Image Handler 3 Support Thread (for ZC v1.3.9)

Hi,

I have just had to patch my sever plesk 10 ubuntu to meet PCI requirements,

Part of the change involved disabling auto-indexing on the web server. I have disabled this and I believe as a result my images will no longer show up on the websites.

example error GET https://www.efe-gbnets.com/bmz_cache/f/f87a03832bd4343becffbed8c9c008a6.image.152x114.jpg 500 (Internal Server Error) index.php:267

in my logs I get : httpdocs/bmz_cache/.htaccess: <Directory not allowed here

and

httpdocs/images/.htaccess: Invalid command 'IndexIgnore', perhaps misspelled or defined by a module not included in the server configuration, referer:

please can you help with this. Do I need to change the htaccess to reflect the restrictions. Please respond as soon as possible ...both my live sites are not showing any images...:(

Thanks in advance
Alex

well ...I have sorted it...just in case anyone has a similar issue....I commented out

#IndexIgnore /
#Options -Indexes

if anyone can see why this will create a security problem please let me know ..Thanks

Dear volunteers (!),
I've spent the last two days reading, reading, reading after searching, searching and searching...

I've understood many more things than before, but I still have two problems I cannot find the solution for.
(btw, running as on my signature on ZC 1.3.9h, with IH3, with LightBox... )

The first one is about the size of the images I get my items showed in the "specials" page...(main page, not sidebox)
It seems to me that this size cannot be changed if not changing it also in the product info page and I guess I'll have to put my hands in the code directly...
Will this affect how IH3 handles THOSE images ? Is there something I should be aware of ?
At the moment it seems to me that IH3 does not apply anything to those images... is this correct ?
How could I have IH3 take charge to display middle size overing images ?

Second problem (and this MIGHT be caused by another addon... Google-Froogle Merchant Center one indeed... not sure...).
When the above mentioned addon prepares the list of items to pass to Google, it might catch the image information from the original images, or it might use the ones prepared from IH3 (which in my case would be better, since I would like to publish the watermarked ones).
Everything works perfectly, but the small problem is that the image link passed to Google is the item image, but without watermark !!!
I've double checked, thinking of finding the solution on the XML feed pointing at the wrong image folder...
But it is not so !!!
The XML feed contains images from bmz_cache folder, but those images are WITHOUT WATERMARK...
And I've checked the contents of the bmz_cache folder: it contains TWO versions of the image, one is a copy of the original one and the other one is the watermarked one !!!
Beside obvious problems of wasting of server space, how can I have that addon pickup the correct image ?
Is the "copy of the original, not watermarked" a middle step which IH3 uses to build the watermarked one ?
If it is so, I could just look at the Google-Froogle Merchant Center addon (abandoned since long time) and try to fix it...
The question is: how can be a "non-watermarked" image be present in bmz_cache folder ???

Thank you for your "volunteer" hints and helps.

:-)

mickymix:

The first one is about the size of the images I get my items showed in the "specials" page...(main page, not sidebox)
It seems to me that this size cannot be changed if not changing it also in the product info page and I guess I'll have to put my hands in the code directly...
Will this affect how IH3 handles THOSE images ? Is there something I should be aware of ?
At the moment it seems to me that IH3 does not apply anything to those images... is this correct ?
How could I have IH3 take charge to display middle size overing images ?

First problem solved by myself, not being able to find any better solution, but identifying WHERE the problem was.

I got the necessary hint from this post from Ajeh and integrating it a little bit, as I had to change the coded value of

MEDIUM_IMAGE_WIDTH and MEDIUM_IMAGE_HEIGHT
to
SMALL_IMAGE_WIDTH & SMALL_IMAGE_HEIGHT

both in

/includes/modules/my_template/specials_index.php (not specials.php which I did not had)

and in

/includes/templates/my_template/templates/tpl_specials_default.php

So, for me, that point is solved (and hope this info might be useful for others too), while the second one (not-watermarketed images in bmz_cache) is still a big black hole... :-(

After DEEP further investigation, and TRIPLE single file checking (both on IH3 and ZLB), I've found another major problem, which might be the cause (hope so) of all other problems... or at least a further indication of where the real problem is...

I've tried to clean my bmz_cache folder many times, but there are some folders which are NEVER deleted.
They are folders named

/bmz_cache/0
/bmz_cache/1
/bmz_cache/4
/bmz_cache/5
/bmz_cache/6
/bmz_cache/7
/bmz_cache/f

no matter if there are 100 images inside or just a couple (after a recent MANUAL cleaning...).

After MANY trials MANUALLY DELETING anything, browsing some items, and cleaning again the bmz_cache, only the above (if created in the meanwhile) are NEVER deleted...

:frusty::frusty::frusty:

Might this behaviour tell me (you) some more ???

To be more precise:
Web: https://www.4shops.it (even if I doubt you might see the problem from your side...)
PHP Version: 5.2.10 (Zend: 2.2.0)
PHP Safe Mode: OFF
Database: MySQL 5.0.95
REmaining data is on my signature...

This is completely normal behavior. Every time you delete the images in the bmz_cache folder, as well as the folders themselves, IH3 will simply recreate them.

Why?
**
Because that's what it does - that is what it is meant to do.** IH3 creates and displays optimized images every time a page with images is loaded by a browser for the first time. It has to have somewhere to store those images, as well as a place to serve them from the next time the page is loaded in a browser.

Re: the watermark issue: I suspect that the issue is that your google froogle or whatever addon grabs images from the ZC images folder.

The watermarked images created and stored by IH3 are in the bmz_cache folder. Images in the bmz_cache folder are optimized copies of your original images, whereas google froogle is using your original images.

The fact that you can't see watermarked images in google checkout is not an IH3 issue. It is an issue wherein your google plugin needs to be tweaked to work with IH3. Suggest reaching out to the google plugin creator for assistance, since it is that addon's code which will need to be tweaked, if that's even possible.

Sometimes, it just comes down to having to choose between addons that won't work together.

If I am incorrect in my advice, I trust someone with more knowledge will step in and assist.

Good luck!

mickymix:

After DEEP further investigation, and TRIPLE single file checking (both on IH3 and ZLB), I've found another major problem, which might be the cause (hope so) of all other problems... or at least a further indication of where the real problem is...

I've tried to clean my bmz_cache folder many times, but there are some folders which are NEVER deleted.
They are folders named

/bmz_cache/0
/bmz_cache/1
/bmz_cache/4
/bmz_cache/5
/bmz_cache/6
/bmz_cache/7
/bmz_cache/f

no matter if there are 100 images inside or just a couple (after a recent MANUAL cleaning...).

After MANY trials MANUALLY DELETING anything, browsing some items, and cleaning again the bmz_cache, only the above (if created in the meanwhile) are NEVER deleted...

:frusty::frusty::frusty:

Might this behaviour tell me (you) some more ???

To be more precise:
Web: www.4shops.it (even if I doubt you might see the problem from your side...)
PHP Version: 5.2.10 (Zend: 2.2.0)
PHP Safe Mode: OFF
Database: MySQL 5.0.95
REmaining data is on my signature...

Dear ScriptJunkie,
thank you for your precise information, but...

Does IH3 creates images in bmz_cache folder when the website is OFF and there is nobody connected, beside me in the admin area, and not browsing any single front-end page ?
If it is so, I'm sorry.
From the information I got I thought that IH3 would have created the needed cached images "on the fly", but as soon as they were requested by ZenCart on users website browsing...

Also, the addon to which I'm referring, "Google Froogle Feeder (Zen Cart 1.3.9 and below)", which can be found in the addon repository is supposed to work in connection with IH3, being a switch present for this purpouse in the configuration.
How this was made, I cannot say, I'm honest.

The investigation on how this addon handles the information it might get from IH3 has already been posted in the relative support forum, but to better show what I mean, I would like you to have a look a the following links, both present right now in my bmz_cache folder (and, no, I did not placed anything inside bmz_cache manually, just erased it last time some minutes ago...):

/bmz_cache/0/0cb8f17489d74af2730bcb41da9f1fa0.image.487x650.jpg (not watermarked ???)
/bmz_cache/2/2f8d763d6f35d8cd89b78b8cd97b1051.image.75x99.jpg (OK)
/bmz_cache/4/4d97f2cfb58869aea39c4106522a79fb.image.150x199.jpg (OK)
/bmz_cache/5/576c0bcb6d7ee7d0f2f81601a4375238.image.487x650.jpg (OK)
/bmz_cache/5/5f277ba29d4b1c7c33c3d5ab2045fa39.image.150x200.jpg (OK)
/bmz_cache/8/8d66165ba0d6b5dc744febbd24c4404a.image.487x650.jpg (not watermarked ???)
/bmz_cache/a/aa38d29419d36960966c4415807b3917.image.75x100.jpg (OK)
/bmz_cache/e/ec18140bfb0ae23044490ec1ad5a625e.image.487x650.jpg (OK)
(sorry, could not enter so many links...so just add "4shops.it" in front of it...)

FYI:
75 is the width of the small images
150 is the width of the medium image
650 is the max height of the big images

I don't know how images in subfolder /0 and /8 were created (is this a IH3 middle step ?), but apparently the Google Merchant Center Feeder addon takes just one of the those two...

And this is not happening on Google Checkout (which I do not have), but in the XML file the addons generates, picking information from the database and placing it in the right was as Google wants to "eat it"...

I jsut creates an XML file, which contents, for the above item, is this one (just reduced to single item...):

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<rss version="2.0" xmlns:g="http://base.google.com/ns/1.0">
  <channel>
    <title><![CDATA[4SHOPS.it]]></title>
    <link>http://www.4shops.it</link>
    <description>Tutto per il Tuo Negozio - Everything for Your Shop</description>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[Stender cromato a 5 ripiani inclinabili  per calzature]]></title>
      <g:id><![CDATA[GS03190C]]></g:id>
      <g:price>91.76</g:price>
      <g:availability>in stock</g:availability>
      <g:shipping>
        <g:country>IT</g:country>
        <g:service>Spedizione normale</g:service>
        <g:price>0</g:price>
      </g:shipping>
      <g:brand><![CDATA[4Shops.it]]></g:brand>
      <g:condition>new</g:condition>
      <g:product_type>STENDERS</g:product_type>
      [B]<g:image_link>http://www.4shops.it/bmz_cache/8/8d66165ba0d6b5dc744febbd24c4404a.image.487x650.jpg</g:image_link>[/B]
      <g:expiration_date>2013-04-20</g:expiration_date>
      <link>http://www.4shops.it/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=Array&products_id=1239&language=it&currency=EUR</link>
      <g:mpn><![CDATA[GS03190C]]></g:mpn>
      <g:currency>EUR</g:currency>
      <g:pickup>false</g:pickup>
      <g:payment_accepted>PayPal</g:payment_accepted>
      <g:payment_accepted>Visa</g:payment_accepted>
      <g:payment_accepted>MasterCard</g:payment_accepted>
      <g:payment_notes>PayPal Express Checkout</g:payment_notes>
      <description><![CDATA[Stender cromato con 5 ripiani inclinabili per calzature, completo di ruote gemellari da 50 mm.Caratteristiche:- 5 ripiani inclinabili.- Ruote da 50 mm.Imballo originale:Prodotto nuovo di fabbrica.Misure ed ingombri:Altezza: 140 cm.Larghezza: 101 cm.Profondità: 43 cm.Questo articolo comprende:N.01 Stender come da descrizione.N.01 Imballo originale completo.]]></description>
      <g:google_product_category><![CDATA[Commercio e industria > Negozi > Manichini]]></g:google_product_category>
    </item>
  </channel>
</rss>

And this confirm that the ADDON is not using my original images... :blink:

Finally, it would be nice to receive some hints of how IH3 generates the filenames and WHERE it stores such information...
This way a DIY investigation would be easier... :cool:

And obviously, thank you for your try...

mickymix

Sorry, that's beyond my paygrade. Perhaps someone with more knowledge than I will be able to assist you. Good luck :)

mickymix:

Dear ScriptJunkie,
thank you for your precise information, but...

Does IH3 creates images in bmz_cache folder when the website is OFF and there is nobody connected, beside me in the admin area, and not browsing any single front-end page ?
If it is so, I'm sorry.
From the information I got I thought that IH3 would have created the needed cached images "on the fly", but as soon as they were requested by ZenCart on users website browsing...

Also, the addon to which I'm referring, "Google Froogle Feeder (Zen Cart 1.3.9 and below)", which can be found in the addon repository is supposed to work in connection with IH3, being a switch present for this purpouse in the configuration.
How this was made, I cannot say, I'm honest.

The investigation on how this addon handles the information it might get from IH3 has already been posted in the relative support forum, but to better show what I mean, I would like you to have a look a the following links, both present right now in my bmz_cache folder (and, no, I did not placed anything inside bmz_cache manually, just erased it last time some minutes ago...):

/bmz_cache/0/0cb8f17489d74af2730bcb41da9f1fa0.image.487x650.jpg (not watermarked ???)
/bmz_cache/2/2f8d763d6f35d8cd89b78b8cd97b1051.image.75x99.jpg (OK)
/bmz_cache/4/4d97f2cfb58869aea39c4106522a79fb.image.150x199.jpg (OK)
/bmz_cache/5/576c0bcb6d7ee7d0f2f81601a4375238.image.487x650.jpg (OK)
/bmz_cache/5/5f277ba29d4b1c7c33c3d5ab2045fa39.image.150x200.jpg (OK)
/bmz_cache/8/8d66165ba0d6b5dc744febbd24c4404a.image.487x650.jpg (not watermarked ???)
/bmz_cache/a/aa38d29419d36960966c4415807b3917.image.75x100.jpg (OK)
/bmz_cache/e/ec18140bfb0ae23044490ec1ad5a625e.image.487x650.jpg (OK)
(sorry, could not enter so many links...so just add "4shops.it" in front of it...)

FYI:
75 is the width of the small images
150 is the width of the medium image
650 is the max height of the big images

I don't know how images in subfolder /0 and /8 were created (is this a IH3 middle step ?), but apparently the Google Merchant Center Feeder addon takes just one of the those two...

And this is not happening on Google Checkout (which I do not have), but in the XML file the addons generates, picking information from the database and placing it in the right was as Google wants to "eat it"...

I jsut creates an XML file, which contents, for the above item, is this one (just reduced to single item...):

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <rss version="2.0" xmlns:g="http://base.google.com/ns/1.0"> <channel> <title><=!=[=C=D=A=T=A=[4SHOPS.it]=]=></title> <link>http://www.4shops.it</link> <description>Tutto per il Tuo Negozio - Everything for Your Shop</description> <item> <title><=!=[=C=D=A=T=A=[Stender cromato a 5 ripiani inclinabili per calzature]=]=></title> <g:id><=!=[=C=D=A=T=A=[GS03190C]=]=></g:id> <g:price>91.76</g:price> <g:availability>in stock</g:availability> <g:shipping> <g:country>IT</g:country> <g:service>Spedizione normale</g:service> <g:price>0</g:price> </g:shipping> <g:brand><=!=[=C=D=A=T=A=[4Shops.it]=]=></g:brand> <g:condition>new</g:condition> <g:product_type>STENDERS</g:product_type> [B]<g:image_link>http://www.4shops.it/bmz_cache/8/8d66165ba0d6b5dc744febbd24c4404a.image.487x650.jpg</g:image_link>[/B] <g:expiration_date>2013-04-20</g:expiration_date> <link>http://www.4shops.it/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=Array&products_id=1239&language=it&currency=EUR</link> <g:mpn><=!=[=C=D=A=T=A=[GS03190C]=]=></g:mpn> <g:currency>EUR</g:currency> <g:pickup>false</g:pickup> <g:payment_accepted>PayPal</g:payment_accepted> <g:payment_accepted>Visa</g:payment_accepted> <g:payment_accepted>MasterCard</g:payment_accepted> <g:payment_notes>PayPal Express Checkout</g:payment_notes> <description><=!=[=C=D=A=T=A=[Stender cromato con 5 ripiani inclinabili per calzature, completo di ruote gemellari da 50 mm.Caratteristiche:- 5 ripiani inclinabili.- Ruote da 50 mm.Imballo originale:Prodotto nuovo di fabbrica.Misure ed ingombri:Altezza: 140 cm.Larghezza: 101 cm.Profondità: 43 cm.Questo articolo comprende:N.01 Stender come da descrizione.N.01 Imballo originale completo.]=]=></description> <g:google_product_category><=!=[=C=D=A=T=A=[Commercio e industria > Negozi > Manichini]=]=></g:google_product_category> </item> </channel> </rss> ``` > > And this confirm that the ADDON is not using my original images... :blink: > > Finally, it would be nice to receive some hints of how IH3 generates the filenames and WHERE it stores such information... > This way a DIY investigation would be easier... :cool: > > And obviously, thank you for your try... > > mickymix

I'm pretty sure that you can DE-SELECT Image Handler in the Merchant Center Configuration area. If you do, it should use your standard images (and their paths) in the XML feed.

Thank you fairestcape,
I can deselect IH3 from Merchant Center Google configuration.
And this way, all the images will be my original images... so no watermarking...
This is true.

I can also remove IH3 and Google Merchant Center Feeder...

Sorry, this is not what I was looking for...

I'm indeed still looking to understand HOW IH3 names the files it creates and WHERE it stores its own information...
(and I did not had time yet to dig into the code yet...)

is there a way of adding a adwords_labels option to the feed?? simular to the UPC

kitcorsa:

is there a way of adding a adwords_labels option to the feed?? simular to the UPC

I think you placed the question in the wrong place... You are maybe referring to Google Merchant Center BUT this is the Image Handler 3 support thread... :-(

please ignore my message above, i searched for google merchant centre then signe it and it brought me here without me realising and i posted lol

Hi guys.

Im working on one eshop and customer wanted to be able to see large images when hovering over the product´s image. I have installed the IH3, and now, after she seen it, she also wants the little category image to have the same. I told her there is no point really to use this feature for a small category image (the one above the products - in the middle of the screen - after you click on any category), but she just WANTS IT!

Could you help me? Where and how can I add this feature to those little cat.images ?

Thank you.

kabko:

Hi guys.

Im working on one eshop and customer wanted to be able to see large images when hovering over the product´s image. I have installed the IH3, and now, after she seen it, she also wants the little category image to have the same. I told her there is no point really to use this feature for a small category image (the one above the products - in the middle of the screen - after you click on any category), but she just WANTS IT!

Could you help me? Where and how can I add this feature to those little cat.images ?

Thank you.
You do not say which version of Zen Cart you are using. If your store is a Zen Cart version 1.5 .1 shop you should be using image handler 4. And there is a completely different support thread for image handler 4.. secondly regardless of which version of image handler you are using there is no support for on hover of the category images. Its not a feature that has ever been included nor are there any plans to include this feature. That said the only suggestion I can give you is to employ the services of a developer who can create this feature for you.

Thank you Diva.

Im using 1.3.9 version, as there is no language update for version 1.5.
Therefore I have used IH3 version.
I know that there is no feature on hover of category images....I was thinking how could I add that feature to those images.
When moving my mouse over the images of products in category, it shows the large image, so I thought it should not be a
big issue to do that also for the category image, but Im not that good in coding (I can only do some easy changes in css
and php...ect).

Thank you.

kabko:

Thank you Diva.

Im using 1.3.9 version, as there is no language update for version 1.5.
Therefore I have used IH3 version.
Not sure what you mean by this.. Are you referring to Zen Cart v1.5 language files??

kabko:

I know that there is no feature on hover of category images....I was thinking how could I add that feature to those images.
When moving my mouse over the images of products in category, it shows the large image, so I thought it should not be a
big issue to do that also for the category image, but Im not that good in coding (I can only do some easy changes in css
and php...ect).

Thank you.

To be honest the on-hover feature is the ONE feature of this add-on that has NOTHING to do with it's real purpose (image management). I'm not sure why your client feels that this is a MUST HAVE feature, it adds NOTHING to the site to enhance the sale of actual products.. but to each their own I say.. :smile:

As I said, its not a feature that has ever been included nor are there any plans to include this feature. So as I previously stated, the only suggestion I can give you if your client is INSISTING on this feature and it's beyond the scope of your knowledge to execute, you will need to employ the services of a developer who can create this feature for you.

DivaVocals:

Not sure what you mean by this.. Are you referring to Zen Cart v1.5 language files??

Yes, I was referring to language files for 1.5, as my language is only available up to version 1.3.9 of zencart. Sorry for my bad english :)

DivaVocals:

To be honest the on-hover feature is the ONE feature of this add-on that has NOTHING to do with it's real purpose (image management). I'm not sure why your client feels that this is a MUST HAVE feature, it adds NOTHING to the site to enhance the sale of actual products.. but to each their own I say.. :smile:

As I said, its not a feature that has ever been included nor are there any plans to include this feature. So as I previously stated, the only suggestion I can give you if your client is INSISTING on this feature and it's beyond the scope of your knowledge to execute, you will need to employ the services of a developer who can create this feature for you.

Yes, she is INSISTING to have the "category image - zoom on hover" feature, even if I told her hundred times it means nothing for the site, as she is not selling the category, but the products. She still wants it though, which is doing my head in....lol
Anyway....thanks for your replies. I will have to look around for something, or I will just simply tell her it needs additional coding which will cost another 200USD and hopefuly she will refuse to pay additional fees...lol :)

kabko:

Yes, I was referring to language files for 1.5, as my language is only available up to version 1.3.9 of zencart. Sorry for my bad english :)No worries.. That's no reason to not upgrade.. You can EASILY create a set of language defines for v1.5 ion your desired language by updating the v.1.3.9 defines you currently use.. Simply use a file comparison program and compare the default Zen Cart v1.5 English language files to the ones you are using for your language in Zen Cart v1.3.9. All you need to do is add any NEW v 1.5 defines to the v1.3.9 language defines, translate them from English to your desired language and you now have a set of language files that can be used in Zen Cart v1.5 for your language.. It's not hard.. Just tedious, but totally doable..

kabko:

Yes, she is INSISTING to have the "category image - zoom on hover" feature, even if I told her hundred times it means nothing for the site, as she is not selling the category, but the products. She still wants it though, which is doing my head in....lol
Anyway....thanks for your replies. I will have to look around for something, or **I will just simply tell her it needs additional coding which will cost another 200USD and hopefuly she will refuse to pay additional fees...lol :)**Tell her the TRUTH..:smile: Adding this feature WILL take additional coding, and it WILL cost HER additional money.. and I suspect it's going to be more than $200.. Honestly speaking, it's a completely USELESS feature she is asking for (which is probably why NO ONE has developed anything like it that I'm aware of). I'll even go out on a limb and say it's a stupid feature..:laugh: It adds NO VALUE to the store, and honestly from the shoppers perspective I think they will find it rather annoying... Good luck though..:cool:

I am having a small issue with IH3 on zen-cart 1.39h
When I clear the cached images if always leaves the folders 0, 3, 4 and f and all their files intact
All the other directories are erased as expected.
I can remove these directories (and their files) with ftp or cpanel's file manager.

It isn't causing any problems as such, but it leaves me curious as to what actually going on?
I have checked (and played) with permissions but it makes no difference.
No errors are being generated either

Anyone have an idea as to whats causing this?