Nothing happens, when I try to save something in the Dashboard :(
core71
New
Hi! Hope you can help me out. I tried to change a few things in the Dashboard and even though there is no error message indicating that something went wrong, I am not able to save anything, for example if I want to activate or deactivate a Plugin... or if I try to change the login options of the Forum from invitation to simple login. Even worse: There is a message saying the changes have been saved, but if I refresh, they obviously have not.
This problem occured without any reason I could think of. I did not upgrade so far, didn't install a special plugin that messes around with the admin permissions, I simply don't know, what the problem is. This is what I have done so far trying to solve the mystery:
- changed the Browser
- created a new Admin user (so this worked, the new user has been saved as admin)
- logged in with the alternative admin account but still had the same problems
- installed the newest version of Vanille Forums (2.3 Beta)
NOTHING helped and I don't know, what to do and what the problem is. If I can't figure it out (with your help) I have to delete the software and try another Forum, since I would have to expect the same problem coming up again, if I don't know the reason for it, even with a fresh install. Some advice would be great, I couldn't find anything on that topic so far.
If you need to know: I'm using PHP 7 on my server.
Comments
Vanilla is not compatible with PHP 7. If it has been working before, I guess you have had PHP 5.3 - 5.6 before.
This is from the official docs:
Self-Hosting Requirements
--enable-mbstring.--with-mysqli.Vanilla 2.2 requires PHP 5.3. Running
masterbranch requires PHP 5.4, as will future official releases.Vanilla is compatible up to PHP 5.6 (the current release) and we always recommend using the lastest stable PHP release whenever possible. PHP 7.0 compatibility is expected in 2.3.
If it's not compatible with PHP 7, why does it say in the 2.3 Beta description:
"Vanilla 2.3 beta
May 24
REQUIRES PHP 5.4 but
supports
PHP 7.0! We strongly recommend upgrading PHP to 5.6 or 7.0 as soon as possible."
Sorry, my fault: I haven't seen that you are using the beta version. So the PHP version shouldn't be the problem. Are you sure you have write permissions on your config?
If you have changed your config manually, it might have happened that you have changed the user access rights.
If you don't like Vanilla you should use another script, but if you like to give Vanilla a try, I would suggest starting with the most stable version.
Surely you can do tests with the beta version and if you face problems, you should nail down the problem as good as you can and report that error on GitHub to help the developers making the beta version a stable version.
Do you mean 7.0 or 7.1?
A test of installation with 2.3b1 with php 7.0 can and does allow enabling of the core plugins, changing themes, and changing resgistration method.
As r_j indicated - you probably munged up your permissions/ownership on either the config.php and/or conf folder.
unfortunately you will get the message flash that settings have been saved even if your config.php is not writeable, so that is not quite helpful to you.
https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/an-introduction-to-linux-permissions
if you are not using linux, google for your os. how to determine corrct permissions.
if you don't understand, reinstall preferably with vanilla 2.2.1 and php 5.6, delete your config.php and start over.
If you start over, it will not allow you to install if you cannot write to your conf, uploads, or cache folders and your config.php when newly created will be writeable by your web server app.
Are you installing the beta version of the software due to a lack or knowledge of what it means to use beta software, or because you must use php 7.0 and you are experienced with vanilla software.
if you are a novice, suggest you use the stable version vanilla 2.2.1
The 2.3b1 - 2.3 version is behind schedule and many bugs have been fixed that haven't been back-ported, not even sure if it is worthwhile going to 2.3b1.
Pragmatism is all I have to offer. Avoiding the sidelines and providing centerline pro-tips.
It's PHP 7.0, I just checked and it's definitely not 7.1.
config.php is at CHMOD 755, conf folder at 777. So that's not the problem. I used a stable version before and I had the problem I described with this version, I don't have it since I installed the new Beta. So that's not the reason.
it very well could be the problem if you don't know the owner or the group of the web process.
if the owner and group of the web process does not intersect the owner and group of the config.php then the config will not be writeable with 775.
do you know what kind of web server you are using? apache nginx IIS, etc or what your OS is? windows, linux, etc.
to test if it is a write problem you could temporarily change config.php to 777 and rule out if it is an ownership problem. if 777 works and 775 doesn't work, then to get 775 work you have to set the correct ownership,
Pragmatism is all I have to offer. Avoiding the sidelines and providing centerline pro-tips.
Oh my god, THANK YOU!
For whatever reason the ownership for the config.php file was set wrong by my webspace/domain provider but luckily I could change that in the FTP settings (got an error with another FTP client, so I figured it's not a chmod thing, it had to be chown). Now plugins can be deactivated/activated again and I can save stuff again. Thank you so much! 
great.
Now install vanilla 2.2.1 with php 5.6 if you want better support. 2.3b1 is still beta, you may be on your own for the most part if you go with the beta version.
Pragmatism is all I have to offer. Avoiding the sidelines and providing centerline pro-tips.
Everything else is working fine with PHP 7 and the Beta release, if I have a problem and cannot figure it out myself, the first thing I'll do is get the stable release again and switch to PHP 5.6 CGI version with the .htcaccess file.
Hello @core71,
I have now the same issue. What kind of change have you made to the ownership of folders? I'm facing the exact same problem and having issues saving settings in Dashboard.
Do you mind to tell me what have you done to see if I can fix it?
Thank you