Debug the hwdVideoShare Uploading Process
From HwdMediaShare Documentation
Before you start debugging the upload process please have a quick look at our quick start guide and ensure you have setup the component correctly.
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The video upload page
The first upload page allows the user to choose if they want to upload a video file from their computer, or add a third party video. Please note, if all third party videos are disabled then this first page is skipped and the user will be taken directly to the Upload from a Local Computer page.
Adding a third party video
If you are having problems adding third party videos you should read our documentation on that issue. This documentation is specifically for debugging the process of uploading a video file from the user's local computer.
Uploading from a local computer
The hwdVideoShare component homepage should automatically display a link to the upload page. You can also manually create a link to the upload page elsewhere on your website if you wish. If you want to disable the upload tab, so that it does not display, you can do this in the General Settings of the hwdVideoShare component.
The upload procedure is split over two separate pages. The first page gathers information regarding the video from the user and the second displays the upload tool that enables users to upload their video file.
Step 1 of 2 (The details page)
The first page collects the video title, description, category, tags and sharing options from the user. It has a javascript that checks all required information has been added by the user. If any information is missing the software will request that the user completes that section. If the Captcha security feature has been enabled the user will also be required to enter a security code before proceeding. If you are having problems with the Captcha security image you can read our documentation on troubleshooting the Captcha Security Image.
Step 2 of 2 (The upload page)
The second page displays the upload tool. hwdVideoShare has three different upload methods to choose from - The Basic PHP Upload Method, the Advanced Flash Upload Method and the Advanced Perl Upload Method.
The Basic PHP Method
This upload method uses only PHP functions to process the uploaded video files. It will not display a progress bar for the user. It is a good idea to get this method working first then try to switch over to one of the advanced upload methods.
Common Problems
The main downfall of this upload method is that it is restricted to the settings in your php.ini file. This file sets the maximum allowed size for uploaded files. For most servers (especially shared servers) the default value for this maximum upload size is about 2MB. For the purposes of running a media sharing website this is not very large however, there are methods which can be used to increase this value.
The Advanced Flash Method
This upload method uses a flash widget to process the uploaded video files. It will display a useful progress bar for the user.
Common Problems
The main downfall of this upload method is that it is restricted to the settings in your php.ini file. This file sets the maximum allowed size for uploaded files. For most servers (especially shared servers) the default value for this maximum upload size is about 2MB. For the purposes of running a media sharing website this is not very large however, there are methods which can be used to increase this value.
The second most common cause of problems with this upload method is file permissions. After the flash widget has uploaded the video it is stored in a temporary location before being moved into the main upload directory. This temporary location MUST be writeable or the upload will fail. During the installation of hwdVideoShare the software will try to automatically configure the necessary file permissions however, you should also manually check these permissions if you are having problems with this upload method.
Change the permission on the directory below to 0777:
/path/to/joomla/components/com_hwdvideoshare/uploads/flash/files/
The Advanced Perl Method
This is the recommended upload method because it is the most powerful, consistent and robust. It allows the upload of very large video files (up to 2000MB) and displays a useful progress bar for the user.
Common Problems
User's have experienced a number of different errors whilst using this upload feature. These generally relate to the setup and configuration of the Perl script that is required to run it. The main errors are listed below with links to articles discussing each error in more detail. The articles do offer suggested solutions.
- Progress Bar Error: Failed to find flength file
- ERROR: Failed to assign CGI temp directory
- Error 500, Internal Server Error
- Error 404, File not found
- Error 403, Access Denied/Forbidden
- XML ERROR: Invalid character at line...
Has my video been uploaded?
After you attempt to upload a video file through the frontend of the website you should see a message displayed on the website informing you the upload either failed or was successful. If you see a message that is was successful you should confirm this yourself in the hwdVideoShare administrator. Login to the Joomla administrator and visit the Videos page in the hwdVideoShare administrator. This page lists all videos in your hwdVideoShare database. If the video is listed then it has been successfully uploaded, if the video is not listed then the upload was not successful.
If you receive a message after uploading a video that it was successful but can not see it in the backend administrator you should inform us through the Highwood Design forums so we can investigate the problem. We want to improve the error reporting in hwdVideoShare so that if an upload fails you get accurate & useful error messages explaining why the upload failed.
