Log File Troubleshooting

[aschecht]

I think I've followed all the steps in the logging FAQ but I'm still getting the log file error. I've linked to some screenshots to demonstrate each step I've done as follows:

• zoom.jpg - setting the log file path and filename in Zoom.
• filestructure.jpg - shows the logs folder and the search files in my file structure.
• permissions.jpg - shows the folder permissions in FTPVoyager.
• application.jpg - shows the log file error msg after searching.

Any ideas what I'm doing wrong?

I don't think it's the cause but I noticed that after my last indexing with ZoomSearch the program generated a new search_template.html file. I didn't publish this new file because I didn't want to re-do the CSS changes I'd added. Would this effect the log file?

Thanks,

Andrew

[Ray]

Have you tried full access ("777") as mentioned in the FAQ page and quoted below:

On some servers, you may need to specify "777" and provide full access because your server is configured to run the search script under a different user. You should still be able to restrict it more tightly than full access, if you consult your web host or try a few other settings. Exactly what restrictions you can implement depends on the way your web host has setup the server. You should check if "755" works first, and if you get a "Permission denied" error, try again with it set to "777". Note that some Apache servers will NOT allow you to do this and your search page may fail with an "Internal Server Error". So always use "755" if possible.

In regards to the "search_template.html" file, Zoom would only generate a new one if there was no existing file by that name in the output directory. This means you would have removed or renamed the previous file. See my previous post here for more details.

It also seems apparent that you have a mix of files in the search folder, as you must have tried both the CGI and PHP options and uploaded the files to the same folder. Be careful here because the ZDAT files are not compatible between the two versions. Make sure you are not updating one set of files (eg. the CGI setting files) and checking the outcome of the other files (eg. the PHP files).

[aschecht]

Thanks for the tip, Raymond. When I set the permissions to 777 the search logging works properly. Is there any danger to leaving the permissions like this? I don't mind so much if someone messes with, deletes, or views the search log. It would only be a minor annoyance.

Given this, are there security reasons for trying to work with my web host to get it to work with more restrictive access?

The cgi file is a remnant from before I (sort of) knew what I was doing. I've deleted it.

Thanks again for the help,

Andrew

[Ray]

There's no significant danger. The worse case scenario is another site admin running a site that is sharing the same server as you, writing to that file or wiping your stats. If you change the filename to something less guessable (update the Zoom config to do this), that would minimize the risk.

[aschecht]

Excellent. Thanks.

Andrew