Image Directory Problem

I am using a current version of ZenC and using EZPopulate Advanced. I upload all my products and image names into my directory ->images/HR The only problem is that my program does not read the images unless I have manually pointed to them through Categories/Products screen and then only if the image is in images/ folder only.

I would sure like to hear some ideas so that I can use different folders for my image galleries.

Thx...Keith

easy Populate does NOT upload images.

It just creates the REFERENCE to the image NAME (label) in the database. In other words, it loads the LABEL for the image, so that it is referenced in the database.

You should mass-upload your actual images by using FTP (in binary mode) - to the directory specified in your EP file.

Sorry if I left that unclear. I did a mass image upload via ftp and put them into an image/subdir structure since i wanted to keep the images seperated by source.

Thx

By default, Easy populate assumes the PATH to all images to automatically be the "images" folder.

If you store ALL images in the main images folder, then the column in EP under v_products_image will look something like this:

v_products_image
pencil_one.jpg
pencil_two.jpg
pen_one.jpg
pen_two.jpg
paper_one.jpg
paper_two.jpg
... etc

If you want to split up your images into (for example) "category image" folders, then:

1. In your images DIRECTORY, you will need to create sub-folders:

images
|_ pencils
|_ pens
|_ paper

2. and your EP file will have:

v_products_image
pencils/pencil_one.jpg
pencils/pencil_two.jpg
pens/pen_one.jpg
pens/pen_two.jpg
paper/paper_one.jpg
paper/paper_two.jpg

Yes Schoolboy, I did that. When I go back and look at the website, I get the red X error...

If I go to admin->catalog->categories/products and then to the particular item, I must do the manual upload... to the /images folder with a copy of the image before it will work. The image does show up in the product info page where I am working but it will not show up on the website until I do a manual upload to the /images folder and not a sub folder

???

could be a bug within EP Advanced...

Can you get into phpMyAdmin for your database?

If you do a "test" EP upload, (just do a couple of test products, with the image paths as discussed above)

What is being written by EP into the products table for products_image, for that couple of test product uploads ?

are you using any Image Management mods? (Image handler 2 ???)

I do have ih2 installed. I have not done anything with it yet. The image "references" are being uploaded correctly, as I CAN see the images in the product editing screen as the little preview image. However, when you go to the actual listing on the website, you have the little red "X". The only way to see the image is to do the manual upload through the product edit screen by using the upload button.

Go figure that...

CabinetGuy:

I CAN see the images in the product editing screen as the little preview image..

View page source when you are at that point in the admin.

See if the image is somewhere in /admin/images

If the image is viewable in the admin console, then the key to the mystery lies in finding out WHERE it's being loaded from...

Ok...here's a clue. When I upload an image, it previews ok on the product information page (in admin). When I go to the website, I get the red "x" on the image. When I look at the source for the page, here is what it says:

This is fine...however I ONLY have the t2 and t3 files in the image/ directory, not in any other where there are images already uploaded. If I go and use the same image, uploaded from my local computer, everything is fine. The image gets stored in the default /image directory and there are t2 and t3 images created.

If I manually move the t2 and t3 to the expanded directory they show up. However, it still requires that I manually upload to the /image directory first via the admin product info page.

What creates the t2 and t3's?

Thanks

Keith

The snippet that I included in my last message shows the call for the t2 image that was NOT in the directory. I did verify that if i create the t2 and then upload it to the expanded directory then everything is peachy.

I must have the t2 and t3's created throughout my entire directory structure, not just the /image root directory.

Thx

Keith

Well I may as well be reading Russian because this is all Greek to me :D

You must have some image managemet mod installed... is this the case? Those image "paths" are not native ZC...

In any event, have you tried just (en masse), upload all the images to the relevant directory using FTP?

... on second thoughts, maybe not... Are your image names being appended with this "t2" and "t3" stuff, or are these part of your original image filenames?

But I have no clue where the following resides or how it is configured to take you there...

img src="images/HR/Web-JA Decorative HW/Corsica/

If you have manually created the directory

images/HR/Web-JA Decorative HW/Corsica/

Your error is probably in there being LETTER SPACES in the directory name. Also, UNIX likes/prefers things to be lower case...

To me:

images/HR/Web-JA Decorative HW/Corsica/

is a BIG no-no...

while...

images/hr/web-ja-decorative-hw/corsica/

or better still

images/hr/web_ja_decorative_hw/corsica/

is a GIGANTIC yes-yes

(NO upper case, NO letter spaces)

I think this is your fundamental problem.

Look at all ZC folder and filenames... They follow the convention I describe above... tpl_product_info_display.php

... all lower case, no spaces but underscores...

apparently, when the file is uploaded via the admin->categories/products information input form, when you upload to the server -vs- type in a server reference, when you update the item to /images two additional images are created in the directory. The sizes are image.jpg (small), image_t2 (for product info page) & image.t3 (for when you click on larger image).

These don't seem to be created in any directory unless i upload via the local source by using the admin->categories/products product image->browse, then update. Just placing the image into the server directory does not create the additional images.

Still looking for ideas.

thx

keith

CabinetGuy:

apparently, when the file is uploaded via the admin->categories/products information input form, when you upload to the server -vs- type in a server reference, when you update the item to /images two additional images are created in the directory. The sizes are image.jpg (small), image_t2 (for product info page) & image.t3 (for when you click on larger image).

What Software add-on are you using to generate these "additional" images?

As far as I am aware, when you add/edit a product in zencart's product editing screen, any image that you choose from your local machine to "send" to the server (the built-in file upload system) just writes the image file into the images folder (unless you specify another path in the "Upload to Directory" dropdown selector.)

You must have some fancy add-on that is supposed to be doing this, because what you are describing is not standard ZC behaviour.

I had installed ih2 but have since uninstalled. I did not utilize it. Nothing seems to have changed.

I am about to give up but I have thousand of items to load via ep and if i have to individually upload each image this will take forever...

I had this website developed and whether or not they installed a special image handler, i do not know.

thx

This is not IH2 behaviour either. I have IH2 on about 50 sites, and we use the "sub-directory" method of uploading images into the db with easy populate - and we don't have problems.

Can you contact the people who put the site together and ask them what they loaded up?

i think i just need a zc mechanic. i have been running this website for two years and now when i am ready to upload large numbers of items, this happens.

thx