1.3.8 - having problems with email and product downloads

Hello all,

I just upgraded my webshop from 1.3.7 to 1.3.8 and now the following two things do not work anymore>:

1. Emails dont get sent anymore, always get an error "cannot connect SMTP host"
   This is strange as I am using the same settings as with 1.3.7, smtpauth to localhost, and the account works as should as I can also test it with some mail client.

2. Product downloads do not work anymore. You can see the downloadable file attached to the attribute of some product, see that all files are there and all worked fine in 1.3.7 - now in 1.3.8 its broken!

At first I thoought there was some failure during upgrade and restored my shop to do it again - same result.

Then I did a new installation of 1.3.8 on a fresh database, just using the original green template and only adding one single product with one download attribute and changing the email settings accordingly. Now add a new user, let him buy the product and Voila! You get both bugs with one hit!
Get the email error and cannot see the product download, not matter which state the order is in.

Where is the problem?

My setting: php 5.2.5 / MySQL 5.0.27 / Apache 2.2.6 / Fedora 6

Kind regards

Michael

By the way: Do you guys have some test suite to make sure a new version does work like the previous or at least have not its (known) bugs?

I just retired it on a different server machine with the same setting (php 5.2.5 / MySQL 5.0.27 / Apache 2.2.6 / Fedora 6 ) and 1.3.8 shows the same errors.

1. download of .zip package from sourceforge
2. unzip, rename to /testshop
3. setup database schema "testshop"
4. setup mailbox "testshop"
5. run /testshop/zc_install
6. go to email settings, set them accordingly
7. try to send email to administrator -> fails
   at the same time, sending email with any other email client works

...

Michi71:

By the way: Do you guys have some test suite to make sure a new version does work like the previous or at least have not its (known) bugs?

If you're asking whether we just write code and throw it out without doing anything to test it, the answer is no. If the software isn't ready to be released, it won't be.

In this case, you're the first to report any problems with downloads in 1.3.8. In fact, there have been many who have reported that downloads work much better using the 1.3.8 code vs the previous versions. The download code has been in testing for many months with positive feedback.

The email code has also been in testing for many months, and has been tested in a large-sized farm of email servers with all kinds of various server configurations, with various refinements made to ensure maximum compatibility, by people familiar with email things specifically.

Michi71:

Emails dont get sent anymore, always get an error "cannot connect SMTP host"Help me dissect that error:
"cannot connect" means ... well ... Zen Cart cannot establish a connection to it
"SMTP host" ... would be the SMTP Server setting in Admin->Configuration->Email Options

"cannot connect SMTP host" means ... Zen Cart tried to use your SMTP settings to connect to the specified server on the specified port using the specified username (and password if you're using SMTPAUTH), but failed.

"Cannot Connect" suggests that the mailserver didn't even respond. Otherwise one would expect it to say something about being rejected or invalid authentication and so on.

Questions:

• Why are you using SMTP instead of PHP?
• What happens if you switch to "PHP" for transport method?
• Are you using SMTP instead of SMTPAUTH?
• Do any other emails send properly, or is it just order-confirmations that are failing?
• What mailserver engine are you using on your server?
• what's the URL?
• who's the hosting company?

Hello everyone,

I'm having the same issue after upgrading. I've tried all transport methods but still I'm unable to send any emails. We even tried PHP and that didn't work. Just got off an hour call with my Host (hostmonster) and they checked everything to no avail. The emails aren't even reaching their logs. Yes, the emails are showing in the zencart archive but they're not making it to my host server. Is there a certain file besides functions_email.php that handles the functionality of emails? Just wondering if there's a file I can revert back to from the old version.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
Robyn

A fresh install of 1.3.8 (for testing) on a Linux Server and using default setup, Welcome eMail and Order eMail -- to both Client and Admin -- went through without problems.

I have to wonder what changes from the default were made?

Michi71 is using SMTP and answers to DrByte's questions may help sort out the problems.

Robbyn7, something is up with your Hoster. How is it they cannot watch the Server eMail log to see what happens to your eMail? If no eMail shows up in the log then Zen Cart is not sending an eMail. Which doesn't make sense as you said; "the emails are showing in the zencart archive"?

I don't know if this might be relevant to the same problems I am having with emails as well but here is my situation.

I upgraded the database from 1.3.7.1 to 1.3.8 successfully. After that, if I go to admin/tools/send email or anything related to emailing, the page won't load and would just hang for a longtime.....

See if you guys are having that problem too if you upgraded the db like I did.

Hello all!

Thank you all for the massive answers!
to make it short: emails via PHP always work, via SMTPAUTH always fail

ad Dr. Byte: answering your Questions:

• Why are you using SMTP instead of PHP?
  Well I have been successfully using it with other zencart shops earlier, maybe sounded to me more standards like than some php wrapping method. As I am not using any of the common mailservers, using standard smtp seemed to make sense.

• What happens if you switch to "PHP" for transport method?
  Well ... it works. I am a bit surprised but it does ;o)
  Going back to smtpauth still comes up with the error, but f**k the php thing works!

• Are you using SMTP instead of SMTPAUTH?
  No, I have set up my mailserver to do smtp only with authorization.

• Do any other emails send properly, or is it just order-confirmations that are failing?
  All mails using smtpauth fail! and all work using the php thing.
  I have been testing vaious actions and of course also the sending via tools > send email

• What mailserver engine are you using on your server?
  I am using Apache James (see james.apache.org)
  It is a pure Java implementation and I am working with it ever since, at least 5-6 years now.

• what's the URL?
  the url is http://www.tnxlabs.com/testshop

• who's the hosting company?
  I am running a dedicated server with webair.com, but I persuaded the guys to keep off their hands ;o))) in other words: I have set up the box myself and I am also doing all the admin and updates stuff. So if something fails - its my fault, no company to blame!

ad "Website Rob"

I have to wonder what changes from the default were made?

After unzipping as root I did hand over the whole shop folder to the user/group which apache is running under, using a bash script:
chown -Rh webuser $1
chgrp -Rh webgroup $1
chmod -R ug+rw $1
chmod -R o-rwx $1

So maybe the smtpauth is failing because the o-rwx? Will test it shortly...

continued in next post

re-Hello all!

ok email problem solved, but the product download is still now working.

What I did to test it:

add a product (not free, shipping, not virtual, ... all defaults)

add attribute name (download) and value (zipfile)

insert attribute name and value into product together with filename test.zip

catalog > downloads manager shows a green dot telling the file is there

/download is read-only /pub is read-write

configuration > attribute settings are
Enable Downloads true
Download by Redirect true
Download by streaming false
Download Expiration (Number of Days) 7
Number of Downloads Allowed - Per Product 5
Downloads Controller Update Status Value 4
Downloads Controller Order Status Value >= lower value 2
Downloads Controller Order Status Value <= upper value 4

add a new customer, let him buy the product
payment = money order
shipping = store pickup

complete the order

go to admin and set the status to "delivered" (4)

the file does not show up in the order
it does not show up in the view order for the customer
(not even the "no download until payment confimed" message!)
there is no subfolder and no symlinks in /pub

what did I do wrong?

the url is http://www.tnxlabs.com/testshop
testuser is "[email protected]" with passwd "testshop"
feel free to tryout
I can also send you the admin credentials via email if you want

Kind regards & Thanks in advance

Michael

Michi71:

the file does not show up in the order
it does not show up in the view order for the customer
(not even the "no download until payment confimed" message!)More importantly, it doesn't even show up when you add the item to your cart.

What "type" did you assign to the option value you called "Download"? It needs to be Radio or Dropdown ... otherwise it will not be linked to the item when it's added to the cart.

Hello Dr. Byte,

ok that's it: The attribute is not radio nor dropdown, as it may have only one value with nothing to choose from, I set it "read only".

Thought this would be a good idea ... ;o(

Better idea would have been to just try out the alternatives (as with the mail settings before).

Well it's once more a proof that about 90% of computer problems are located between keyboard and chair ... ;o)))

Thank you a lot for your help! I will change the attribs to radio and just have them rendered differently in my template/CSS!

Kind regards

Michael