in the config or the initialization or old data reappears...   This means that a new import to a folder which is then renamed with the same name as a folder that previously existed will screw things up. Please take a look at that scenario. Thanks.

bobkatz's Website

  • From: Orlando, FL
  • Registered: 2015-02-06
  • Posts: 46

Re: Unable to install Showkase

Dear Steven: I think I figured out the cause of the bug I've described: Database issues. The database identifies a unique folder/nav link by its name and keeps track of that, but when a folder is trashed with a particular name, it is not excised from the database. So if I had previously created a folder with the name "landscapes", trash it, and then later create another one with that name, the characteristics of the previous folder may get put onto the new one. Instead, an approach of a unique id could be used, with a GUID entry inside each folder to identify it.

But regardless, this bug is obviously being aggravated by my workflow. We should start another thread to describe lightroom versus Showkase-based workflows and see if we can decide what's best for a lightroom user. The web module in Lightroom is more "static" than Collections anyway, it does not have specific collection criteria like a collection, so it's pretty lame anyway.  I'm now ready to consider forgetting about using the web module and Juicebox pro in Lightroom and instead making Collections, exporting and doing it all in Showkase. I think that would make you very happy and I might be happy, too.  :-)

bobkatz's Website

  • Registered: 2012-12-16
  • Posts: 950

Re: Unable to install Showkase

What would be the best process to update a Gallery that's been tweaked in Lightroom.

By far the easiest thing to do would be to trash the existing page and import the new version of the gallery making sure that the Nav Order for the new Gallery Page is the same as the old Gallery Page (so that it displays in the same menu order).

What would happen if instead of re-import.... through FTP I replaced the contents of the Juicebox gallery. Would that screw up Showkase's database?

I would not recommend this at all. You would have to upload the gallery folder to somewhere on your web server anyway and the importing process does not take long so I would certainly just upload the gallery folder to your 'temp' directory and allow Showkase to import the gallery correctly.

But when I try to name it "landscapes", suddenly it reverts to having only 7 images, which was the state of the old landscapes folder that existed before the new import.

Changing a page name should not have any effect on the images or configuration options listed in a gallery's XML file. It sounds like there may be some server-side caching going on which is causing your problems. (When you revert to an older page name which previously existed, the corresponding older version of your gallery's XML file seems to be used. If you have since modified the gallery, then it sounds like the data must be coming from a cached version somewhere.)
If your web server is caching files, try switching it off to see if this helps.

So if I had previously created a folder with the name "landscapes", trash it, and then later create another one with that name, the characteristics of the previous folder may get put onto the new one.

I cannot replicate this behavior. I created a new Juicebox gallery page, named 'landscape', with a couple of images and a couple of custom settings. The gallery displayed as expected. I then trashed the page and the 'landscape' folder was moved to the '_trash' folder. (The 'landscape' folder no longer existed in the Showkase root directory.)
Next, I created another new Juicebox gallery page, again named 'landscape' with two different images and all default settings. Again, the gallery displayed as expected. Only the two new images were displayed and none of the original gallery's custom settings were used. A new 'landscape' folder was created in the root Showkase directory using none of the original 'landscape' folder's data.
I suspect that what you are seeing is due to some kind of caching (whether server-side or in your browser) so please check into this to see if it might be the cause of your problems.