Images Uploaded Using MLF Are Grey

Update: I deactivated another ‘media’ type plugin (Media Cleaner by Jordy Meow) and MLF appears to be working normally again. Since I shouldn’t need Media Cleaner any longer (the free version is highly indiscriminate) I will delete it and mark this issue closed.

Hopefully the thread may help others solve similar problems.

Thank you for sharing this information.

Hi Alan

I think what threw me off the scent was that MLF worked perfectly for a couple of days before it imploded. I didn’t even run Media Cleaner during that time.

I am, very much, a WordPress noob but it seems to me that:

• there’s a conflict somewhere,
• deactivating Media Cleaner caused it to reset something, or,
• deactivating Media Cleaner allowed MLF to get past wherever it was breaking.

Interesting. I’m just pleased it turned out to be easier to resolve than I originally feared.

Regards

D

Media Cleaner must be removing one of the default WordPress thumbnails sizes that Media Library Folders uses to display images. We could add code to Media Library Folders to check for the Media Cleaner plugin and warn users about the effects.

Ok – Perhaps not enough debugging. The problem hasn’t gone away. I’ve now done a little more digging, and find the following:

Folder Name : Result
————-+————————————–
a : Image uploads ok via MLF
ad : Image uploads ok via MLF
adv : Image greyed when uploaded via MLF
adve : Image uploads ok via MLF
adver : Image uploads ok via MLF
advert : Image greyed when uploaded via MLF
adverti : Image uploads ok via MLF
advertis : Image uploads ok via MLF
advertisi : Image uploads ok via MLF
advertisin : Image uploads ok via MLF
advertising : Image greyed when uploaded via MLF
advertisingx : Image uploads ok via MLF
====================================================

If I’m right it would seem there are some reserved folder names (and I guess various forms of ‘advertising’ would make sense). There may be others. Perhaps it should not be possible to create folders with those names – and that ‘Check For New Folders’ should give a warning if it finds them.

D.

Update: I’ve repeated similar tests, this time setting MLF to ‘Copy’ and dragging/dropping a known good image into each folder.

The results are the same as above.

This would explain how MLF worked for a couple of days befre I hit on the bad folder name.

D.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 9 months ago by dday61.

Have you checked the names and contents of your folders from your control panel or by FTP? I can create the folders adv, advert and advertising and successfully upload files to all three. I not yet installed the Media Clean plugin. Your issue is particular to your site or server. This is not the normal behaviour of Media Library Folders.

Media Library Folders does include a list of folders to skip when adding folders to display in the folder tree; folders that are usually related to installed plugins such as gravity_forms or events-manager. Adv, advert and advertising are not included in the list of folders to skip.

I’m keeping an eye on folder contents via the cPanel as I’m moving stuff around and using MLF to delete junk. It’s going ok now as long as I avoid those folder names. Once the pre-MLF folders (and junk) are gone my securities will be substantially smaller.

I think the way to go is build a debugging copy of the site, check it has the problem, then deactivate plugins one at a time (checking for the folder name problem as I go).

That’ll be some time away as I have other things to do for the next couple of weeks.

One thing I’m wary of is that the site is on a server controlled by a host who specialises in .gov.uk sites. There might be something wacky going on with that, so if I can recreate the problem on the same server as the live site, I’ll try to recreate it with the same data on a local server.

Another thing I really should do is ditch the plugins I no longer need. Being a WordPress noob means the site tended to grow organically as I progressed through the learning curve. It’s time for a tidy up (hence attacking the rampant images – start shovelling at the biggest pile).

If/when I find the root cause I’ll let you know.

Thanks for all your help – and apologies for the confusion. I almost always find debugging IT problems ends with a facepalm moment …

I set up a demo system on a stand-alone server. Once the demo was finished I tried to recreate the problem – and couldn’t. So I went back to the live system and it had gone away there too!

I’m assuming something to do with caching (maybe in WordPress, maybe on the server, maybe in the browser).

In short – don’t know with certainty what caused it, but it’s gone.

Don’t you just love computers.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 9 months ago by dday61.