Anon

More than likely, this is related to you php.ini file.

That file has a couple of settings that need to be changed, after which 99% of issues will be solved. I’m currently in the 1% of people for whom the following solution does NOT work, but for most people…

Optimizing the php.ini file for WordPress
You need to increase your php.ini limits. This is something you can do if you have root access, but more than likely is something you will have to ask your host to do. Godaddy is AWFUL with this issue – they don’t WANT to fix it, but they are well aware of it.

Settings to change:

MEMORY_LIMIT = 32M (Whatever it is set at now, it should be 64M or greater…128M is ideal and also the max). This is the limit for memory consumption for scripts, and often things like uploading themes require more than the default value.

UPLOAD_MAX_FILE_SIZE = 2M (Default is 2MB, obviously this is low. 8-10MB should be doable depending on how cooperative you host is being today, if you’re VPS or dedicated, you can set this at whatever.

If you host doesn’t know/care about finding your php.ini file, create a new txt document and paste in:

<?php

phpinfo();

?>

Save it as info.php and upload to the root of your website folder (usually via FTP or a file manager) – then just visit https://www.yourdomain.com/info.php and it will tell you exactly where your php.ini file is. Pass this info along to your host, although they really should be competent enough to know how to edit the php.ini file…

Hope this helps!

Well, very strangely, I sort of got it to work.

FOR MAC/OSX:

1) Open up a Terminal window
2) Type gzip and then drag the XML file to that line (or type in the location manually) – hit enter.
3) Use your new .gz archive when selecting XML import file.
4) You’re done!

FOR WINDOWS
– Use 7zip to create the .gz archive

Not sure WHY that worked, but it did. I could assign posts to a new user, and though the files were deleted from my old server, at least it checked for them. Pages and posts all look good!

I’m not marking this as solved, because it still doesn’t tackle the underlying issue. I would love to hear anyone’s additional thoughts.

Nothing showing up in system error logs, either.

WHAT I HAVE NOT TRIED

https://www.ads-software.com/support/topic/importing-wordpress-xml-fails-with-a-500-error?replies=7 <- This. It seems akin to the “I bent a nail with my hammer so I’m going to keep bashing it until it’s embedded in the board” solution…

Vicky,

Just to be sure, are YOU able to make changes without anything hanging? You didn’t mention. Are they using the same log-in details that you did?

If YOU can make changes:

If they are using the same log in details that you did to make changes, try making a new admin account for them to use.

If they are using a new admin account and it’s not working, try giving them your log in details.

If NOBODY can make changes:
Could be a permissions problem, either general file permissions or mySQL database user permissions…

– Dinidh

Am I right in suggesting that changes made in php.ini make it unnecessary to add rules to .htaccess? I’m pretty sure that’s the case, but it doesn’t hurt to rule things out with a second opinion ??

Blackcat,

I searched for a plugin, but never really found one that suited my liking.

I ended up creating a private page for each client, setting the password as the couple’s new shared last name.

A little clunky in terms of sheer page numbers on my page manager, but since they were excluded from the menu system it really wasn’t too much of a problem.

Hope this helps!

Well, the above plugin isn’t going to work for me (product specific) but it is definitely the right kind of thing. The search continues!

I may have found a paid solution: https://myproofs.co/index.php/my-proofs-plugin/

Specifically for photographers, this is exactly what I was thinking about. I can’t tell if it only works with zenfolio, or if there’s a way to send to any URL with a code. I’m going to download it and take a look. I also can’t tell if their pricing section applies to this WordPress plugin….hmmm…

James, thanks for your response. I think I would probably end up just creating URLs from my hosting control panel if I went that route, but it’s definitely not a bad idea. You are correct in saying that the only thing I want “users” to do is view image galleries.

Stvwlf, that’s a very interesting plugin, and really not a bad solution for now. I would prefer to only have one input (access code) instead of a username and password, but that’s just me being picky (mixed with a little understanding of how family members of couples we shoot struggle with web stuff already)! Really though I do like the functionality of that plugin – it’s a contender!

Still open to suggestions, and of course I will update if I find anything myself!

I would love to know the answer to this aswell!!! I have tried looking inside the theme contents, but the header included is just a repeating png. that is 1px wide, so there’s now way of editing it from there…

anyone???

Figured it out. It seems that it only happens on browsers in which I am logged in as admin. I forgot that my wordpress admin bar should be up there and isn’t, therefore the white space. when i logged out, problem solved.

Off I go to reinstall the latest wordpress update!

Thanks for taking a look at it everyone!!!

Strange – I am seeing it in Firefox and Chrome but not Safari. I don’t use IE, and am not too bothered about that…here’s a screenshot:

https://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p193/dinidh/Screenshot2011-08-13at84146PM.jpg

Currently, everything is justified left, but I don’t see the code that would define that term!

Thanks esmi, I found it but didn’t read all the way down.

Sorry for the confusion!