Horse Site Documentation

I have played with some configuration settings (imagecreatetruecolor (GD Library 2.0) set to default), and with the size of the thumbnail resizing in the HTML (although I controlled this from the Admin area - set all to width of 130), and the results are dramatically improved. However, in the early days, we had some glitches with photo uploads, in that the upload of large photos was not completed and a blank page returned. One of the attempts to fix this involved changing the imagecreatetruecolor (GD Library 2.0) setting to manual override.

However, further tests on 12 June found that the upload of photos caused a white screen to occur (blank page returned instead of image added page) with a large 950 kb test file, irrespective of whether I had the GD Library set to default or manual override. So I have turned it back on. It works fine with normal-sized photos. Maybe we are being over-generous by offering a 1 MB upload. Perhaps that should be 200 kb?

However, further tests on 12 June found that the upload of photos caused a white screen to occur (blank page returned instead of image added page) with a large 950 kb test file, irrespective of whether I had the GD Library set to default or manual override. So I have turned it back on. It works fine with normal-sized photos. Maybe we are being over-generous by offering a 1 MB upload. Perhaps that should be 200 kb?My bet is that the image problem is more likely to do with bandwidth and timeouts. I found a really in-depth article on what could cause image problems at:

https://geodesicsolutions.com/products/geohelp/index.php?x=&mod_id=2&id=128

In short, it could be that the PHP script is timing out while waiting for a 1 MB file to upload. The PHP script timeout is 30 seconds. I reckon 1 MB on my cable connection (which is asymmetrical - fast downloads but slow uploads) would take round about that time. Further, the current chloekirkhope.com server seems to be on a quite slow connection, so even superfast at this end may be superslow at the other! And on top of that, the article says the performance of the server has an impact. Large graphics take quite a while to thumbnail, so it could be timing out for that reason too.

In summary, I think we should leave it as the “default” setting (ie, lovely thumbnails), but consider changing the limit from 1 MB to something smaller. (That’s just one setting change, and one Help text change (http://www.chloekirkhope.com/admin/index.php?a=14&b=10&l=22).) Then, we’ll see how it goes on the production server.

I’ve changed the help (instructions for image collection form) so that it explains that to change a photo title, you’ll need to delete the photo and add it again with the corrected title.

The change was on http://www.chloekirkhope.com/admin/index.php?a=14&b=10&c=167&l=22.

The way it works is that a cookie containing a “session number” is created when the user logs in for the very first time. When the user revisits using the same PC and same browser, that same session number is retrieved from the cookie. Now, when a user starts a listing, that listing’s details are stored in the database against the user’s session number. When the user logs off using the sign off button, that record (of the unfinished listing) is deleted. However, if the user just closes the browser without formally logging off, the listing’s details remain. It is the retrieved whenever the user next logs in.

In short, the problem lies in users not logging off, but just closing the browser. The fix may be to delete any record with a matching session number when the user logs in. That might cause a new issue, though, in that if the user session times out while he or she is looking for a photo, for example, then the partially complete listing will be gone.

I have modified the classified_sell_class.php and index.php files so that when a interrupted listing is found, a JavaScript function is injected into the page. I added the referenced JavaScript function to hw_ua.js, which we previously “included” on each page. (Can’t remember what for! To display the Help panels, perhaps?)

The issue of US date formats raised itself in the add listing area for the auctions, and where the auction start and auction end dates were displayed. In the add listing area, the dropdown for the months now shows the month names rather than the month number, and the order is day month year. Changes were made to the classified_sell_class.php and index.php code to change the text.

! : %21

/ : %2F

: : %3A

‘ : %27

( : %28

) : %29

, : %2C

Before the site goes live, the Horse People need to provide the following information.  

• Write terms and conditions. This gets added to: Pages Management > Sections > Registration > Registration Information Collection Page.
• Write registration agreement.This gets added to: geodesic_pages_messages_languages, text_id=316.

The following tasks also need to be completed.

• Replace (non-standard) Cancel Registration button (http://www.chloekirkhope.com/images/buttons/btn_user_cancel_reg.gif) with new image, and similarly the Restart Regstration button (http://www.chloekirkhope.com/images/buttons/btn_user_restart_reg.gif).

The Geodesic MySQL database is made up of over 100 tables. Some tables store auction and classified data (ie, client-entered data), while others store configuration information. To help with the management of the site configuration, the following provides some handy information on where different features are located within the table structure. The database can be maintained through the Web interface provided by the ISP, or through a GUI client such as Navicat.

• geodesic_auctions_feedback_icons
• Contains file names (URLs) for star-shaped icons used in feedback panels
• geodesic_categories
• Contains the category names (eg, miniatures, paints, ponies, warmbloods, etc) and associated descriptions, images and display order.
• geodesic_cc_*
• Tables starting with geodesic_cc relate to credit card processing and payment gateways. There are two tables for each payment gateway: one holds configuration information, and the other holds transaction data.
• geodesic_classifieds
• This is where the classifieds data is stored.
• geodesic_classifieds_categories_languages
• Contains the category information for the different languages used within the site. There are two languages in the Horse Site: US English (1) and Australian English (22).
• geodesic_classifieds_configuration
• Top level configuration information for the Classifieds, including site name, page size, fonts, and URLs.
• geodesic_classifieds_images_urls
• The URLs, file names, dimensions and other details for uploaded images files.
• geodesic_classifieds_transactions
• Details of classified ad transactions, including all price details.
• geodesic_countries
• Stores information about valid countries for the site. Our only valid country is Australia.
• geodesic_file_types
• Allowable file types for images and uploading.
• geodesic_html_allowed
• List of HTML tags allowed in auctions and classifieds.
• geodesic_logins
• User names and unencrypted passwords for users of the site. (See also, geodesic_userdata.)
• geodesic_pages
• Names, descriptions and full details of pages within the system. Examples of pages are Success/Failure Page, Final Approval Page, Registration Email Confirmation, and Fixed Category Navigation 1.
• geodesic_pages_fonts
• Font and display information for elements which appear on pages.
• geodesic_pages_messages
• User interface labels.
• geodesic_pages_messages_languages
• User interface labels for the different valid languages. There are two valid languages in the Site: US English (1) and Australian English (22).
• geodesic_states
• The list of geographical States for the valid countries.
• geodesic_templates
• Contains details of the templates used within the site.
• geodesic_badwords
• List of rude words, and what those words should be replaced with if entered in a classified ad or an auction.
• geodesic_user_communications
• Stores details of messages sent by Site users.
• geodesic_userdata
• Details of all users of the Site. (See also, geodesic_logins.)

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