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View Full Version : Users can't search when logged in on V3.8

screengold
11-22-2011, 06:04 PM
Hi there,

Something strange - when a user is logged in and clicks on the search link in the Navbar nothing happens (ie no Search facility appears).

But if they are logged out everything is fine.

This happens even when I restore the Navbar back to the default,

Does anyone have any thoughts?

Thanks!
Lynne
11-22-2011, 06:35 PM
Try disabling your modifications/plugins and see if you still have this problem.
Note: To temporarily disable the plugin system, edit includes/config.php and add this line right under <?php

define('DISABLE_HOOKS', true);
screengold
11-22-2011, 06:50 PM
Hi Lynn,

Thanks for getting back.

I did that and the whole forum vanishes giving this error:
********
Warning: Unterminated comment starting line 3 in /home/screenwr/public_html/forum/includes/config.php on line 3

Configuration: includes/config.php exists, but is not in the 3.6+ format. Please convert your config file via the new config.php.new.
*********

One thing is the config.php file is clearly screwed - it's 302 bytes long, was last edited in Jan 2011 (??) , and its only contents right now are:

<?php
/*================================================= =====================*\
|| ################################################## ################## ||
|| # vBulletin 3.8.4 Patch Level 2
|| # ---------------------------------------------------------------- # ||
|| # All PHP code in this file is
Lynne
11-22-2011, 07:07 PM
That cannot be the only contents in your config.php file. What are you using to edit it? You should be using a plain text editor like notepad++
screengold
11-22-2011, 07:13 PM
Sadly it is. Somehow the Cpanel editor screwed it up when it loaded it, and the file is now 302 bytes long.

Obviously the forum is now dead till this is fixed - I've asked my hosting company to restore from recent backup.

They're usually pretty quick - I'll come back with the answer to your suggestion when I've recovered normal service.

Thanks for your time so far.
Lynne
11-22-2011, 07:15 PM
Just reupload your config.php file from your computer.

And do NOT use the cPanel editor. Edit the files on your computer and then upload them.
screengold
11-22-2011, 11:18 PM
Yes, I won't be using the Cpanel editor again in a hurry (Why does it do that??)

OK - restored to where we were. I tried your suggestion, added that line, and it made no difference - search not working when you are logged in, working fine when not logged in.

I've deleted the line.
Lynne
11-23-2011, 05:27 PM
Do you allow the usergroup to search? usergroup manager > edit usergroup > Can Search Forums?

If so, exactly what happens when they try to search? Can you post a link to the site and give us a test username/password to see the issue.
screengold
11-24-2011, 05:08 PM
Just realised the Community also doesn't work, whether you are logged in or out.

The Quick links and search don't work when you are logged in, Search works when you are logged out only.
Lynne
11-24-2011, 05:23 PM
Your html is all screwed up and that is probably why it isn't working. Run it through a validator and you'll see. You have a <div> in the <head> area (not allowed!) and missing quotes in other tags:
<img src="/images/forumlogo.jpg" width="716" height="178 border="0" alt="Screenwriting Forum" />

And all sorts of other things that are just not allowed. Fix your html and perhaps your page will work.

http://validator.w3.org/check
screengold
11-24-2011, 11:21 PM
Thanks for pointing those errors out - I've been through, basically reverted a lot of templates to the defaults, and now the pages parse correctly with http://validator.w3.org/check

However, the problems are still there. Have you any other suggestions?

Many thanks.
Lynne
11-25-2011, 05:01 PM
The dropdowns don't work whether you are logged in or not.

Create a new style with no parent:

Styles & Templates > Style Manager > Add New Style
Parent Style: No Parent Style
Title: Default vBulletin
Allow User Selection: Yes
Save

Then browse the site using that totally default vbulletin style - do you still have the same problem?
screengold
11-25-2011, 10:51 PM
Excellent - when I use that new utterly default style and browse then the functionality is restored.

I've left it over on that for the moment so you can see.

The next step is tracking down the rogue elements in the current style? Don't know where to start, I'm afraid...
Lynne
11-26-2011, 04:13 AM
You start by looking at your edited template. You may want to start by looking at your navbar and header template and seeing what changes were made. The footer template and headinclude template would be the next on my list of suspects.
screengold
11-26-2011, 08:01 AM
Ok Lynne, found it. It was some code I'd found somewhere in a forum that I'd put in to do a manual SEO of the meta keywords/headers. I stripped that out and all is well.

As always, be careful when you see some nice free code lying around. It may not be bug free!

Thanks for your time.