Missing menus from Admin-->Tools

[thurs]

Hello all:

I outsourced the development of my site to a company overseas and after delivery of the website and final payment, I realized that some menus were disabled/deleted. I wouldn’t even try to fathom what their rationale was.

Does anyone know how I can get them back? I'm missing the following menus from the Admin-->Tools:

Template Selection
Server Info
Store Manager
Developers Tool kit
EZ Pages
Install SQL Patches

Of the most importance is the Install SQL Patches because I can't install some important add-ons without it.

The version is 1.3.8.

Thanks!

[kuroi]

You can add sql through phpMyAdmin instead, but that's not the point. As the store owner you are right to want access to those pages.

Three questions:

1. If you look in your database, do you have a database tables called "admin_files" (possibly prefixed with something like "zen_")?
2. If you look in your admin/includes/boxes/tools_dhtml.php file can you see references to the missing pages in there?
3. Why did they deliver your site with version 1.3.8 and is it a fully patched version of 1.3.8?

[ksookma]

Without diving into what they may or may not have done, It looks like you should upgrade to the latest version. Id be willing to bet that will fix your issue and give you a more secure site.

[kuroi]

Actually diving into what they've done is rather key for this specific issue. Whether or not an upgrade will fix this will depend on how those functions have been suppressed. Simply bashing on with an upgrade is exactly what has been suggested - a bet. Might work, might not.

Although I agree that an upgrade should be part of your plans, I strongly recommend properly diagnosing the problem before jumping to a "solution" that will overlay an extra layer of complexity.

[thurs]

Three questions:

1. If you look in your database, do you have a database tables called "admin_files" (possibly prefixed with something like "zen_")?
2. If you look in your admin/includes/boxes/tools_dhtml.php file can you see references to the missing pages in there?
3. Why did they deliver your site with version 1.3.8 and is it a fully patched version of 1.3.8?

As to the first question, I couldn't find the file in the database.

For the second question, I did find the lines of code that were commented out. I will uncomment it.

With regards to the 3rd question, they probably thought I didn't know enough to determine things on my own. I say that because the version number was also concealed and I had to dig it out.

I did apply most of the security patches that applied to version 1.3.8 yesterday. I thought of upgrading to version 1.3.9 but I'm afraid of losing the customized aspects of my site. Thanks for your help!

[thurs]

Without diving into what they may or may not have done, It looks like you should upgrade to the latest version. Id be willing to bet that will fix your issue and give you a more secure site.

I thought of upgrading but I'm not that familiar with php and sql. I also don't want to lose the customized aspects to my site. But I am thinking of upgrading.

[kuroi]

As to the first question, I couldn't find the file in the database.

For the second question, I did find the lines of code that were commented out. I will uncomment it.

With regards to the 3rd question, they probably thought I didn't know enough to determine things on my own. I say that because the version number was also concealed and I had to dig it out.

I did apply most of the security patches that applied to version 1.3.8 yesterday. I thought of upgrading to version 1.3.9 but I'm afraid of losing the customized aspects of my site. Thanks for your help!

Wow. Well that was always a possibility, which is why I suggested looking there, but it's so unprofessional that I didn't actually think that it would be the problem.

I can't be certain, but it sounds as though they have delivered you site using the old version, but instead of upgrading it, or even just telling you (though could argue that they started on the old version so an upgrade would be extra), they've gone out of their way to hide this. And by obscuring the version and not doing the security patches, they've left you exposed.

The good news is that, unless they've really hacked the core code about, an upgrade to 1.3.9 is fairly straightforward, and you've already demonstrated the skills needed to do it.

[yoke605]

Wow. Well that was always a possibility, which is why I suggested looking there, but it's so unprofessional that I didn't actually think that it would be the problem.

I can't be certain, but it sounds as though they have delivered you site using the old version, but instead of upgrading it, or even just telling you (though could argue that they started on the old version so an upgrade would be extra), they've gone out of their way to hide this. And by obscuring the version and not doing the security patches, they've left you exposed.

The good news is that, unless they've really hacked the core code about, an upgrade to 1.3.9 is fairly straightforward, and you've already demonstrated the skills needed to do it.

We also are missing the SQL Patches in the menu from the Admin-->Tools for the same reason. We have no admin_files table in the SQL, however it is listed in the "boxes/tools_dhtml.php" file as you mentioned. We are not interested in upgrading to the 1.3.9 version as our site has had many customized things done and am certain that includes the source code, not just css.

Is there another way to recreate the SQL Patches menu item other than doing a version update? or - Is there a way to add the SQL needed via the phpMyAdmin for several of the zen-cart add ons?

thank you for any help you can give.

[yoke605]

I took a closer look at the source code in the admin/includes/boxes/tools_dhtml.php. In my situation, the originator placed a "//" before the line of code that calls up the SQL Patches menu item. I removed the "//" and it is now in the drop down menu.

Thanks anyway. I am now going to try using it to load a couple of the add ons !

[kuroi]

We also are missing the SQL Patches in the menu from the Admin-->Tools for the same reason. We have no admin_files table in the SQL, however it is listed in the "boxes/tools_dhtml.php" file as you mentioned. We are not interested in upgrading to the 1.3.9 version as our site has had many customized things done and am certain that includes the source code, not just css.

Is there another way to recreate the SQL Patches menu item other than doing a version update? or - Is there a way to add the SQL needed via the phpMyAdmin for several of the zen-cart add ons?

SQL Patch update noted. The rest needs some clarification though.

You would only need the admin_files table if you had Admin Profiles enabled. But it's a database table and so it works behind the scenes and wouldn't appear in the Tools menu. Did you mean to write something else?

Also, you really do need to consider upgrading, especially before loading up your site with add-ons. If your changes have been done properly, they shouldn't greatly affect an upgrade, and there are important security updates in the 1.3.9 release. Upgrading is easier than recovering from hacks!