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By Walt Esquivel on
Dear reader,
I need your help please. Warning – this is a LONGGG posting! : ) I wish there was a way to color-code my text. Is there a way?
For days, I’ve had trouble getting the banner module to work properly after having added it as a “block” on my Drupal-powered web site. None of the banner images are showing up and I have tried quite a few things, including several banner module re-installations. Any assistance is GREATLY APPRECIATED! I particularly want to thank the developer who spent so much time on this module, Jeremy Andrews at http://kerneltrap.org. I see he’s got banners on his site so I’m sure my not being able to get this module working is due to my lack of knowledge. I admit not knowing PHP and am just now getting a bit familiar with the patch tool through TortoiseSVN.
I’m running Drupal 4.6.1 on a Linux server, Apache version 1.3.33 (Unix), Perl version 5.8.1, PHP version 4.3.11, MySQL version 4.0.22-standard. I use Internet Explorer and Windows XP. I downloaded the latest available banner module from http://drupal.org/project/banner, and its file name is banner-4.6.0.tar.gz. I apologize in advance if I’m a bit redundant here but I feel it’s better to be detailed rather than leaving something important out that someone reading this and helping me may immediately identify as the reason for my module not working. So…I’ll probably repeat some things from earlier posts because I want to be sure I’m following things in the best manner possible. Some of the issues may or may not be related, but for me it’s better safe and mention them than miss a possible reason for the module not working.
What I’ve done is copy the instructions from the banner module “Install” file and gone step by step with my comments where it says:
***Walt writes:
In advance, THANK YOU SO MUCH for your help! :)
Walt
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Walt Esquivel, MBA, MA, Captain - U.S. Marine Corps (Veteran)
President, Wellness Corps, LLC
-------------------------------------------------------------------
***Walt writes:
The first question I have is should I remove the extra banner.pot file? I found this comment, “Remove banner.pot from base directory because it also exists in the "po" directory” at http://drupal.org/node/22999. Is it really an “extra” file that can be safely deleted, or is it necessary for the module to function correctly?
Now, on to the banner module install file.
From the banner module “Install” file:
0) Properly configure 'File system' support for your Drupal installation.
(Goto :: administer -> settings :: then find "File system settings")
Follow the directions on this page to set a proper "File system path"
and "Temporary directory". When this is properly configured, you will
not see any errors.
***Walt writes:
My “File system path” is “files” and my “Temporary Directory” is “/tmp”. OK, no errors. So far so good! ;)
From the banner module “Install” file:
1) The first thing to do is to update your database, adding the 'banner' table.
This can easily be done from the command line by copying the included
'banner.mysql' file to your webserver, then running a command something
like:
$ mysql -u -p
< banner.mysql
For example, if your username is 'drupal', your password is 'secret', and
your database is called 'drupal', you'd type the following command:
$ mysql -udrupal -psecret drupal < banner.mysql
***Walt writes:
I used phpMyAdmin to add the banner table in a MySQL database. No errors.
From the banner module “Install” file:
2) Move 'banner.module' into your modules/ directory.
***Walt writes:
I have placed all modules I’ve ever downloaded from Drupal into a modules directory, and every single module has always had its own directory with associated files. For example, the album module has three files (album.module, license.txt, and readme.txt), and they all live inside of the album directory that lives inside the modules directory.
Example:
public_html/modules/album
Is the banner module an exception to the above? Am I supposed to move the banner.module file out of the banner directory that lives inside the modules directory and place just the banner.module file itself directly under the modules directory,
Example:
public_html/modules/banner.module
or am I supposed to leave the banner.module file inside of the banner directory along with other associated banner files?
Example:
public_html/modules/banner/banner.module
I’m led to believe the banner.module is supposed to be moved directly under the modules directory and NOT in the banner directory (that also lives in the modules directory) per the info found at http://drupal.org/node/24387, and that is where I have placed it. Is this the correct thing to do?
#1 submitted by bigbrainconcepts.com on June 6, 2005 - 02:53
public_html/modules/banner.module
From the banner module “Install” file:
3) Move 'banner_db.php' and 'banner_file.php' into your top level Drupal directory. Give these files proper permissions so that they can be read by the webserver.
***Walt writes: What is meant by “top level Drupal directory”, public_html? public_html is where I placed Drupal directories such as “files” and “themes” and Drupal files such as index.php, etc. If so, it would seem that banner_db.php and banner_file.php should live under public_html as in the following, also found at http://drupal.org/node/24387:
public_html/banner_db.php
public_html/banner_file.php
However, if I log in and go to:
administer ->settings -> banner
and then under “Cache settings” choose “no cache (db)” from the drop-down menu under “Cache handler,” I get the following error message:
Failed to access "banner_db.php", file does not exist. Unable to display banners.
Likewise, if I choose “file” from the drop-down menu under “Cache handler,” I get the following error message:
Failed to access "banner_file.php", file does not exist. Unable to display banners.
The actual banner.module file states:
// TODO: use actual path rather than "../" (this can fail artificially)
$file = file_create_path('../'. $filename);
So, it sounds like I need to then change “../” to the actual path. I searched drupal.org and found two recommended solutions near the bottom of http://drupal.org/node/24387. Shouldn’t these recommended solutions have been included in the install file rather than directing me to place the two files in the “top level Drupal directory”? Apparently, the first solution below by kyote (thank you kyote!) fixed my issue and I no longer have “Failed to access” issues with either the “db.php” or “file.php” files. Is “$file = file_create_path('files/'. $filename);” the recommended solution?
#6 submitted by kyote on June 10, 2005 - 11:39
I got it to work, but not the way i expected. :)
i reuploaded the files and put them in the 'files' folder, changed line 23 to read:
$file = file_create_path('files/'. $filename);
and it worked! How odd is that? Anyways, now it's working. so if anyone else has some odd luck like mine, you might try that.
jason
#8 submitted by bigbrainconcepts.com on June 11, 2005 - 03:55
actually .. I did not add the files/ part .. just removed the ../
From the banner module “Install” file:
4) Now you need to log in to your site and enable the new banner.module.
(Goto :: administer -> modules :: then check 'banner')
***Walt writes:
Done.
From the banner module “Install” file:
-------------
Configuration:
-------------
5) Configure the banner module. At minimum, it is _HIGHLY_ recommended that
you enable the file caching mechanism built into this module. The rest
of the settings can be left at their defaults for now.
(Goto :: administer -> settings -> banner)
***Walt writes:
Step 5 is actually related to the earlier comments I made in Step 3. I’ve currently set file caching under administer -> settings -> banner to “no cache (db)”. I will set it to “file” once I actually see banner images working.
From the banner module “Install” file:
6) Setup banner module permissions.
(Goto :: administer -> users -> configure -> permissions)
- Give 'show banners' permission to users that should see the banners.
- Give 'manage banners' permission to users that should be allowed to
track view/click statistics for their own banners.
- Give 'upload banners' permission to users that should be allowed to upload
new banners. (usually you would also give those users 'manage banners'
permission at the same time)
- Give 'administer banners' permission to users that should be allowed to
add/edit/delete all banners on your site.
***Walt writes:
I think the correct instructions for Drupal 4.6.0 are for users to go to administer -> access control instead of administer -> users -> configure -> permissions. I went ahead and gave the proper permissions.
From the banner module “Install” file:
---------------------------
Uploading graphical banners:
---------------------------
7) Upload a new banner via the administrative interface.
(Goto :: administer -> banners -> add)
- give the banner a descriptive title. (when you are managing lots of
banners, it becomes important that this title describe the banner)
- enter a URL where you want clicking on the banner to take you.
- set the status to 'enabled' so that the banner is displayed.
- scroll to the bottom of the page and click 'browse' to select a banner
image to upload. (it is important that the filename of your image
end in three characters indicating the filetype. Supported image types
are: jpg, jpeg, gif, png, bmp and tiff)
- click save. For now, we'll leave the rest of the options set to their
defaults. Once everything is confirmed to be working on your
installation, then you can worry about the more complicated configuration
options.
***Walt writes:
All steps completed successfully. : )
From the banner module “Install” file:
8) Preview the newly uploaded banner.
(Goto :: administer -> banners)
You should currently see a list of all the banners you've uploaded. Find
the name of the banner you just uploaded, and click 'view' in the options
column. You should now see your banner at the top of the page, along with
general information and statistics about the banner. If you don't see
the banner you just uploaded, something has gone wrong. If you're seeing
garbage text instead of the image, then the module failed to recoginze
the file type and is instead trying to display the image as text. Be sure
the file name is something like "banner.jpg" or "banner.png", specifically
including the three letters at the end appropriate to the file type.
You can see an example of banner ads in action at http://kerneltrap.org/
***Walt writes:
When I click on “view”, I do see the banner I just added. On my computer’s hard drive, it’s saved as utexasadvocates.jpg. However, just beneath the banner after I click “view”, the description says:
(image/pjpeg)
Does that look correct? I have no idea what the “p” in “pjpeg” stands for or why it gets automatically selected. I noticed that under “edit”, the “image/jpg” I keep selecting keeps reverting back to “image/pjpeg”. Why does it keep reverting?
I also tried adding a bitmap image and saved it as utexasdvocates.bmp but the image doesn’t show. Just below where the bitmap image should be, the description says:
(image/x-bmp)
I noticed that under “edit”, the “image/bmp” I keep selecting keeps reverting back to “unsupported”. Why is the bitmap image not showing up and why does it keep reverting?
From the banner module “Install” file:
-----------------------------
Uploading text advertisements:
-----------------------------
9) Prepare the text ad.
Text ads require a little extra manual effort. Specifically, you must
add a link within the the text of the ad that points to the banner's
appropriate link url. After the banner is created, you can find the
banner's id at "administer -> banners". (Yes, this means you will need
to upload the banner twice. The first time you upload the banner you
won't know the new banners id.)
Assuming the banner has an id of 13, you will need to include a link in
the banner's text to the URL "/banner/13". For example:
banner text
Note: Do NOT link directly to where the banner is actually taking you, or
the clicks will NOT be counted. When uploading the banner, you will be
able to set the end URL.
From the banner module “Install” file:
10) Upload a new banner via the administrative interface.
(Goto :: administer -> banners -> add)
- give the banner a descriptive title. (when you are managing lots of
banners, it becomes important that this title describe the banner)
- enter a URL where you want clicking on the text ad to take you.
- set the status to 'enabled' so that the text ad is displayed.
- scroll to the bottom of the page and click 'browse' to select the
text file to upload. (it is advised that the filename of your text
ad end in with '.txt'. If you do not do this, the banner module may
not recognize your ad as being text and it may not display properly.)
- click save. For now, we'll leave the rest of the options set to their
defaults. Once everything is confirmed to be working on your
installation, then you can worry about the more complicated configuration
options.
From the banner module “Install” file:
11) Preview the newly uploaded text ad.
(Goto :: administer -> banners)
You should currently see a list of all the ads you've uploaded. Find
the name of the text ad you just uploaded, and click 'view' in the options
column. You should now see your text ad at the top of the page, along with
general information and statistics about the ad. If you don't see
the text from the ad you just uploaded, something has gone wrong. Try
renaming the text file to end with '.txt' and uploading it again.
You can see an example of text ads in action at http://kerneltrap.org/
***Walt writes:
I went ahead and completed these steps and the text inside the text file is as follows: UT Advocates
It gets saved as “text/plain” and works fine, meaning when I’m at administer -> banners and then click “view” for the text file, on the next screen I can click the text “UT Advocates” and it takes me to the correct URL.
From the banner module “Install” file:
-------------------------------------------
Displaying banners and text ads from blocks:
-------------------------------------------
12) The easiest way to display banners and text ads on your site (easiest
because then you do not have to edit your theme) is to display them from
a Drupal block.
(Goto :: administer -> blocks -> add)
- set a title for the block, such as 'Advertisement'
- set the input format to 'PHP code'
- In the block body, enter the following:
return banner_display();
- optionally enter a block description
- click 'Save block'
- at "administer -> blocks' enable your new block
***Walt writes:
All steps in number 12 completed. However, all I get on the left in my “Advertisements” block is:
return banner_display();
I did a search on this and found the following at http://drupal.org/node/15532 :
The INSTALL file has comprehensive instructions on how to setup the ad system.
One thing is obsolete though and needs to be updated: the PHP code that needs to be included in node and/or blocks to display an ad.
It currently says
return banner_display();
Because in 4.5.x Drupal's theme system was changed, this should instead be as follows:
print banner_display();
***Walt writes:
So, I tried going back to my “blocks” page and configuring Advertisements by entering print banner_display();
print banner_display(5);
return banner_display(5);
but nothing worked.
***Walt writes:
I skipped steps 13 & 14 of the install file as they don’t yet apply to me (“Displaying multiple ads on one page” and “Displaying banners and text ads from your theme”).
From the banner module “Install” file:
---
FAQ
---
Q. I don't see any images. What's wrong?
A. Be sure you installed 'banner_db_php' and 'banner_file.php', and
properly set the permissions on these files so they can be read
by your webserver. (See step 3 above)
***Walt writes:
I have discussed the installation above and I have set the permissions on all the banner files (including the images) to 777.
Q. I did install the files correctly, but I still don't see any images.
What's wrong?
A. Try refreshing the banner cache. Go to:
administer >> banner >> refresh cache
***Walt writes:
Refreshed several times.
Q. I've refreshed my cache, but I'm still not seeing images. What's wrong?
A. Edit the banner and be sure that the MIME type was properly detected. Go
to:
administer >> banner >> list
then click 'edit' next to problematic banner. At the bottom of the page
you can update the MIME type.
***Walt writes:
I already tried this and it didn’t help.
THANK YOU!!!
Comments
I didn't have time to read
I didn't have time to read your whole post but I had tons of problems getting the banner module set up even though I followed all of the instructions. It turned out that permissions for certain directories were set up wrong. Make sure you have your files, temp, and images directories set up with the correct permissions.
Chmodding my /files/banner
Chmodding my /files/banner directory to +755 fixed most of my banner module problems.
Chmod directory and file permissions
Shane,
Thank you for your reply.
I have the actual "public_html/files/banners" directory AND the various jpg, bmp, txt files I uploaded as banner ads in that directory all set to 777 and, since this gives owner, group, and public the freedom of read, write, and execute, I would think that the proper permissions have been set.
Based on a previous post by another person, I've also placed both banner_db.php AND banner_file.php in the files/banners directory, and both files are set to 777.
I can set the above mentioned directory and files to 755, but shouldn't 777 work?
----------------------------------------------------------------
Walt Esquivel, MBA, MA, Captain - U.S. Marine Corps (Veteran)
President, Wellness Corps, LLC
----------------------------------------------------------------
suggestions
I have seen phpMyAdmin cause problems for this module. Take a look at all the column names, did it change any of them? In particular, did it change any of them to ALL CAPS? If so, you will need to fix these columns to be lower case.
Also, check your error_log to see if Apache is complaining about anything. It will tell you if it's unable to find or view files.
pjepg stands for "progressive jpeg". I believe when you save jpeg's from Photoshop they save as progressive jpegs.
Your novel above is lengthy and difficult to follow. I'm unclear: are you seeing banners only on the administrative pages? Or are you not seeing them at all? You mention text ads, do they work, or do they have the same problem?
I have got the same::: GOT the solution!
Figured it out! I will post the solution asap.
And.....?
Well, six months later we are still waiting.
I was getting an apache error, BTW. It was looking for a files/banners/.htaccess file which was missing. I created a blank one with proper permissions, to no avail.
In my block I get the text for the php script displayed.
Answers to suggestions
Jeremy,
Thank you for your reply.
1. phpMyAdmin. I looked at all the column names for my banner.module and, under "Field", every single field name is lowercase. The columns in this section are: Field, Type, Attibutes, Null, Default, Extra, and Action.
There is another completely separate section below the above called "Indexes" and it has a few columns: Keyname, Type, Cardinality, Action, and Field.
There are several keynames that are all lowercase (path, uid, publish_date, etc.) EXCEPT for the very first one and it's called "PRIMARY". Should that one be lowercase?
2. error_log. The only thing I see under "administer -> logs" is:
get_browser(): browscap ini directive not set. in /home/wellness
I have no other errors.
3. pjepg. I don't use Photoshop so I'm not sure why the banner module is converting jpg files I have on my hard drive that I'm uploading to the banner module as, for example, utexasadvocates.jpg to a MIME type of image/pjpeg under "administer -> banners -> list -> edit".
I also tried adding a bitmap image and uploaded it to the banner module as utexasdvocates.bmp but the image doesn’t show. Just below where the bitmap image should be under "administer -> banners -> list -> view", the description says:
(image/x-bmp)
I noticed that under "administer -> banners -> list -> edit”, the “image/bmp” I keep selecting keeps reverting back to “unsupported”. Why is the bitmap image not showing up and why does it keep reverting?
4. I apologize about my novel! :( I was really trying hard to include ALL the info I thought was important because I really want to get this module to work! I know you put a lot of work into it and I, and others, appreciate your work.
I am seeing banners ONLY on the admin pages. I can see the jpg file (even though it got saved in the banner module under MIME type as "image/pjpeg") and I can see the text ad, "UT Advocates", that I created.
Under "administer -> banners -> list -> view", I can click on the the jpg AND index files and, since I have the same external link for both of them, they both take me to the same external URL when I click on them respectively. So that part is working. :)
I can NOT see the bitmap image I created and all I see under "administer -> banners -> list -> view" is "(image/x-bmp)"; in fact, at the very bottom under "MIME type:", it says "unsupported".
Additional questions:
5. Should I remove the extra banner.pot file? I found this comment, “Remove banner.pot from base directory because it also exists in the "po" directory” at http://drupal.org/node/22999.
Jeremy, is it really an “extra” file that can be safely deleted, or is it necessary for the module to function correctly?
6. From the banner module “Install” file: "2) Move 'banner.module' into your modules/ directory."
I have placed all modules I’ve ever downloaded from Drupal into a modules directory, and every single module has always had its own directory with associated files (except for core modules that came with the Drupal 4.6.0 download). For example, the album module has three files (album.module, license.txt, and readme.txt), and they all live inside of the album directory that lives inside the modules directory.
Example:
public_html/modules/album
Is the banner module an exception to the above? Before I had any issues with the banner module and before I posted anything on Druapl, I went ahead and had moved the banner.module file out of the banner directory that lives inside the modules directory and placed just the banner.module file itself directly under the modules directory.
Example:
public_html/modules/banner.module
Was I supposed to leave the banner.module file inside of the banner directory along with other associated banner files?
Example:
public_html/modules/banner/banner.module
Thank you so much for any assistance you can provide.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Walt Esquivel, MBA, MA, Captain - U.S. Marine Corps (Veteran)
President, Wellness Corps, LLC
----------------------------------------------------------------
1. Okay, sounds like
1. Okay, sounds like there's no problem there. If you want to be sure, drop the table and re-install from my dba module. I know that works without changing anything.
2. I'm referring to your web server logs, not the Drupal logs. They are two different things. By default, Apache logs errors to a file called "error_log", which you can find in the filesystem.
3. pjpeg is fine. This is not the problem.
4. This implies that the problem is with banner_file.php or banner_db.php (as they are used to display banners everywhere but the administrative pages). Verify their permissions. If it continues to be a problem, try installing banner-cvs.tar.gz, as I fixed an issue there. However, I made a lot of changes in that version of the package, so perhaps you don't want to ugprade. (It adds the ability to display banners by taxonomy type)
5. The the pot file. Leaving it or removing it is unimportant. It is not used by the module.
6. You can place the banner.module directly in the modules/ directory, or withing a modules/banner/ subdirectory. Either is fine.
---
Recap: the problem is with your banner_db.php and banner_file.php files. Be sure they are readable. Be sure the web server is finding them (refer to your apache error log). Look on the banner configuration page (admin -> settings -> banner) and fix any errors you may see there.
I will be away for 2 weeks, starting today, so I won't be replying again any time soon. Hopefully this will help you.
Still Having Problems
Hello, I followed all the instructions in the install file, this post and the other posts mentioned.
I got the banner admin part working with banner_db.php and banner.file.php in the files directory but when I had to display the banner those files were not being found.
So, to be able to view my banners I duplicated both files ( banner_db.php and banner.file.php) and put the copy in the root directory (httpdocs in my server, which is equivalent to an htdocs or public_html directory).
I know this is not the best setup but didn't want to start playing with the banner.module code.
It would be great having an updated version considering the required fixes but anyway, it's a good module and thank you very much for your work and time!
Regards!
Alexis Bellido - Ventanazul web solutions
go tou your block that is
go tou your block that is supposed to show the image
right click -> show souce -> scroll down to the "banner.." part and check out the URL - copy n paste it back here.
You may be onto something
I cannot view the image by putting its url into a browser. This probably means I need a .htaccess file that lets browsers read various images.
HTACCESS MATTERS
I hope this helps somebody.
I added this to files/banners/.htaccess:
order allow,deny
deny from all
order allow,deny
allow from all
Now I can view the images in the admin->banners page.
Still cant get the image displayed in the block that has the php script though.
now, for a little commentary while I am pulling out my hair....:)
[SOAPBOX]
Why Why Oh Why does not drupal come with some sort of .htaccess file for its files directory structure? But I suppose thats another matter. Its just that theres enough apache drupal users out there one would think .....
The other thing that bothers me is this "permissons to run php scripts" if its entangled with filter input. That sounds like a rather important pre-requisite to doing banners and its disturbing to be reading about it at the *bottom* of this procedure. As a drupal newbie I have no idea what the rules are for running scripts inside blocks. Is it really a script problem or is something else wrong?
[END SOAP]
irritating
OK, my post was filtered so you dont have the text in the actual .htaccess file. This support forum is wayyyy harder to use than vbulletin or phpBB.
How about this verbage:
less-than-sign Files space dot htaccess greater-than-sign
order allow,deny
deny from all
less-than-sign slash Files greater-than-sign
less-than-sign Files space dot jpg greater-than-sign
order allow,deny
allow from all
less-than-sign slash Files greater-than-sign
having trouble with banner_db.php
I have followed many of the suggestions listed in this thread and i still get the error Failed to access "banner_db.php", file does not exist. Unable to display banners.
I have copied the banner_db.php file to the "files/" directory.
I also changed the perms on the "files/banners/" to 755, now i can see a preview of the banner images. I can also get a banner to show up in a block. I do not know yet if the banners are showing as much as they should be as the site is not in a fully live version yet.
-gregory
if able to preview banner
and it doesn't display in the required block (I had the same problem up until about 12 seconds ago), go to administer-input formats. If using filtered html go to 'configure' and make sure 'PHP evaluator' is selected. Banners should now appear.
My solution to get banners displaying
As I commented at http://drupal.org/node/26702#comment-63920
I'm having the same problem.
Drupal version: 4.6.5
PHP version: 4.3.10
It works with this patch though:
Or download my version from: http://qux.nl/banner_db.php.txt
It works only when not using the banner's cache system
First of all, thanks. It works great!
But... it only works when I use the "no caching" option in the banner's settings.
What about banner_file.php? Can you patch it too, so I'll be able to use caching as well?
It works with cache
It works with cache dosabled! see setting warnings.
I think we need a solution that also works with cache handler selected to file.
-------------
Cache handler:
no cache (db)
file
Choose a cache handler. No caching has horrible performance but works always.
--------------
Thanks, Darly
Apache is bandwidth limited, PHP is CPU limited, and MySQL is memory limited.
Here is a slightly different problem
I have the banners module set up, and even working for two languages (so far) inside an i18n meta-block.
I can add the banners just fine, but when I try and edit a banner, I get the following errors:
I had the same problem with the version dated around 11 May 2005, which is AFAIK the "official" 1.0 release for Drupal 4.6, but I "upgraded" to banners-cvs dated 6 March 2006 (I think)..
I am using Drupal 4.6.5 on a LAMP (2.6.x, 1.3.x, 4.x and 4.3.x respectively) Right now I think it's a bit late (2am) to try and solve it, so any ideas would be handy.
I have root/ssh access to the server if needed. I can create a test accountin Drupal with permissions if anyone wants to try replicate the error, but as I said, just when I try to edit something for any banner (yes, I have tried flushing the cache and so on) it throws this ugly thing up.
Mathew Carley
fingeekit.com - Nopeita tietokonepalveluita ja ohjausta!
ph: +358 9 2316 3712
gsm: +358 4 0418 6944
msn: mgcarley(@)hostenz.co.nz
skype: mgcarley