[kkthompson]

Hi,

We just upgraded the Connections plugin to the latest version, 8.1.7. Now the images do not display and we have this error appearing in the manage module, ERROR: The $img_path variable has not been set.

Can you provide a clue as to how to fix please? This is on our Intranet so I cannot provide an account.

Also, we do not have the image path set in the wp-config.php file.

The images are in this folder, wp-content/uploads/connections-images. In the past we have had issues with http and https protocol not being detected by WP because of our headers, just fyi.

Thanks in advance.

[Steven Zahm]

@ kkthompson

When that error happens that means it is an edge case type of issue. Not having access will make this bit more difficult to troubleshoot.

The first thing, I’ll need a screenshot of the System widget on the Connections : Dashboard admin page.

Open the Connections : Manage admin page that has the error. Hit Ctrl+U to view that page source. Save the page source as a txt file. I’ll need a copy of that file.

Lastly, on line 1509 of this file:
../wp-content/plugins/connections/includes/image/class.image.php

Add this:

var_dump( $img_path );var_dump( file_exists( $img_path ) );

This will cause quite a bit of error code text to show on the page. I’ll need a copy of error code text it displays. After you’ve copied the text, you can remove the code.

Oh…

When you add/update plugins, does WordPress prompt you for the FTP use/pass?

Can you upload images to the WordPress Media Library without an errors?

[kkthompson]

This reply has been marked as private.

[Steven Zahm]

@ kkthompson

That NULL is the problem. This means the requested image source URL is not within the theme directory or within the uploads directory.

I still need the screenshot of the System widget on the Connections : Dashboard admin page.

On line 1509, add this and let me know the results:
var_dump( $source );var_dump( $upload_info );var_dump( $theme_dir );

Once again it’ll output a lot, but I only need to see the results of one series.

[kkthompson]

Okay, thanks, the screenshot can be pulled from here: http://rigamajig.org/image-post temporarily.

Let me know if you need anything else. BTW, I noticed that the CN variables with URL protocol all should read ‘https‘. This could be causing the failure.

We use this plugin to notify WP of our protocol, because the header does not contain the info, https://gist.github.com/webaware/4688802.

Output of var_dumps added at 1509 in class.image.php:

string(104) “http://server.gov/wp-content/uploads/connections-images/dina-abrams/dabrams_original.jpg” array(6) { [“base_path”]=> string(42) “/var/www/server/html/wp-content/uploads/” [“base_url”]=> string(50) “https://server.gov/wp-content/uploads/” [“base_rel_url”]=> string(20) “/wp-content/uploads/” [“img_base_path”]=> string(61) “/var/www/server/html/wp-content/uploads/connections-images/” [“img_base_url”]=> string(69) “https://server.gov/wp-content/uploads/connections-images/” [“img_base_rel_url”]=> string(39) “/wp-content/uploads/connections-images/” } string(50) “/var/www/server/html/wp-content/themes/twentyten”

[Steven Zahm]

@ kkthompson

Yep, I see the issue.

The CN_IMAGE_BASE_URL has the http protocol rather than the https protocol like it should.

Inspecting the var dump of the $upload_info shows that protocol is https like it should:

array(6) { 
    [“base_path”]=> string(42) “/var/www/server/html/wp-content/uploads/” 
    [“base_url”]=> string(50) “https://server.gov/wp-content/uploads/” 
    [“base_rel_url”]=> string(20) “/wp-content/uploads/” 
    [“img_base_path”]=> string(61) “/var/www/server/html/wp-content/uploads/connections-images/” 
    [“img_base_url”]=> string(69) “https://server.gov/wp-content/uploads/connections-images/” 
    [“img_base_rel_url”]=> string(39) “/wp-content/uploads/connections-images/” 
}

This definitely had me scratching my head since they both use the exact same code to define the URL. Then it occurred to me after looking at plugin you’re using to set https on your site … that plugin must be running after Connections is initiated so CN_IMAGE_BASE_URL is set wrong but when the images source URL/s are created the Force SSL plugin has already initiated so the source URL/s are created correctly. Because of the protocol discrepancy, it fails a validation sanity check resulting in the error message you’re seeing.

If I’m right, there are two options to resolve this. My recommended fix is…

Since the Force SSL plugin is absolutely required by your site, you should move it to the mu-plugins folder. These are initiated before “regular” plugins. This will fix for all plugins and not just the ones that happen to load after it. This folder is in the ../wp-content/ folder. If it does not exist, just create it before moving the plugin. You can read more about MU Plugins here:
http://codex.wordpress.org/Must_Use_Plugins

The second fix is to define the CN_IMAGE_BASE_URL in the wp-config.php file. Add this to it:
define( 'CN_IMAGE_BASE_URL', 'path' );

Do not use path, instead use the path shown in the System widget for CN_IMAGE_BASE_URL, but change the protocol from http to https.

The down sides to this fix is image URL/s will always be https so if the site is visited in http you’ll have the exact same problem, just in reverse. Also the relative URL for the images will be incorrect but I’m not currently using the relative URL/s so it is safe for now, but in future versions???

Let me know how it goes.

[kkthompson]

We put the wp-config.php option in place and it corrected our problem with images not displaying. And we won’t have anyone trying to go to http version of our blog, because there is an Apache redirect already in place that makes it impossible. It sends the user to the https version of whatever they typed. I really appreciate the information and the hard work to get this fixed! Thank you, Steven.

[Steven Zahm]

@ kkthompson

Great to hear my solution worked for you!

If you have a moment, I would truly appreciate a review as they really do make a difference. Many thanks in advance!
https://wordpress.org/support/view/plugin-reviews/connections

[Author]

Posts