Template Generator Error 500

[msfry]

Michele,
Just so you know you're not the only one, the code generator does not work for me either, when I enter "Various" as the author (for the Short Nonfiction Collection). Have you found a definitive solution to the problem???

Tried it yesterday with the HORSES Coffee Break, it failed on Edge and on Brave but succeeded on Chrome. I fill out nothing but what is asterisked, say "to come" in the summary, type Various where something is required (I don't click on the drop down list), and make sure there are no characters other than letters, all of which I can correct in the post. Something isn't right.

[TriciaG]

For the author field, you do need to click the "Various" in the pop-up list. Just like when assigning readers in the MW, it won't actually select that author unless you choose it from the list.

(Ignoring the error for a minute: if you simply type "Various" and don't select it, the system will create a new author in the database with the name "Various". So then we'd have a duplicate author, and an admin has to go in and clean up the duplicate.)

Sue - are you copy/pasting anything into any of the fields, or hand typing everything?

[msfry]

Thanks for the Various clarification. I WILL use the dropdown list from now on, so as not to create more work for anyone.

[Sue Anderson]

For the author field, you do need to click the "Various" in the pop-up list. Just like when assigning readers in the MW, it won't actually select that author unless you choose it from the list.

(Ignoring the error for a minute: if you simply type "Various" and don't select it, the system will create a new author in the database with the name "Various". So then we'd have a duplicate author, and an admin has to go in and clean up the duplicate.)

Sue - are you copy/pasting anything into any of the fields, or hand typing everything?

Hi Tricia, The code generator hasn't worked for me for quite a while (snf096, snf097 at least). Jo has has had to help me out by generating a code and sending it to me. So, I'd like to find a solution! I pull down "Various" from the drop down list for author; hand type "various" for Copyright year, Link to Book on Wikipedia, Original year of publication. Chrome generates the Error 500 code Michele mentioned. Firefox also fails.

I've given it some thought and have wondered if the problem is that when "Various" (from the drop down menu) is used, nothing else about the author is generated in the section called "Information About the Author(s)." (first name, year of birth and death, link to Wikipedia are left blank), whereas with an established author, this info is automatically filled in. I think I've been typing "various" where the "Information About the Author" section calls for "Link to author in Wikipedia" and leaving the first name, birth & death dates blank. In this line of thinking, I've wondered if the computer thinks there is information missing for "Various" in this section.

I'd appreciate any suggestions you might have!

[annise]

Sue - are you saying you use the drop down then fill in the details ? Maybe that is the problem - the dropdown fills in those fields automatically. So it doesn't expect you to change it (even in this case when there is nothing there )

Anne

[TriciaG]

A lot of authors don't have that information filled in, so that shouldn't be the problem. And because you're not making a new author but only choosing one, it shouldn't reject the record for the empty author fields.

At this point, the only permanent solution is to get a programmer in there (one who knows what they're doing!) to fix the "pickiness" of the template generator. I can't tell what field is causing the problem in your case, but it all originates back to when we updated the underlying software to a new version that is really picky about what goes in fields. (We need to reprogram it to be less picky.) Unfortunately, we don't have anyone right now that we know is capable, who is also available to put in the time and brain power to fix it.

So no, I don't think you're going to get a solution on your end at this point. Could you try using Chrome, which Michele has been able to get to work for some mystical, occult reason?

[knotyouraveragejo]

I've given it some thought and have wondered if the problem is that when "Various" (from the drop down menu) is used, nothing else about the author is generated in the section called "Information About the Author(s)." (first name, year of birth and death, link to Wikipedia are left blank), whereas with an established author, this info is automatically filled in. I think I've been typing "various" where the "Information About the Author" section calls for "Link to author in Wikipedia" and leaving the first name, birth & death dates blank. In this line of thinking, I've wondered if the computer thinks there is information missing for "Various" in this section.

I'd appreciate any suggestions you might have!

As has been mentioned above, once you pick an "author" from the dropdown, don't enter data in manually or change any data that is automatically populated for the rest of the fields related to the author. Various, Anonymous and Unknown will have all fields except the author "last name" left blank. That probably is the difference between my filling in the template to get you a code for the SNF collection and what you are describing doing above.

[Sue Anderson]

I've given it some thought and have wondered if the problem is that when "Various" (from the drop down menu) is used, nothing else about the author is generated in the section called "Information About the Author(s)." (first name, year of birth and death, link to Wikipedia are left blank), whereas with an established author, this info is automatically filled in. I think I've been typing "various" where the "Information About the Author" section calls for "Link to author in Wikipedia" and leaving the first name, birth & death dates blank. In this line of thinking, I've wondered if the computer thinks there is information missing for "Various" in this section.

I'd appreciate any suggestions you might have!

As has been mentioned above, once you pick an "author" from the dropdown, don't enter data in manually or change any data that is automatically populated for the rest of the fields related to the author. Various, Anonymous and Unknown will have all fields except the author "last name" left blank. That probably is the difference between my filling in the template to get you a code for the SNF collection and what you are describing doing above.

Jo, Tricia, Anne, Thank you all for your thoughts and suggestions! I really do appreciate all your responses!! Jo, I'd never thought of "not filling in the blanks" as the right thing to do! My mind probably doesn't work that way... But I'll give it a try next time!

[msfry]

A lot of authors don't have that information filled in, so that shouldn't be the problem. And because you're not making a new author but only choosing one, it shouldn't reject the record for the empty author fields.

At this point, the only permanent solution is to get a programmer in there (one who knows what they're doing!) to fix the "pickiness" of the template generator. I can't tell what field is causing the problem in your case, but it all originates back to when we updated the underlying software to a new version that is really picky about what goes in fields. (We need to reprogram it to be less picky.) Unfortunately, we don't have anyone right now that we know is capable, who is also available to put in the time and brain power to fix it.

So no, I don't think you're going to get a solution on your end at this point. Could you try using Chrome, which Michele has been able to get to work for some mystical, occult reason?

Is the programmer who made the changes still available and would they fix it for free since what they did is buggy? It's probably just a wee little something simple they could spot and correct in a jiffy.

[TriciaG]

No - it wasn't a programmer that made the changes, per se. It was the new version of Codeigniter (one of the foundational pieces of software that run the site).

It's like if you update your browser or to the newest Audacity, and things are different in unexpected ways. We did test things before they went live, but sometimes you don't know what to test, or simply don't spot the new bug.

While the guy who did the upgrade is around, I'm not sure if he has time to diagnose, tweak, and test the software to make it the way we want it. He's got a full time job and a young family, and is a volunteer.

[annise]

Michele
It's never quick and easy to outthink multiple users and multiple hardware - bit like plugging holes in dyke walls

Did you read Jo's response? as you and Sue were both entering Various it would be worth trying.

Anne

[msfry]

I just used the Template Generator with Chrome to put up my Ingersoll Vol 12 project, and it worked fine. BUT

Sometimes you just have to hire professionals and pay the going rate to get things fixed. That's why we collect donations. I'm also willing to toss in some $ if needed to get this fixed because we shouldn't waste BC's time trying to get projects off the ground.

[barleyguy]

The first step to diagnosing this is to look at the server logs. When a 500 error occurs the web server should be putting a log of the error into the server logs. Providing those logs (and bonus for doing the legwork to provide the relevant sections) to whoever ultimately is going to fix the code will save them a LOT of time finding where in the code to fix the issue.

[annise]

We still probably need to find out why it happens for some projects and not others with some people and not others.

Anne