pdf thumbnails not generated php7.0

I find some path errors in my folders when I ‘regenerate’ the native WP thumbnails that are missing.

When regenerating, I find the thumbnails in

wp-content/uploads/2018/02/2018/02

but they should be in

wp-content/uploads/2018/02/

making a copy of the files in the second directory seems to have fixed the thumbnail preview.

Thanks for your report and for the additional information about the directory mixup.

I have just run some tests on my own system, which is running PHP 7.0.14. The WordPress thumbnail generation is working on my system. I do know that the WordPress process fails intermittently based on tickets in the Trac system, but this isn’t common. Have you tried to upload more than one file? If you upload two or more files, do they all fail?

I also know that different PHP 7.x versions have different behavior. Can you tell me exactly what version you are using?

Finally, thanks for alerting me to the “wrong directory” problem! I assume you are using MLA’s “Thumbnail” bulk action to do the regeneration. This is an MLA defect I have reproduced on my system. I will fix it and post an update here when I have progress to report.

Any additional information you can supply will be most helpful. Thanks for your help.

Thanks for the quick investigation.

1) I am running php 7.0.27.
2) I don’t recognize the trac system. Is that another plugin? I don’t use that.
3) I did reproduce my problem with multiple pdfs and I deactivated and reactivated several times to verify that the interaction with the MLA plugin was causing the issue. Perhaps there is some particular configuration issue with my site or another plugin. I will turn off other modules and fall back to a basic theme to try to reproduce with a bare-bones installation. This might take me a couple days to investigate. I can share my settings, but I can’t figure out where the settings file goes when I ‘export ALL settings’ on the MLA general tab.

On the ‘shortcodes’ tab, I have the following:
Enable thumbnail substitution – unchecked
Enable featured image – checked
Enable featured image generation – checked
Enable explicit Ghostscript check – unchecked

I realized you were asking if I uploaded several images at one time.

When MLA is activated, no thumbnails are generated for four pdf files
When MLA is deactivated, all thumbnails are generated for the same pdf files.

Thanks for your prompt response and the additional details. Thanks as well for your thorough and ongoing detective work. Regarding your points:

1. I will try updating to 4.0.27 on my development system.
2. The Trac system is a website where WordPress issues are reported and tracked. You can find it at https://core.trac.www.ads-software.com/. You can see one of the PDF tickets at https://core.trac.www.ads-software.com/ticket/31050.
3. You can find the MLA settings in the /wp-content/mla-backup/ directory. Each export creates a .txt file with settings encoded in the PHP “serialized” format.

You didn’t say which upload method you are using. Do you use the Media/Add New (Upload New Media) screen, the Upload Files tab in the Media Manager Modal Window or the drag & drop support in the Media/Library Grid view? I’ve tested the Media/Add New (Upload New Media) screen, but the problem might be with another method. If you haven’t already done it, give the Upload New Media screen a try.

You might also try disabling the MLA enhancements for the method you’re using. Go to the Settings/Media Library Assistant General tab and scroll down to the “Media/Add New Enhancements” and “Media Manager/Media Grid Enhancements” sections. Uncheck the appropriate “Enable…” box(es) and see if the problem goes away.

Thanks for your help and your persistence with these experiments.

On a test site, I turned off all plugins except for MLA. I set the theme to twenty seventeen. I turned OFF all settings under
Media/Edit Media Enhancements
Media/Add New Enhancements
Meida/Media Grid Enhancements
I tried uploading via the multifile interface and also via the browser uploader with the same results. When the MLA plugin was activated, no thumbnail is generated with either upload method. When MLA is deactivated, the thumbnail is generated.
My test site is running
php 7.0.22-0ubuntu0.16.04.1
Not sure if my settings file would be helpful, but I see it now.

Also, I tried turning on logging debugging, but nothing was logged,
define( ‘WP_DEBUG’, true );
define( ‘WP_DEBUG_LOG’, true );

Thanks for your updates with the additional information and for your experiments.

I updated my system to PHP 7.0.27 and thumbnail generation still works for me, which doesn’t really surprise me.

You wrote “I tried uploading via the multifile interface and also via the browser uploader” – I understand that to mean you are using the Media/Add New (Add New Media) admin screen; is that right?

Since MLA thumbnail generation works (except for the directory bug; see below) I assume you have installed both Ghostscript and Imagick/ImageMagick. To confirm that, make sure no warning messages appear below the “Enable thumbnail substitution” checkbox on the Settings/Media Library Assistant Shortcodes tab. Check the “Enable explicit Ghostscript check” box to get the most complete testing.

Since you know how to find the error_log, I suggest you turn on some MLA debugging that might yield more information:

1. Navigate to the Settings/Media Library Assistant Debug tab.
2. Enter “0xF” in the MLA Reporting text box. That activates MLA debug logging for the thumbnail generation logic (plus a few other categories).
3. Click the “Save Changes” button to record the new setting.

Once that’s done, re-run your experiment and see if anything shows up in the log.

I have found and fixed the MLA defect you reported in your first post; thanks again for alerting me to it. I have uploaded a new MLA Development Version dated 20180126 with the updated code. To get the Development Version, follow the instructions in this earlier topic:

504 Time-Out issue

Skip down to the “To get…” instructions. You can ignore the example plugin instructions.

It would be great if could install the Development Version and see how it works for you. I don’t believe it will solved the WordPress generation failure but it should give you a way to generate the thumbnails you need.

Thanks for your patience and persistence. I look forward to more information so I can continue my investigations.

Thank you. I am able to generate the thumbnails, but they are not automatically generated. Here is some more information.

On production site
Using the patched plugin 20180126 (Thank you for fixing the path bug!)
Set MLA debugging to 0xF.
Media>Add new
You are using the multi-file uploader. Problems? Try the browser uploader instead.
Debug.log removed.
Continue with multi-file uploader.
No thumbnail generated. Debug report:
[11-Feb-2018 02:39:46 UTC] 36 MLA_Ajax::initialize( true ) $_REQUEST = array (
‘interval’ => ’60’,
‘_nonce’ => ‘13145c4695’,
‘action’ => ‘heartbeat’,
‘screen_id’ => ‘media’,
‘has_focus’ => ‘true’,
)
[11-Feb-2018 02:39:58 UTC] 591 MLACore::mla_plugins_loaded_action() MLA 2.70 (20180207) mla_debug_level 0xF
[11-Feb-2018 02:40:02 UTC] 1114 MLA::mla_process_bulk_action request = array (
‘tax_input’ =>
array (
‘attachment_category’ =>
array (
0 => ‘0’,
),
‘attachment_tag’ => ”,
),
‘tax_action’ =>
array (
‘attachment_category’ => ‘add’,
‘attachment_tag’ => ‘add’,
),
‘post_title’ => ”,
‘post_excerpt’ => ”,
‘post_content’ => ”,
‘image_alt’ => ”,
‘post_parent’ => ”,
‘post_author’ => ‘-1’,
‘comment_status’ => ‘-1’,
‘ping_status’ => ‘-1’,
‘page’ => ‘media-new.php’,
‘screen’ => ‘async-upload’,
‘cb_attachment’ =>
array (
0 => 3915,
),
‘mla_bulk_action_do_cleanup’ => false,
)
[11-Feb-2018 02:40:02 UTC] 958 MLA::mla_prepare_bulk_edits( 3915 ) tax_input = array (
‘attachment_category’ =>
array (
0 => ‘0’,
),
‘attachment_tag’ => ”,
)
[11-Feb-2018 02:40:02 UTC] 968 MLA::mla_prepare_bulk_edits( 3915, attachment_category, add ) terms = array (
0 => ‘0’,
)
[11-Feb-2018 02:40:02 UTC] 968 MLA::mla_prepare_bulk_edits( 3915, attachment_tag, add ) terms = ”
[11-Feb-2018 02:40:02 UTC] 1191 MLA::mla_process_bulk_action( 3915 ) new_data = array (
‘tax_input’ =>
array (
),
‘tax_action’ =>
array (
),
)
[11-Feb-2018 02:40:02 UTC] 1198 MLA::mla_process_bulk_action( 3915 ) item_content = array (
‘message’ => ‘Item 3915, no changes detected.’,
‘body’ => ”,
)
[11-Feb-2018 02:40:02 UTC] 1292 MLA::mla_process_bulk_action returning page_content = array (
‘message’ => ‘Item 3915, no changes detected.<br>’,
‘body’ => ”,
‘unchanged’ => 1,
‘success’ => 0,
‘failure’ => 0,
‘item_results’ =>
array (
3915 =>
array (
‘result’ => ‘unchanged’,
‘message’ => ‘Item 3915, no changes detected.’,
),
),
)
[11-Feb-2018 02:40:04 UTC] 591 MLACore::mla_plugins_loaded_action() MLA 2.70 (20180207) mla_debug_level 0xF
—————————————

Media>Assistant>select pdf>thumnail>apply>type WP (leave all boxes blank, Keep existing)
Item 3913, WordPress-style thumbnail generated.
——————————–
New debug contents:
[11-Feb-2018 02:40:46 UTC] 36 MLA_Ajax::initialize( true ) $_REQUEST = array (
‘interval’ => ’60’,
‘_nonce’ => ‘13145c4695’,
‘action’ => ‘heartbeat’,
‘screen_id’ => ‘media’,
‘has_focus’ => ‘false’,
)
[11-Feb-2018 02:41:46 UTC] 36 MLA_Ajax::initialize( true ) $_REQUEST = array (
‘interval’ => ’60’,
‘_nonce’ => ‘13145c4695’,
‘action’ => ‘heartbeat’,
‘screen_id’ => ‘media’,
‘has_focus’ => ‘false’,
)
[11-Feb-2018 02:43:47 UTC] 36 MLA_Ajax::initialize( true ) $_REQUEST = array (
‘interval’ => ’60’,
‘_nonce’ => ‘13145c4695’,
‘action’ => ‘heartbeat’,
‘screen_id’ => ‘media’,
‘has_focus’ => ‘false’,
)
[11-Feb-2018 02:43:58 UTC] 591 MLACore::mla_plugins_loaded_action() MLA 2.70 (20180207) mla_debug_level 0xF
[11-Feb-2018 02:44:01 UTC] 591 MLACore::mla_plugins_loaded_action() MLA 2.70 (20180207) mla_debug_level 0xF
[11-Feb-2018 02:44:12 UTC] 591 MLACore::mla_plugins_loaded_action() MLA 2.70 (20180207) mla_debug_level 0xF
[11-Feb-2018 02:44:13 UTC] 1114 MLA::mla_process_bulk_action request = array (
‘page’ => ‘mla-menu’,
‘s’ => ”,
‘mla_search_fields’ =>
array (
0 => ‘title’,
1 => ‘content’,
),
‘mla_search_connector’ => ‘AND’,
‘_wpnonce’ => ‘bb1a63e787’,
‘_wp_http_referer’ => ‘/wp-admin/upload.php?page=mla-menu’,
‘action’ => ‘mla-generate-featured-image’,
‘m’ => ‘0’,
‘mla_filter_term’ => ‘0’,
‘paged’ => ‘1’,
‘mla_thumbnail_options’ =>
array (
‘width’ => ”,
‘height’ => ”,
‘page’ => ”,
‘resolution’ => ”,
‘quality’ => ”,
‘type’ => ‘WordPress’,
‘existing_thumbnails’ => ‘keep’,
‘suffix’ => ‘-Thumbnail’,
),
‘mla-generate-thumbnail’ => ‘Generate Thumbnails’,
‘screen’ => ‘media_page_mla-menu’,
‘cb_attachment’ =>
array (
0 => ‘3915’,
),
‘action2’ => ‘-1’,
‘tax_input’ =>
array (
),
‘mla_bulk_action_do_cleanup’ => true,
)
[11-Feb-2018 02:44:15 UTC] 1292 MLA::mla_process_bulk_action returning page_content = array (
‘message’ => ‘Item 3915, WordPress-style thumbnail generated.<br>’,
‘body’ => ”,
‘unchanged’ => 0,
‘success’ => 1,
‘failure’ => 0,
‘item_results’ =>
array (
3915 =>
array (
‘result’ => ‘success’,
‘message’ => ‘Item 3915, WordPress-style thumbnail generated.’,
),
),
)
[11-Feb-2018 02:44:18 UTC] 591 MLACore::mla_plugins_loaded_action() MLA 2.70 (20180207) mla_debug_level 0xF

On my test site, there is one difference. (Not sure that all the MLA settings are identical) – probably not.) However, I did set debug to 0xF. I have no ghostscript warnings on Settings/Media Library Assistant/Shortcodes tab for this site or the production site.

The thumbnail IS GENERATED when MLA is not activated. When MLA is activated, the thumbnail is NOT generated on upload. When I follow the steps to generate the WP thumbnail from the MLA listing I get an error
ERROR: Item 3901, thumbnail generation failed – No editor could be selected.
This seems odd since the thumbnail works on this site when MLA is deactivated.

Whoops, I am running MLA 2.70 (20180207). I followed the link for 20180126, but it gave me the 20180207 version.

Thanks for installing the Development Version, performing the tests and posting the results.

Using the Development Version 20180207 is fine – it contains all the fixes in the earlier version and some unrelated fixes as well.

Your debug log messages show that the MLA generation is working fine on the production system. It also shows that the MLA “Bulk Edit on Upload” feature is active. Have you tried my earlier suggestion to disable it? I wrote:

You might also try disabling the MLA enhancements for the method you’re using. Go to the Settings/Media Library Assistant General tab and scroll down to the “Media/Add New Enhancements” and “Media Manager/Media Grid Enhancements” sections. Uncheck the appropriate “Enable…” box(es) and see if the problem goes away.

Disabling the “Media/Add New Enhancements” might let WordPress generation succeed. Give it a try and let me know if it helps.

On your test system the “ERROR: Item 3901, thumbnail generation failed – No editor could be selected.” message is coming from WordPress. It means WordPress is unable to load the code required to generate thumbnails. Sadly, WordPress does not log any information that would help diagnose the problem.

You can try reactivating the MLA debugging and then displaying the Settings/Media Library Assistant Shortcodes tab on your test system. That would log messages from the code that tests for GhostScript. You might also see “Ghostscript support is not installed.” on your test system.

It would be easier to pursue these tests offline, by email. If you give me your contact information I will send you an email address you can use to send the information to me. You can use the Contact Us page at our web site:

Fair Trade Judaica/Contact Us

I look forward to seeing the information or hearing from you. Thanks for your help with this unusual issue.

Thank you for your tireless efforts working with me offline to get to the bottom of this issue. The debug statements you added to your WordPress files showed that the WordPress Imagick image editor was trying to “setImageFomat” to “JPE”, which failed silently and prevented thumbnail generation. MLA supports the “.jpe” file extension, but the older version of ImageMagick your systems are running does not.

The workaround for your systems is simple:

1. Navigate to the Settings/Media Library Assistant Uploads tab
2. Enter “jpe” in the search uploads text box and click “Search Uploads”
3. Look for extension “jpe” in the results (there should be entries for jpe, jpeg and jpg )
4. Hover under the thumbnail and click “Quick Edit”
5. Check the “Inactive” box and click “Update” to record the new setting
6. Verify the “Inactive” status for the jpe extension

For a longer-term fix I have added code to MLA that will move “JPG” to the head of the extensions list so WordPress will use it for the “setImageFormat” function. That fix will be available in the next MLA version.

I am marking this topic resolved, but please update it or let me know if you have any problems or further questions regarding the above solution. Thanks again for all of your help with this issue and for your interest in the plugin.