.htaccess files not allowed on web host
  • seigakuseigaku
    Posts: 10
    So, I wanted to install Vanilla forums on my web host, Yahoo, and I got the following message:

    "You are missing Vanilla's .htaccess file. Sometimes this file isn't copied if you are using ftp to upload your files because this file is hidden. Make sure you've copy the .htaccess file before continuing."

    My Web host does not allow that type of file naming.
    "The files that you upload to your Files area must be assigned names that consist only of letters, numbers, hyphens, and periods. Other characters (such as a space or underscore) are not allowed in the file name you assign when you upload a file to your Files area. The file name you assign must also begin and end with either a letter or a number. It's not possible to assign a file name that begins or ends with a hyphen or period."

    is there any type of bypass for this?
  • sottwellsottwell
    Posts: 13
    What web server is this? No Apache? Contact your hosting tech support; they should have the IIS (or whatever other web server is being used) equivalent of .htaccess available.
  • venom5venom5
    Posts: 10
    I have a similar problem, my web host doesn't allow htaccess files either. They said there should be a way to trick the installation routine or use a different url or something like that. htaccess files simply cannot be run on my web space, so I am pretty much stuck on the installation screen. As said as it is, for me it's now either someone has a solution to this isseu or I'll have to go with a different software.
  • TimTim
    Posts: 1,547
    You don't need .htaccess for Vanilla to work. You simply wont have nicely rewritten URLs.

    Vanilla Forums Senior Developer [GitHub, Twitter, About.me]

  • venom5venom5
    Posts: 10
    Thanks a lot for this info Tim. But could you also tell me how to proceed with the installation? Like seigaku I am stuck on the installation screen where Vanilla checks for the htaccess files. I am not experienced enough to know how to continue from here, since the htaccess files aren't available. I can just click on try again, not able to proceed. How can I skip this check for the htaccess files?
  • seigakuseigaku
    Posts: 10
    Thanks, everyone, but is there no solution? I cannot proceed with the installation because when I hit "try again" the same message appears. Is there a bypass for those of us who's web servers will not allow .htaccess files?

    My Web host is Yahoo! I do not know what apache is.

    Is this what you mean sottwell: http://www.php.net/manual/en/ref.iisfunc.php

    http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/att/smallbusiness/webhosting/php/php-33.html
  • TimTim
    Posts: 1,547
    We'll be adding a fix for this.

    Vanilla Forums Senior Developer [GitHub, Twitter, About.me]

  • seigakuseigaku
    Posts: 10
    Thank you Tim. Can we be notified when the fix has been released?
  • TimTim
    Posts: 1,547
    Yes, I'll post in this thread, but I'm aiming for 2.0.4

    Vanilla Forums Senior Developer [GitHub, Twitter, About.me]

  • kevinadhamikevinadhami
    Posts: 1
    hey guys, I also have the same problem,

    I uploaded the vanilla files onto the server using a FTP and now I get "You are missing Vanilla's .htaccess file. Sometimes this file isn't copied if you are using ftp to upload your files because this file is hidden. Make sure you've copy the .htaccess file before continuing."

    I'm not very experience either so I was wondering if anybody can tell me the next step to getting that .htaccess file properly uploaded?

    thanks!
  • RaizeRaize
    Posts: 695
    the best thing to do in this situation is to contact your hosting provider
  • seigakuseigaku
    Posts: 10
    hey guys, i just downloaded 2.0.6 and i'm having the same problem.

    "You are missing Vanilla's .htaccess file. Sometimes this file isn't copied if you are using ftp to upload your files because this file is hidden. Make sure you've copy the .htaccess file before continuing."

    thought you all said you were going to fix this?
  • TimTim
    Posts: 1,547
    This slipped through the cracks. I'll do it now. Sorry!

    Vanilla Forums Senior Developer [GitHub, Twitter, About.me]

  • TimTim
    Posts: 1,547
    @seigaku Hi. @Todd is implementing a sweet fix for this right now (literally, right now), but if you want to get going immediately, you can comment out lines 243-245 of applications/dashboard/controllers/class.setupcontroller.php:

    if (!file_exists(PATH_ROOT.'/.htaccess')) {
    $this->Form->AddError(...);
    }

    Vanilla Forums Senior Developer [GitHub, Twitter, About.me]

  • seigakuseigaku
    Posts: 10
    Tim said:

    @seigaku Hi. @Todd is implementing a sweet fix for this right now (literally, right now), but if you want to get going immediately, you can comment out lines 243-245 of applications/dashboard/controllers/class.setupcontroller.php:

    if (!file_exists(PATH_ROOT.'/.htaccess')) {
    $this->Form->AddError(...);
    }

    Wow, thanks, much appreciated!
    comment out? Does that mean to replace the current code of line 243-245 with that you have posted?
  • seigakuseigaku
    Posts: 10
    Got an error
    Parse error: syntax error, unexpected '.', expecting ')' in /JAPC/vanillaforums/applications/dashboard/controllers/class.setupcontroller.php on line 244

    Was i supposed to replace the code?
  • TimTim
    Posts: 1,547
    Comment out means "put // in front of each line".

    I abbreviated the contents of the call to AddError() with '...' to make the example more clear. At this point its probably best to just delete those 3 lines altogether.

    Vanilla Forums Senior Developer [GitHub, Twitter, About.me]

  • seigakuseigaku
    Posts: 10
    excellent, thank you. I will try this and see what happens. Deleting this line will not effect functionality?

    Sorry i'm a novice at this kind of coding.
  • TimTim
    Posts: 1,547
    It won't affect functionality. It is simply a check to make sure .htaccess was copied to your host. We were having questions from people who WANTED to use RewriteUrls, but were claiming we didn't include an .htaccess file. Turns out, their retardo FTP clients were ignoring the file and not sending it up to the web server. So we added this 'helpful note' to cut down on those questions.

    Vanilla Forums Senior Developer [GitHub, Twitter, About.me]

  • DavyBDavyB
    Posts: 106
    Its not helpful if it breaks the install and forcing some, possibly newbies without confidence or cocky ones with too much confidence, to edit and possibly right royally screwup php files.
    If the check is there it should merely comment that no .htaccess file is present unless the app won't work without one. If its going to stop, the installer should to ask to continue or not.
    You should NOT halt the install irrevocably. This erm! feature is still present in v.209
    It may not be a retarded ftp client, but settings in the unarchiver or the unarchiver itself being totally retarded.
    What about other hidden files, there should be a list of hidden files included in an archive (possibly in the readme) when hidden/system files are present.

    Sorry I may be a newbie to vanilla but not to WordPress, other apps, and php.
  • TimTim
    Posts: 1,547
    @DavyB
    Tim said:

    @seigaku Hi. @Todd is implementing a sweet fix for this right now (literally, right now), but if you want to get going immediately, you can comment out lines 243-245 of applications/dashboard/controllers/class.setupcontroller.php:

    As you can see, I was not suggesting that the current functionality was ideal. I just said that we were working on a fix and identified the problem code for people that wanted a solution immediately.

    2.0.9 was primarily a bugfix release and this change did not make it in. I just personally committed the userfriendly fix to 2.0.10a and it will be available in the next release.

    I hope this works for you.

    Vanilla Forums Senior Developer [GitHub, Twitter, About.me]

  • seigakuseigaku
    Posts: 10
    It's not that my FTP client was ignoring the .htaccess file. If anything, my web host retardo because does not allow that type of file naming, thus rejecting the file. ^_^

    When will 2.0.10a be released? Will it be a beta release? I'm not too thrilled about using beta releases.

    Removing the code worked, but I usually don't like messing around with code that i'm not familiar with, or don't know how to fix if I screw something up. That's why I wanted to switch to something that seemed more simplistic(like Vanilla) and more stable from phpBB. There is no such thing as "simple" edits in phpBB.

  • DavyBDavyB
    Posts: 106
    @seigaku
    Did you try the trick of ftping it as htaccess.txt or 1.htaccess and renaming it once its there on the host?
  • TimTim
    Posts: 1,547
    @seigaku All our code sits at VERSION_NUMBER'a' while its in unstable mode, so that that people can still download it from github and have a distinct version number. When we're ready to release it, we remove the 'a'.

    So no, the release won't be alpha or beta.

    As for when, I kind of want to get it out next week.

    Vanilla Forums Senior Developer [GitHub, Twitter, About.me]

  • seigakuseigaku
    Posts: 10
    DavyB said:

    @seigaku
    Did you try the trick of ftping it as htaccess.txt or 1.htaccess and renaming it once its there on the host?

    Yes. My Web host does not allow that type of file naming.
    "The files that you upload to your Files area must be assigned names that consist only of letters, numbers, hyphens, and periods. Other characters (such as a space or underscore) are not allowed in the file name you assign when you upload a file to your Files area. The file name you assign must also begin and end with either a letter or a number. It's not possible to assign a file name that begins or ends with a hyphen or period."
  • TimTim
    Posts: 1,547
    Thats mega lame. Maybe consider getting a new / non retardo host?

    Vanilla Forums Senior Developer [GitHub, Twitter, About.me]

  • TimTim
    Posts: 1,547
    With the amount of choice available these days there's no reason to suffer bad hosting

    Vanilla Forums Senior Developer [GitHub, Twitter, About.me]

  • seigakuseigaku
    Posts: 10
    Tim said:

    Thats mega lame. Maybe consider getting a new / non retardo host?

    Tim said:

    With the amount of choice available these days there's no reason to suffer bad hosting

    Yes there is a very good reason why I "suffer" with this web host. I'm unemployed and on a limited income,and the web host I have is what I can afford right now. I have been shopping around for a better host, however most hosts want $100+ for a year upfront. I don't have that kind of money right now to drop because I need to eat and have a roof over my head.

    You know, I really should not feel like I am the fault of a coding issue.
  • garymardellgarymardell
    Posts: 815
    I don't know what your hosting requirements are but a host like http://www.thiswebhost.com/order.html you can get the basic package for $2.99 a month.
  • ithcyithcy
    Posts: 1,290
    It's not a coding issue. The problem is not with you or vanilla, it's with your web host. you would experience the same issues with any other software that used URL rewriting. You need .htaccess. At least there's a workaround and you know how to do it :)
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