Drupal update.php returning blank page
I recently upgraded Drupal to version 6.14 and went to run the database update as the instructions stated. When clicking the link, update.php only showed a blank page.
This is because errors on this page are hidden by default. In order to diagnose your problem, you’ll need to edit update.php and change the following line:
ini_set(‘display_errors’, FALSE);
to this:
ini_set(‘display_errors’, TRUE);
Try running update.php again and you should be displayed with an error message.
In my case, the errors I received looked like this:
Warning: include() [function.include]: Unable to access ./themes/garland/maintenance-page.tpl.php in /var/www/vhosts/example.com/httpdocs/includes/theme.inc on line 1020
It appears that Drupal still references the Default theme Garland which I had deleted from the server to save space. Once I’d reinstated this, the errors disappeared and I was able to run the database update.
Configuring Drupal cron jobs in Parallels
If you’re using Drupal, you should set cron to run automatically through your web host.
I’m using Open Host for one of the New Zealand based websites I do work on – who run Parallels for their clients to make hosting set up changes.
If you’re using this system, here’s what you need to do to get cron running automatically:
1) Log in to Parallels and click “Crontab”
2) Select your system user. If one does not appear I recommend contacting your host for help.
3) Click “Schedule a task”
4) Complete the form like below:
The above settings will ping cron.php on the first minute of every hour, every day of the month, every month. Make sure you change http://mywebsite… to show the URL of your site.
The official Drupal site provides more information on setting up cron jobs using Linux/Unix commands: http://drupal.org/cron
How to disable ViewState in web.config
ViewState is enabled by default in ASP.NET projects. If you’re not going to use it, you can disable it site-wide in web.config.
To do this, enter the following into your web.config file:
<pages enableViewState=”false”>
</pages>
If you already have a <pages> tag, just add enableViewState to the end like this:
<pages validateRequest=”false” enableViewState=”false”>
</pages>
How to enable MMS in iPhone with 3 mobile
I recently updated my 3G iPhone to use the 3.0 firmware. In doing this I knew that MMS would become available but I’d need to change a few network related settings.
This turned out to be a nightmare due to my network not providing any information on how to do this. So if you’re with 3 mobile in Australia and are having the same issue, here’s what you need to do:
1) First go to Settings > Phone and set your phone number. This needs to be in the following format:
61xxxxxxxxx
If you add 01 or +, MMS will not work.
2) Visit Settings > General > Network > Cellular Data Network > MMS and enter the following:
APN: 3services
MMSC: mmsc.three.net.au:10021/mmsc
MMS Proxy: 10.176.57.25:8799
Leave the other fields blank.
3) Finally, visit Settings > Messages > MMS Messaging and make sure this is set to ON.
Validating your Twitter badge HTML
I recently added a Twitter badge to my personal website to show my latest Twitter updates.
When I went to validate the HTML through W3C, I received an error saying that a <ul> tag was not closed.
This is easy to fix, all you need to do is add some empty <li></li> tags like below:
If you haven’t added a badge yet and you’re looking for all the code, visit the Twitter badge page
Compare plugin for Notepad++
Often when I don’t have access to Visual Studio, I use Notepad++ to edit code – particularly HTML and CSS files.
Today I found a fantastic plugin called ‘Compare’ that allows me to compare the differences between two files in Notepad++ without having to use an external program.
This can be downloaded here: Download Notepad++ Compare Plugin
If you’re looking to download Notepad++ (it’s free!), you can visit their website here:
http://notepad-plus.sourceforge.net/uk/site.htm
It’s a great tool that loads quickly and is infinitely better than using regular old MS Notepad!
Edit: Thanks for the comments about installation. I should add:
To install the plugin, download the file, unzip and copy the .dll into the Notepad++ Plugins folder.
To use, simply open the two files you wish to compare, click Plugins > Compare > Compare. The differences between the two files will then be highlighted. Note: You may need to close Notepad++ and reopen it before the menu option will appear.