Ultimate SEO v3 (and v2.200) [Support Thread]

[DJP1]

Hi, This is my first post, and I am new to Zen Cart, so here goes...I am using Zen version 1.50. I installed this version 10/23/12, and have only added one module..Image Handler 4. I have turned off may of the default banners, and only modified the size of the main page, so when I added Ultimate SEO 2.211, I figured I could just install it as is without merging any files. I followed the steps as listed in the instructions, being sure to use the "1_affected_files_150", and then the remaining files 2_new_files, 3_htaccess and 4_install. In the admin I saw the install successful message, and here are the current settings in the admin: I used FileZilla to transfer the files from my home computer
###############################################################################_
Ultimate SEO

Title Value Action
Ultimate SEO Version 2.211
Enable SEO URLs? true
Generate cPath parameters off
Rewritten URLs end with .html
Format of rewritten URLs original
Categories as directories short
Enter PCRE filter rules for generated URLs
Enter special character conversions
Remove all non-alphanumeric characters? special
Filter Short Words 0
Enter pages to allow rewrite
Choose URL Rewrite Type rewrite
Enable automatic redirects? false
Enable SEO cache to save queries? true
Enable product cache? true
Enable categories cache? true
Enable manufacturers cache? true
Enable ez pages cache? true
Reset SEO URLs Cache false
################################################################################ ######################################################################___

Below is the is the current .htaccess file.

###############################################################################
# Common directives
###############################################################################
# NOTE: Replace /shop/ with the relative web path of your catalog in the "Rewrite Base" line below:

# For security reasons, Option followsymlinks cannot be overridden.
#Options +FollowSymLinks
Options +SymLinksIfOwnerMatch
RewriteEngine on
RewriteBase /thewoodsmithcarvings/

###############################################################################
# Start Ultimate SEO URLs
###############################################################################

# Handles the new URL formats
RewriteRule ^(.*)-c-([0-9_]+)/(.*)-p-([0-9]+)(.*)$ index\.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=$4&cPath=$2&%{QUERY_STRING} [L]
RewriteRule ^(.*)-c-([0-9_]+)/(.*)-pi-([0-9]+)(.*)$ index\.php?main_page=popup_image&pID=$4&cPath=$2&%{QUERY_STRING} [L]
RewriteRule ^(.*)-c-([0-9_]+)/(.*)-pr-([0-9]+)(.*)$ index\.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=$4&cPath=$2&%{QUERY_STRING} [L]
RewriteRule ^(.*)-c-([0-9_]+)/(.*)-pri-([0-9]+)(.*)$ index\.php?main_page=product_reviews_info&products_id=$4&cPath=$2&%{QUERY_STRING } [L]

# Original (unchanged) URL formats
RewriteRule ^(.*)-p-([0-9]+)(.*)$ index\.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=$2&%{QUERY_STRING} [L]
RewriteRule ^(.*)-m-([0-9]+)(.*)$ index\.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=$2&%{QUERY_STRING} [L]
RewriteRule ^(.*)-pi-([0-9]+)(.*)$ index\.php?main_page=popup_image&pID=$2&%{QUERY_STRING} [L]
RewriteRule ^(.*)-pr-([0-9]+)(.*)$ index\.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=$2&%{QUERY_STRING} [L]
RewriteRule ^(.*)-pri-([0-9]+)(.*)$ index\.php?main_page=product_reviews_info&products_id=$2&%{QUERY_STRING} [L]
RewriteRule ^(.*)-ezp-([0-9]+)(.*)$ index\.php?main_page=page&id=$2&%{QUERY_STRING} [L]
RewriteRule ^(.*)-c-([0-9_]+)(.*)$ index\.php?main_page=index&cPath=$2&%{QUERY_STRING} [L]

# All other pages
# Don't rewrite real files or directories
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ index\.php?main_page=$1&%{QUERY_STRING} [L]

################################################################################ ##############################
I don't know what the problem is, but my urls aren't being rewritten. Here is my site url www.thewoodsmithcarvings.com . I have noticed after the main url I get two forward slashes "//" after the .com, when choosing a category and product. I have read through the thred, and haven't found anything specific to this problem. My host is Hostmonster.Another issue is I don't seem to have an error log with this site. This site is an add-on, so it was installed under the public_html directory, and the only error.log file is under the public_html directory, and none under thewoodsmithcarvings directory. I currently have a ticket created with my host to find out if there are any issues with them, but haven't heard anything yet. I hope you can help, and I hope it's something obvious to you, and an easy fix. Crossing my fingers. Thanks in advance!!!

[woodlandsprite]

if your cart is installed into your root directory, your htaccess should be adjusted to the following:

RewriteBase /

rather than what you have above which is:
RewriteBase /thewoodsmithcarvings/

(which would indicate that your shop is installed to a subdirectory called thewoodsmithcarvings)

[DJP1]

Thanks woodlandsprite, Yes. That is correct. It is in a subdirectory. Could this be why it isn't rewritting the urls? I am attempting to build this site in the sub directory, with the intent to move it to a root directory when it is finished.

[lhungil]

Is there any reason you are installing 2.121 instead of 2.212? Are there any debug files (check in your cache folder for Zen Cart 1.5.0 / log folder for Zen Cart 1.5.1)?

1) You say you are "building" the site in a subdirectory? The root of your website looks like a Zen Cart installation... And there is an extra "/"'s in the Zen Cart URLs... You will want to check your configure.php files. This typically indicates an extra "/" somewhere in that file.

2) This installation on the root of your site also appears to not be configured to issue a 404 for invalid pages and again shows a 500 error... which may indicate an issue with your webserver environment or your .htaccess file. You will need to look in your server logs to see what is causing this error.

3) The installation for "Ultimate SEO URLs" does not do a full check to see if files are correctly uploaded, the contents of the files are valid, or any necessary merges have been done. From the behavior you are seeing I venture something may have been missed when installing "Ultimate SEO URLs" - probably one of the html_output file changes. Once you have addressed 1 & 2 above, download version 2.212 and redo the installation completely (one step at a time).

[dharrison]

Hi

I really am having problems upgrading my website: It does work fine, but after a couple of hours it completely disappears.

The other add-ons on my website are,

Easy populate,
Sitemap XML,
Google Merchant Center Feeder
Additional Product Images
Ultimate SEO Urls

I drew the conclusion that there is a problem with the SEO URLs as The logs file comes up with this

[16-Dec-2012 13:03:12 Europe/London] PHP Fatal error: Class 'SEO_URL' not found in /home/username/root/Tempfolder/includes/autoload_func.php on line 79

I have tried to uninstall the plugin but the affected folders I am stuck on. Last time I modified them I modified too much and ended up with errors anyway.

The conflicting files are:

includes/classes/query_cache.php
includes/functions/html_output.php
admin/categories.php
admin/product.php
admin/includes/functions/html_output.php

Test site is meant to be here: http://shaftdirect.com/temp12/

Please could anyone advise what I need to change on these files to uninstall the plugin and therefore resolve the conflict? I have also tried to switch off the SEO URLs function prior to upgrading but it makes no difference.

Please could anyone help? Any help would be gratefully received.

[lhungil]

What version of Zen Cart are you upgrading to and from? What steps have been taken?
What version of "Ultimate SEO URLs" was previously installed? What version are you trying to install?
When you say "disappeared" do you mean you get a blank page? Or an error message? Or a 404 Not Found?

]I really am having problems upgrading my website: It does work fine, but after a couple of hours it completely disappears. I drew the conclusion that there is a problem with the SEO URLs as The logs file comes up with this

Correct, this indicates there is a problem with your installation of "Ultimate SEO URLs". Usually this indicates some files were missed when you installed (or upgraded) the plugin. This is not a problem caused by "Ultimate SEO URLs". What the error message you specified tells you is Zen Cart cannot find the "SEO_URL" class.

If this did not originally occur and just started happening by itself (nothing was changed by you) after a couple hours I would be very concerned about your site being hacked or your hosting provider having some difficulties with their storage.

I have tried to uninstall the plugin but the affected folders I am stuck on. Last time I modified them I modified too much and ended up with errors anyway.

It might be faster for you to start over with clean files from the version of Zen Cart you are upgrading to. If you use a VCS you can just revert back your changes. Otherwise you will need to use a tool such as WinMerge or Beyond Compare and manually look through the files to see what is different and undo anything you changed.

If the version of "Ultimate SEO URLs" installed was newer than 2.200 the readme file contains instructions on uninstalling the plugin. Keep in mind the uninstallers in more recent versions will not remove files - only cleanup the database entries - and are not intended for installs prior to 2.200.

Please could anyone help? Any help would be gratefully received.

If you are attempting to upgrade from an older version of Zen Cart to a newer version, the easiest way is to just install the new version in a new location with a new clean database. Do not copy or leave files from the old version. Once installed, copy the data from your old database to the new database using phpmyadmin or similar. Run the zc_install script again, this time choosing to only upgrade the database. Verify the site is functional. Install (only compatible) plugins one at a time. Verify site is working after each plugin is installed and configured. Last add your theme and any other needed customizations.

Doing it this way instead of starting with the old site and overwriting files with the new ones will save alot of time and hassle during the upgrade. This is not a full list of how to upgrade, there are instructions which come with Zen Cart and also an excellent article on the wiki. The above are just a short list of steps in order based upon my experiences upgrading a couple sites from Zen Cart 1.3.8 to 1.3.9 to 1.5.0 to 1.5.1.

[SPH]

If I might jump in: I am a big fan of doing zencart upgrades via a fresh install. In fact, that is the only way I now do upgrades. Then I do the Database upgrade, as Inhungil mentioned (although once I just began again with a new DB.) Fresh installs seem more reliable to me. Also, allows me to re-think my plugins. Also seems faster than trying to winmerge and compare a bunch of files.

But, after doing my fresh install upgrade, the very first plugin I install is DrByte's Database backup/restore plugin. It's fantastic, allowing backups and, if necessary, immediate db restorations...and all from your zencart admin. I use it before anything that might affect the database when upgrading and installing plugins. I also use it before every easypopulate product upload, just in case.*

If you're not already using it you can get it here. Note there may be some server restrictions. Also, I had a problem once when my DB password had, or began, with special characters:

http://www.zen-cart.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=7

However, instead of installing my theme/template last, the template would normally be my second plugin. That's because many other plugins are template specific, having to be assigned to the template.

My third plugin would normally be Ultimate SEO.

But whatever works. :)

*All Easypopulates we use work, now primarily using Easypopulate 4. But occasionally we might make an error in the spreadsheet...operator error. A quick DB restore from admin can fix that back to square one.

[lhungil]

... The very first plugin I install is DrByte's Database backup/restore plugin. It's fantastic, allowing backups and, if necessary, immediate db restorations...and all from your zencart admin. I use it before anything that might affect the database when upgrading and installing plugins. I also use it before every easypopulate product upload, just in case.

Always a good idea - and saves time if something goes awry in the database during the installation of a plugin or template. Sleepy lhungil = forgetting a time saver. Thanks SPH!

However, instead of installing my theme/template last, the template would normally be my second plugin. That's because many other plugins are template specific, having to be assigned to the template.

One of these days I need to stop writing templates from scratch. I have my reasons, but would be very off topic. I'll defer to SPH on this one (granted you are installing a pre-built template for Zen Cart >= 1.50 which includes Zen Cart plugins).

[dharrison]

Thanks lhungil and SPH I shall give this a try.

[SPH]

You're welcome. Also, you might want to practice on a test site. I have a couple of test/secondary sites that I use for this purpose.