Hi all, Just to let everyone know, I am very close to finishing a 1 -2 page checkout process. I will try and put it out it in module format. This checkout will also allow for bulk image uploads, bear in mind this is being driven by the free ads market, but will allow for packages as well. Cheers, Mully
Good stuff. It really should become part of the default set-up if possible. I suppose it is something like page 1: choose category, choose package, enter details, enter images page 2: verify advert with checkout button page 3: off to paypal or whatever Is that how it is? I can see page 1 may actually be reasonably split into two pages if necessary but no more. Upgrade/renew: page 1: modify advert and choose upgrade or renew options (big warning - if you proceed beyond this step your current advert will be deactivated until payment is made). page 2: off to paypal or whatever For me that would make a lot of sense and make the process fairly quick.
Hi, Well to me I think: 1. Pick category, packages avalible should display under the dropdown 2. Enter listing details and under extra options have contact details 3. Images (multiple Upload) 4. Verify ad I think two much on the one page will cause problems. Nick
Currently first page covers all ad details and photos. If its a free ad and succesfully placed then you are simply directed to the thanks page. If a paying ad then you are directed to paypal etc, but you make the payment gateway selection on the first page.
Based on the number of photos you get that many text fields with a browse button for each, until you do the submit nothing gets uploaded or resized. After succesful ad creation and photo upload you are onto the thanks page.
Yes using shared hosting, am hoping to get it tested on live site sometime this week. I've looked at several local classifieds that do the same thing whom I know are on shared hosting and this approach seems to work for them. I am aware that this approach will be effected by both size and quantity of photo's, but as of yet I haven't seen anyone attempt it on 68C so fingers crossed a good middle ground can be struck...
As long as it doesnt try and upload all the photos in one hit it should be right(do one a a time)? Is this correct or not? Nick
Most shared hosting has php.ini settings that allow areasonable sized upload so that really isnt my main concern. What concerns me is the amount of memory shared hosting allows php scripts to use. Ive covered this in great detail on the forums before but in short jpg images need to be uncompressed to be resized. A 1 megapixel jpg image when uncompressed uses about 8 meg of memory. Many hosts only allow 16mg of memory for php use so uploading 2 images would cause the script to run out of memory, white screen, game over.
Clearly you know a lot about this Larry. What would you suggest? one photo at a time? You would seem to be advising that one photo is the most robust direction to take. I do not think it would be a big problem that a user uploads one photo at a time to the number allowed - as is the case now. For me it would just be nicer if we could get the process for an advert down to 2-3 steps maximum. It has to be robust though. That is the main point.
I am testing a workaround for this issue which should completely avoid any of the server issues associated with resizing any image or uploading multiple images. This is not without its own limitations though, if it works great it not I may make a page as per current proces to handle images. Once tested I'll post details.
A multi-image uploader works fine on shared hosting. Our site loads up to 21 images at a time. Not a big deal. Never any trouble with server overload. Guns For Sale @ GunCanyon.com
Tell that to the guy who just posted in the support foum getting white screens when uploading images. Just because something works for you does not mean it works for everyone. Not all web servers are configured the same.
The problem is simply people do not understand how all the pieces fit together and when an image upload fails they march on castle 68C with pitch forks and torches. The ability for 68C to process uploaded images is not a limitation of 68C at all, but how PHP is configured on your web host. If you are on shared hosting and have no control over how much memory your PHP scripts are allowed to use then you are at the mercy of the host and must adjust things on your 68C site accordingly. 68C implemented pixel dimension checks in admin so that people could specify how large of an image(in pixel dimensions) could be uploaded. If a person does a little homework they can see what their web host has the memory_limit set to and set the pixel dimensions accordingly. If they fail to take advantage of this feature of the image class which I brought to light a while back they are setting themselves up to fail or have upload problems. Now if the upload script processes images one at a time and frees memory between them then it shouldnt be any more of a problem that the current single image upload method and thats good thing. free2take just need to make sure he understands how these things tie together so he can explain it to people using his mod because when people start having problems they are going to be marching with torches and pitchforks on his castle
voting for Larry - one image at a time. Best to play it safe and keep a really useful module such as this one fully robust.
I don't mean to ruffle your feathers or start a fight here, but it worked just fine on four different US based, highly rated shared hosting accounts: hostmonster, hostgator, bluehost, and webhostingpad. I want the module for the shorter checkout processing. I would hope it has the multi image uploader built in already, or as an option. .
