Image Handler 2 (for ZC v1.3.8 ONLY) Support

ScriptJunkie:

Or...how about this tip? Read the ReadMe that comes with the IH2 fileset ;)

From the ReadMe:

You know I am not a rude person and I have really appriciated the help I have recieved on the forum but your smarta**ed remarks are less than useful and just shows you for the person that you are [and I will leave that for you to decide what that is]

I know that this is all run by volunteers and it is really fantastic that you are all willing to give of your time but that does not give you the right to treat the rest of us "less worthy mortals" with contempt or like idiots (although sometimes we may come across as such but this is maybe because we have spent hours learning something totally alien to us reading posts and instructions till they are coming out of our ears...

I have re-written this a number of times to tone down how I feel about your rude post so finally
my tip for you is ---*** have a little compasion for those less knowledgable than you this is all a big big learning curve for some of us***AND ***may I respectfully suggest therefore if you have nothing useful to say then it is best you say nothing..... ***

OH & JUST FOR THE RECORD I DID READ THE INSTRUCTIONS

rant over
Chrissie:frusty:

Not for nothing, but ScriptJunkie's remarks weren't meant to be taken any other way except to provide a little nudge in the right direction.. That said, if you read the rest of what followed her post, you'll see that she made an honest mistake in referencing something that's NOT in the current IH2 fileset or readme.. (hence why you didn't see it -- the quote she posted is from the NEW version of Image Handler 3 readme)

It's always puzzled me why folks get upset when someone suggests an alternate source of information as condescending, rude or as if someone has deemed someone as a "less worthy mortals". This is far from true for many of us, and I think ScriptJunkie is indeed one of those people as well..

Apologies your feathers were ruffled, but that was NOT the intent of ScriptJunkie's post.. She (like me) is VERY excited about the re-vamped Image Handler 3 readme which is better organized and provides a lot more information UPFRONT. Her intent was to HELP.. (which is why she posted a quote from the Image Handler 3 readme)

rugersmum:

You know I am not a rude person and I have really appriciated the help I have recieved on the forum but your smarta**ed remarks are less than useful and just shows you for the person that you are [and I will leave that for you to decide what that is]

I know that this is all run by volunteers and it is really fantastic that you are all willing to give of your time but that does not give you the right to treat the rest of us "less worthy mortals" with contempt or like idiots (although sometimes we may come across as such but this is maybe because we have spent hours learning something totally alien to us reading posts and instructions till they are coming out of our ears...

I have re-written this a number of times to tone down how I feel about your rude post so finally
my tip for you is ---*** have a little compasion for those less knowledgable than you this is all a big big learning curve for some of us***AND ***may I respectfully suggest therefore if you have nothing useful to say then it is best you say nothing..... ***

OH & JUST FOR THE RECORD I DID READ THE INSTRUCTIONS

rant over
Chrissie:frusty:

we obviously have different perceptions of what was written not withstanding the fact that I didn't need a nudge in any direction and thought, obviously mistakenly, that It would be helpfull to others as I noted whilst on my search that this was a common issue I also and a bit tongue in cheek I used TIP in my original post as this was the 2nd time I had search for the answer as I had just transferred to a new hosting provider and it was IH was the only thing that dind't work straight away and need attention.....and wished when I sorted it last time I had written down what I had done -- as at my age the memory is a bit short term..

Oh & just for the record I was pretty excited that I had finally killed all the issues I had so that made two of us!!!! - and I thought the comment was rude, sarcastic and uncalled for..

mmm not sure I will be upgrading just incase I need assistance:no:

rugersmum:

we obviously have different perceptions of what was written
Indeed we do..
rugersmum:

I didn't need a nudge in any direction and thought, obviously mistakenly, that It would be helpfull to others as I noted whilst on my search that this was a common issue
Indeed which is why we included information in the new readme to cover this common issue (and WHY it was quoted in the reply to you).. I understand something similar will also be included in upcoming ZLB readme file as well..

rugersmum:

** I also and a bit tongue in cheek** I used TIP in my original post as this was the 2nd time I had search for the answer as I had just transferred to a new hosting provider and it was IH was the only thing that dind't work straight away and need attention.....and wished when I sorted it last time I had written down what I had done -- as at my age the memory is a bit short term..

Oh & just for the record I was pretty excited that I had finally killed all the issues I had so it is all relevant and I thought the comment was rude, sarcastic and uncalled for..

Then something for you to consider here.. Isn't it possible that what you thought was "tongue in cheek" didn't read that way to others?? Perhaps the response was based on thinking you needed help..

Again sorry your feathers were ruffled, but I'm positive that being a smarta$$ wasn't the intent behind the post you are offended by..

rugersmum:

mmm not sure I will be upgrading just incase I need assistance:no:This is your choice of course.. I think it's rash to simply ASSUME that you won't get any help from ANYONE because you took offense to one thread.. :no:

zc 1.3.9h
ih2 rev8d

Long story short I somehow wound up with some corrupt images from a vendor. They displayed. Everything seemed fine. But as soon as we put 'em into our store IH2 stopped optimizing those images. Then the problem began to spread to other images - possibly because we cleared the image cache and things wouldn't rebuild properly anymore.

There was an error in the server error_log.

Not a JPEG file: starts with 0x42 0x4d

I loaded the suspect files into gimp and saved them as jpegs (which they were already supposed to be). Cache cleared. Problem solved.

I sort of understand that the corrupt images would be a problem - but the problem (of rendering / optimizing) spread to other images. Is there a memory leak or something at work here?

-Saro

Hello,

By using this Handler, how to install the enlarge image in a safety place that avoiding from stolen?

rugersmum:

I have re-written this a number of times to tone down how I feel about your rude post so finally
my tip for you is ---*** have a little compasion for those less knowledgable than you this is all a big big learning curve for some of us***AND ***may I respectfully suggest therefore if you have nothing useful to say then it is best you say nothing..... ***

Diva is correct - I'm just excited about the new version and the updates made to the ReadMe and simply quoted from the wrong one.

I have obviously hurt your feelings. I'm sorry, it wasn't intended.

Here is my something useful: Feeling less than from a remark made by someone you know nothing about, and whose intentions are unclear is a fairly common response among us women. I believe it stems from living in a world where, although having come a long way, still struggles with providing women with a sense of equality and value. Therefore, we must find it within ourselves, because nobody is going to give it to us.

This experience can, if you choose to allow it, provide you with deep insight into yourself based on your responses. It is a golden opportunity for growth and self empowerment.

Or, you can choose to remain hurt, angry, and frustrated. It's completely up to you and what you choose to take away from the experience :)

hara:

Hello,

By using this Handler, how to install the enlarge image in a safety place that avoiding from stolen?

First, I recommend installing the latest version: IH3. It can be downloaded from here. After installing, if you have questions or need support, you can find that on the IH3 support thread - here

To answer your question about protecting your images from theft...both IH2 and IH3, as well as Zen Cart itself, provide several protections for you.

1. Zen Cart v139 has .htaccess files that provide an extra level of safety in terms of people being able to browse your image folder for the purpose of stealing your images. As long as you don't remove that file, all should be well.

2. Image Handler takes your main image, and makes optimized copies of it, which are then stored in a folder called bmz_cache. When your pages load, the images are loaded from this folder, and the file path to the images is obscured so thieves can't track back to your images.

3. Image Handler comes with built in watermark files, which watermark your images so that if someone DOES manage to steal them, they get a copy with a watermark across it...essentially rendering the image useless to them.

This is a HUGE deterrent to thieves.

All you have to do to use this feature of Image Handler, is set the watermark settings to "yes" in your admin. Complete instructions on how to do this are in the ReadMe.

**Here's the bottom line: Your images are safer with Image Handler than without. **

DivaVocals:

This is what I expect would occur, and you have verified that this is what will occur..

Module has been submitted, and I'm afraid it's too late to update the documentation with any such notation.. (admins will also frown upon submitting an update for a minor modification after it's available to download)

This issue has been raised several times, and not just by me, in this thread since 2007, and even your kind self has posted on this matter.

While a workaround of resizing the gif to the category image size has been suggested, I have yet to achieve this with my gif, which was supplied to me by a graphic artist long since vannished, and which appears to be locked against any amount of editing.

An alternative solution to this problem may be to exclude this one image and its category from IH, however, I have really no idea how to do this.

Suggestions welcome.

Have you considered turning over the image to a graphic designer or other person proficient in working with images to see if they can do anything about enlarging?

Honestly, I'm not sure how successful that would be anyway, since it's very difficult to enlarge images and retain quality. But, I'm not an image pro either.

As an alternative, what about getting someone to make you a similar image in a larger size, with the understanding that they give you the largest size/highest quality version of the image and allow you to size it down yourself?

dw08gm:

This issue has been raised several times, and not just by me, in this thread since 2007, and even your kind self has posted on this matter.

While a workaround of resizing the gif to the category image size has been suggested, I have yet to achieve this with my gif, which was supplied to me by a graphic artist long since vannished, and which appears to be locked against any amount of editing.

An alternative solution to this problem may be to exclude this one image and its category from IH, however, I have really no idea how to do this.

Suggestions welcome.

ScriptJunkie:

Have you considered turning over the image to a graphic designer or other person proficient in working with images to see if they can do anything about enlarging?

Honestly, I'm not sure how successful that would be anyway, since it's very difficult to enlarge images and retain quality. But, I'm not an image pro either.

As an alternative, what about getting someone to make you a similar image in a larger size, with the understanding that they give you the largest size/highest quality version of the image and allow you to size it down yourself?

Hi ScriptJunkie

I consider commissioning a graphic designer as a last resort as the original image cost several hundred dollars and recent quotes have not been much different.

In any case, where suppliers of animated artworks may also supply their own animated graphic for their product image, these too may be sorely affected by IH, even if out by only a fraction of 1px from the category image dimension specs.

Hmmm!

dw08gm:

This issue has been raised several times, and not just by me, in this thread since 2007, **and even your kind self has posted on this matter. **I'd like to see that as I am not a fan of animated GIFs (No offense, but IMHO they are antiquated as there are better ways to display a "slideshow" of images). I have a hard time believing I made any sort of inquiry about them as I have discouraged ALL of my clients from using GIFs in general let alone animated GIFs.

dw08gm:

While a workaround of resizing the gif to the category image size has been suggested, I have yet to achieve this with my gif, which was supplied to me by a graphic artist long since vannished, and which appears to be locked against any amount of editing.

An alternative solution to this problem may be to exclude this one image and its category from IH, however, I have really no idea how to do this.

Suggestions welcome.

Image Handler does not enlarge images.. It never did.. And enlarging small images leads to poor quality images anyway.. To modify your animated GIF you need software that will correctly read the GIF and the layers which make up the animation. PhotoShop will do this, but I'm sure GIMP or other software might do the same.. You might try Googling for software suitable for editing animated GIFS..

An alternative to consider is to use a different image for this category and incorporate your animated GIF into the category description.. This way you won't need IH2 at all to display this image..

Hi, I hope somebody can help me with this.
I'm still running ZC 1.3.8 and installed Image Handler 2.

When I upgrade my Firefox Browser to v.4, now every time I click "larger image" to view bigger image, it only shows a vertical white box.

Thank you in advance.:smile:

ScriptJunkie,

Thank you so much for your advise.
One more question, IH2 and IH3 also perfectly work for simple HTML
basic picture gallery website right? Are they also can protect from image theft even the site has not .htaccess files?

hara:

ScriptJunkie,

Thank you so much for your advise.
One more question, IH2 and IH3 also perfectly work for simple HTML
basic picture gallery website right? Are they also can protect from image theft even the site has not .htaccess files?
As per the Image Handler readme files, Image Handler (last v2.0 release and v3.0) include an .htaccess file in the bmz_cache directory.

Suggest you download the add-on and take a look through the files so you can decide for yourself before installing.. If you decide to install IH3, then you need to post your IH3 support questions on the IH3 support thread. (not this thread)

The readme for both versions will answer most (if not all) of the questions you have.. (and if you decide to install IH3, the 1st three posts of the support thread DEFINITELY answers the question you are asking)

bimo_in_bali:

Hi, I hope somebody can help me with this.
I'm still running ZC 1.3.8 and installed Image Handler 2.

When I upgrade my Firefox Browser to v.4, now every time I click "larger image" to view bigger image, it only shows a vertical white box.

Thank you in advance.:smile:You don't say WHICH version of IH2 you are running, but if it's an older version, the answer probably lies in upgrading to either the most recent IH2 version or upgrading to IH3.

a link to your site would be a HUGE help (and a link to the specific product you are having the issue with)

dw08gm:

**This issue has been raised several times, and not just by me, in this thread since 2007, and even your kind self has posted on this matter. **

While a workaround of resizing the gif to the category image size has been suggested, I have yet to achieve this with my gif, which was supplied to me by a graphic artist long since vannished, and which appears to be locked against any amount of editing.
And here was my response that you reference.. The short answer is still no.. IH2 (or IH3) does not support animated GIFs. The reason why is in the threads I posted as reference 2/3 years ago..

DivaVocals:

Nope sorry.. Here's some posts which indicate why:
http://www.zen-cart.com/forum/showpost.php?p=517436&postcount=2334
http://www.zen-cart.com/forum/showpost.php?p=655060&postcount=3282

dw08gm:

Some time back I reported that animated gifs (in my case used for category images) did not work with this mod. While a workaround was posted, I did not follow through with it.

Now that this mod is undergoing a revision, is there any chance that animated gifs will work?

TIA

dw08gm:

An alternative solution to this problem may be to exclude this one image and its category from IH, however, I have really no idea how to do this.Probably possible.. Would require LOTS of coding to achieve I'm sure.. It's outside the scope of my abilities, and I'm not sure there's an overall benefit to adding this to the codebase..

Maybe I'm a little bit late but I have to say it...

NOBODY will say it better than "THE DIVA" on that post #6789, which is BTW a very cute number.... isn't?

Diva you rock :hug: here's my gift for you:
http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/225684_10150570496580263_636080262_18364670_4045525_n.jpg
My daughter took that picture few days ago from our apartment. ENJOY!

We are all here to help, learn, share experiences, and have a good time while doing it. Even laughing at OURSELVES when we say "duh" I forgot to ....

ideasgirl:

Maybe I'm a little bit late but I have to say it...

NOBODY will say it better than "THE DIVA" on that post #6789, which is BTW a very cute number.... isn't?Thanks for that..:hug: Sometimes it's discouraging sometimes around here when people mistake HELP for something else.. I don't understand that..:no:

ideasgirl:

Diva you rock :hug: here's my gift for you:
http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/225684_10150570496580263_636080262_18364670_4045525_n.jpg
My daughter took that picture few days ago from our apartment. ENJOY!Now you're just being mean teasing me!!:laugh::laugh:

GREAT view.. sigh Did I MENTION how much I LOVED Puerto Rico??? sigh

ideasgirl:

We are all here to help, learn, share experiences, and have a good time while doing it. Even laughing at OURSELVES when we say "duh" I forgot to ....EXACTLY!! Well stated!!!:clap:

Now you're just being mean teasing me!!
Apologies if your feathers were ruffled, but that was NOT the intent of my gift. :laugh:
GREAT view.. sigh Did I MENTION how much I LOVED Puerto Rico???
:rolleyes: Yup!