Another Bug with 7.0.2?

[Tim Weaver]

I have now noticed that since upgrading to 7.0.2 some of our html files that should be included within the extended info templates are not being included.

We use a custom property set to the file name, with Use as CustomVar, File Name and Use as File Content selected. The file is of the form cWT0006B.html and is included in the /acatalog folder.

When we preview the page, the site, or upload to the website, some of the extended info pop-ups include the file contents, but some do not. Bizarrely, for one product the original product does not show the included file, while a duplicate of that product in another section does!

All these CustomVars are set specifically for each product and no defaults are set at higher levels such as Site Defaults. So it does not seem to be related to the earlier fault with custom property defaults that we reported.

We are now missing over half the product detail on the website for our top selling lines which is really bad news.

This is turning out to be a bad week and I am beginning to wish we had never upgraded from v7.0.1.

Any help will be gratefully received.

[cdicken]

I have done some testing at this end, but have not been able to reproduce this on my default setup. Someone will need to take a look at your snapshot to make a diagnosis. I suggest registering an email support query at http://www.actinic.co.uk/support/register.htm and the team will get back to you requesting a snapshot. Our development team will then be able to take a look.

[Tim Weaver]

Chris

On looking at this further, I have discovered a default instance of the CustomVar at the top level section level. Although this was deselected (as you recommended), selecting it has caused the missing contents to reappear when regenerated.

I tried deleting the row with this CustomVar, but then the contents in some, but not all of the individually specified products disappeared again.

However, after re-inserting and selecting, most of the contents are as they should be, but some have been overwritten by the contents for different products.

So this looks like a variant on the custom property problem, but this time setting the properties individually for each product does not appear to be be working all of the time!

[Tim Weaver]

...plus other instances where removing a default CustomVar seting at a higher level in the tree has caused the one set specifically for a product to be blanked.

So damned if I do and damned if I don't!

I know the management said no to an emergency release, but I would be surprised if this isn't affecting more people than may at first realise and without a fix there is currently no workaround for us.

[cdicken]

Tim - I cannot reproduce these errors. Can I ask you, if you have not already done, to register an email support query and ask them to look at your snapshot. It could well be there is something we can do to fix it.

[sgordonson]

Having similar problem

Products within a section dissapear in the site html, even though I can still see them in the actinic preview.

I am using a normatrix add-on which requires a couple of CustomVars. THe products seem to work for a while and then they dissapear. Still havent figured out how to get them back.

-steve-

[Tim Weaver]

I have now registered an email support query.

I have investigated further and my response is apended to the following thread:

http://community.actinic.com/showthread.php?t=10529

Since this problem appears now to be variant of the former problem, it might be useful to merge these two threads...

[Jenny]

Products within a section dissapear in the site html, even though I can still see them in the actinic preview.

-steve-

I had this problem with 7.1 quite a lot. A section was there but would not copy up that file. The html file was generated locally but just would not go up. Sometimes we had to give the section a new template, to force actinic to think it had changed and then revert back to the original template.

[sgordonson]

actually my problem is that the local section file is being generated without the products at all so the products dissappear, I think its related to the customvar problem

[Tim Weaver]

I tend to agree with Steve. The fact that there is a bug whereby CustomVars get overwritten in various circumstances suggests that they cannot currently be relied upon. So a feature that uses them to insert code or data into pages it going to be at risk.

[NormanRouxel]

Tim,

In your other thread I suggested that Actinic's reluctance to issue an emergency-fix (which somewhat implies that they could do one) is a "bad call".

They seem to think that this uncertainty affects an isolated few.

However, if you look through the Knowledge Base or Advanced guide (both Actinic produced) you'll find plenty of solutions that rely on Custom Properties.

On top of that I've done a huge number of patches (used on who knows how many sites now) that also rely on Custom Properties.

As the outcome of using Custom Properties is now uncertain, and indeed may silently generate erronous pages this is a potential minefield. E.g. you've used a Customvar to show a discount or special offer for one product and it turns up on another!

Norman

[Tim Weaver]

Norman

I agree completely. I suspect that Actinic are basing their assumption of low impact on the relatively few problems reported, (although there seems now to be several others affected). The nature of the fault, however, is that it may not be immediately apparent to people unless they check their whole site.

We only discovered the problem by chance when my partner was looking up some product information on our site and realised that it was incorrect. It was only when I found that the product properties were set correctly that the true nature of the problem became apparent. Further investigation then revealed the true extent of the problem.

I certainly think that Actinic need to take this more seriously since, as you say, there is a danger that store owners are being exposed to a real commercial risk.

[cdicken]

I am following this up with the support team and the development team. Hopefully a more suitable solution will come to light.