Coppermine and ImageMagick Grrrrrr... HELP!

[bemmo]

Okay, just at the outset, I am a total nebie at this. I have 3 domains and website and have experience with html and javascript. That is the extent of my programming abilities. I am also 60 and don't absorb most of the technical stuff well anymore. With that stated ...

I wanted to use Coppermine Gallery on one of my domains so users could view pics uploaded by members. That's all I want to do. Then I see I need this ImageMagick pgm so I downloaded that, and like coppermine extracted the zip to my drive with folder structure intact.

Okay, I FTP'd the coppermine directory structure to my domain and chmod'ed the appropriate folders (albums and include) to 777. FTP indicated the process was done.

So now I go to my browser and run install.php. The MySQL info was accepted, but it errored out on imagemagick with the folowing error:

"The installer can not find the 'd:/ImageMagick/' directory you have specified for ImageMagick or it does not have permission to access it. Check that your typing is correct and that you have access to the specified directory."

Great! I entered d:/ImageMagick as shown with forward stroke. The directions with this program are almost nil, especially for non-programmers or new users. I don't understand it at all, or why coppermine needs a command line convert pgm just to show and store images!

Can anyone advise me what I did wrong and how to fix this mess? I'm about ready to delete the whole thing and use html tables to do what I want!

[kegobeer]

Don't use ImageMagick - just use GD2.  Coppermine needs either GD1/2 or ImageMagick to create the intermediate and thumbnail images, rotate them, crop them, etc.  Coppermine is a lot more than just an app that displays images.

I also recommend reading the documentation that comes with Coppermine, if you haven't done so already.

[bemmo]

I looked at GD and understood even less (if possible) what I was reading than Imagemagick. That just ain't gonna happen for me.

I don't really care about making thumbs in coppermine - I can handle that on my system just fine without uploading huge and mystifying pgms to my domain.

It appears I'm better off doing without copermine and making my own html pages of pics...

[kegobeer]

If you have PHP, you should have GD2 already installed.  You don't have to upload anything to your website.  During the install process, just leave the ImageMagick block blank.  Trust me, the install process should go smoothly if you do that.

[Joachim Müller]

if you already have installed, juts go to coppermine config and change "method for resizing images" to "GD2" and save your changes.

[bemmo]

If you have PHP, you should have GD2 already installed.  You don't have to upload anything to your website.  During the install process, just leave the ImageMagick block blank.  Trust me, the install process should go smoothly if you do that.

Thank you, Kego - you were right. Never saw an install where you could leave what appears to be a critical file blank, but it went okay. Funny that GD was not listed by my domain host as being available.

I guess now I have to read the docs more thoroughly because I don't care for the main page display of "random pics" and "last editions". I would prefer just a simple "my album" deal.

Another thing I have to figure out is batch upload. Clciking on that button only gives me a message that I can upload files via ftp and select from there, and asks for me to select the directory. I FTP'd all my images to the folder /userfiles/albums/001, but that directory doesn't appear to select from. How do I select a directory that isn't displayed?

Oh well - it's installed and time to do some reading - if I understand it:)

[kegobeer]

We have a one question per thread policy, which makes it much easier to close out a topic when it's solved.  There are a bunch of posts about batch add issues, and at least one will probably apply to your particuar issue.  Batch add is also covered in the documentation, so it might be a simple permissions fix or something related that is covered in the docs.  Reply to one of those posts with any unique issues.

About your ImageMagick issue: ImageMagick must be installed by the webhost, and they would supply you with the correct location of the binaries.  I'm guessing you just uploaded the binaries, or you tried to reference an install on your local machine.  If you want to use ImageMagick, ask your host if they have it or will install it for you.  Most hosts will install it for you.  If you plan on uploading GIF images and don't want to apply my GD v2.0.28+/GIF mod, that is your only option.

Marking this thread 'solved'.

[bemmo]

My apologies - I've only been registered 2 days and wasn't aware of the policy in my haste to solve my problems.

GD will suffice for my needs - I won't be worrying about ImageMagick if I don't need it.

I will poke around looking for an answer to the batch issue.

Thanks for your help.

[Joachim Müller]

My apologies - I've only been registered 2 days and wasn't aware of the policy in my haste to solve my problems.

The "One question per thread" policy is part of the "Forum policies" you agreed to respect when you signed up for your account on this forum. This shows that you should take your time in the future to read the "legal crap" (aka fineprint) . From the registration page:

Forum Policies

1. Read the documentation first!
The documentation that comes with coppermine should answer most newbie questions.

2. Read the FAQ

3. Search the board
The search facility on the forums is probably your best friend when having a problem, there is a good chance that someone else has had the problem you are having and that a solution has been posted before, so to try and get an answer straight away use this tool. If at first you don't seem to find what you are looking for try again with different words.

4. Read the stickies
Threads marked with a pin are listed at the very top of each board. They contain answers to many questions that were posted over and over again, or they may contain important announcements from the dev team. Make sure to read the stickies on a board before posting to it.

5. Choose the proper board for your posting
All boards have a brief description of what its threads should contain. Make sure to post in the board that fits your issue most.

6. Use a meaningfull subject line
When posting on a support board, it's very likely that you need help, as much as everyone else who looks for help there, so don't use subject like "Help me please" or "Newbie needs help". Other "bad" subject lines are "Important", "I have a little question" etc.
Instead, use a short phrase that describes your problem - this will make things easier for supporters as well as other users who might encounter a similar problem and browse the board for relevant postings.

7. Be detailed
Post as many details as possible on the issue you're facing; for a start, you should post a link to your gallery and a test user account (without admin privileges). If the page in question can't be accessed by "regular" users (e.g. admin pages), post a screenshot.

8. Post links
When posting a support request, it's helpfull for supporters in most cases to see what the actual page looks like, that's why it's recommended that you always post a link to your coppermine gallery page when asking for support. If your site contains adult content, make sure to post a warning together with your link!

9. Add attachments
You can add files (some file types at least) to your posting on the board. When composing a message, click on "Additional options" at the bottom left of the screen and use the "upload attachment" function there. For security reasons you can not post executables or php files - rename them to txt or put them into a zip archive instead.

10. One question per thread
We have a strict "One question/issue per thread rule", which helps both supporters/moderators to keep track of open/closed issues as well as users who search the board or browse it, looking for answers to their question. Don't try to "hijack" other's threads by posting unrelated questions to an existing thread.

Supporters are reluctant to answer the same questions over and over again. If you chose not to read the docs and search first, or if you don't stick to this board's policies it's likely to get a harsh answer, or no answer at all. Keep in mind that all who work on this project are volunteers who don't get paid.

[patriciafish]

I hate to reopen this can of worms but does someone know the answer to bemmo's original question about folder permissions?

I appreciate that we don't need to install imagemagick but for those who have gone through the effort of downloading and installing it, can we just find out how to finish the installation? Or at least more specifically where the answer will be located.

To recap, the error message is (and let's assume that the prog is installed and the path is correct):

"The installer can not find the 'c:/ImageMagick/' directory you have specified for ImageMagick or it does not have permission to access it. Check that your typing is correct and that you have access to the specified directory."

I don't know if this is the issue but I did noticed in the folder properties "read only" is selected but I was unable to change that.

[kegobeer]

This has to do with proper server setup and proper ImageMagick installation.  There isn't any sure fire fix for you - you need to review how you have your server set up and make sure php scrips can execute the binaries.