Question Certain topics have hover previews, but when clicked, have no topic text

Hi guys,

All of the topics in this site were created in Joomla 1.5. The site was upgraded with Jupgrade some time ago, and this problem was recently discovered.

Some of the topics display exactly as they should. Several others, when you hover over the topic link, do show a proper preview of the contents of that topic. But when you click them, the resulting pages contain no topic information. The only hint is a message that says "There are no published categories in [category that contains the topic]". But the category is published and contains topics that work properly.

Can you please help? I'd be happy to PM you credentials for the site or anything else you need.

Here's the configuration report, and thanks!

Database collation check: The collation of your table fields are correct

Joomla! SEF: Enabled | Joomla! SEF rewrite: Enabled | FTP layer: Disabled |

This message contains confidential information

htaccess: Exists | PHP environment: Max execution time: 30 seconds | Max execution memory: 256M | Max file upload: 64M

Kunena menu details:

Warning: Spoiler!

ID	Name	Menutype	Link	Path
331	Forum	top	option=com_kunena	forum-main
157	Forum	kunenamenu	view=home&defaultmenu=158	forum-157
158	Index	kunenamenu	view=category&layout=list	forum-157/index
159	Recent Topics	kunenamenu	view=topics&layout=default&mode=replies	forum-157/recent
160	New Topic	kunenamenu	view=topic&layout=create	forum-157/newtopic
161	No Replies	kunenamenu	view=topics&layout=default&mode=noreplies	forum-157/noreplies
162	My Topics	kunenamenu	view=topics&layout=user&mode=default	forum-157/mylatest
163	Profile	kunenamenu	view=user	forum-157/profile
164	Rules	kunenamenu	view=misc	forum-157/rules
165	Help	kunenamenu	view=misc	forum-157/help
166	Search	kunenamenu	view=search	forum-157/search

Joomla default template details : rt_chapelco | author: RocketTheme, LLC | version: 1.1 | creationdate: Unknown

Kunena default template details : Blue Eagle | author: Kunena Team | version: 3.0.3 | creationdate: 2013-10-20

Kunena version detailed: Kunena 3.0.3 | 2013-10-20 [ Bifrost ]
| Kunena detailed configuration:

Warning: Spoiler!

Kunena config settings:
board_offline	0
enablerss	1
threads_per_page	20
messages_per_page	10
messages_per_page_search	15
showhistory	1
historylimit	10
shownew	1
disemoticons	0
template	blue_eagle
showannouncement	1
avataroncat	0
catimagepath	category_images/
showchildcaticon	1
rtewidth	450
rteheight	300
enableforumjump	1
reportmsg	1
username	0
askemail	1
showemail	0
showuserstats	0
showkarma	0
useredit	1
useredittime	0
useredittimegrace	600
editmarkup	0
allowsubscriptions	1
subscriptionschecked	0
allowfavorites	1
maxsubject	150
maxsig	300
regonly	0
pubwrite	1
floodprotection	0
mailmod	0
mailadmin	0
captcha	0
mailfull	1
allowavatarupload	1
allowavatargallery	1
avatarquality	65
avatarsize	2048
imageheight	800
imagewidth	800
imagesize	750
filetypes	zip,txt,doc,gz,tgz,pdf,wpd,docx,xlsx,qpd
filesize	5000
showranking	0
rankimages	0
userlist_rows	30
userlist_online	0
userlist_avatar	1
userlist_name	1
userlist_posts	0
userlist_karma	0
userlist_email	0
userlist_joindate	0
userlist_lastvisitdate	0
userlist_userhits	0
latestcategory	0
showstats	0
showwhoisonline	0
showgenstats	0
showpopuserstats	0
popusercount	5
showpopsubjectstats	0
popsubjectcount	5
usernamechange	0
showspoilertag	1
showvideotag	1
showebaytag	0
trimlongurls	0
trimlongurlsfront	40
trimlongurlsback	20
autoembedyoutube	1
autoembedebay	1
ebaylanguagecode	en-us
sessiontimeout	1800
highlightcode	0
rss_type	topic
rss_timelimit	year
rss_limit	100
rss_included_categories
rss_excluded_categories
rss_specification	rss2.0
rss_allow_html	1
rss_author_format	name
rss_author_in_title	1
rss_word_count	0
rss_old_titles	1
rss_cache	900
defaultpage	categories
default_sort	asc
sef	1
showimgforguest	1
showfileforguest	1
pollnboptions	4
pollallowvoteone	1
pollenabled	1
poppollscount	5
showpoppollstats	1
polltimebtvotes	00:15:00
pollnbvotesbyuser	100
pollresultsuserslist	1
maxpersotext	50
ordering_system	replyid
post_dateformat	datetime
post_dateformat_hover	datetime
hide_ip	1
imagetypes	jpg,jpeg,gif,png
checkmimetypes	1
imagemimetypes	image/jpeg,image/jpg,image/gif,image/png
imagequality	50
thumbheight	32
thumbwidth	32
hideuserprofileinfo	put_empty
boxghostmessage	0
userdeletetmessage	0
latestcategory_in	1
topicicons	1
debug	0
catsautosubscribed	0
showbannedreason	0
version_check	1
showthankyou	1
showpopthankyoustats	1
popthankscount	5
mod_see_deleted	0
bbcode_img_secure	text
listcat_show_moderators	1
lightbox	1
show_list_time	8760
show_session_type	0
show_session_starttime	0
userlist_allowed	0
userlist_count_users	1
enable_threaded_layouts	0
category_subscriptions	post
topic_subscriptions	every
pubprofile	1
thankyou_max	10
email_recipient_count	0
email_recipient_privacy	bcc
captcha_post_limit	0
keywords	0
userkeywords	0
image_upload	registered
file_upload	registered
topic_layout	flat
time_to_create_page	1
show_imgfiles_manage_profile	1
hold_newusers_posts	0
hold_guest_posts	0
attachment_limit	8
pickup_category	0
article_display	intro
send_emails	1
fallback_english	1
cache	1
cache_time	60
iptracking	1
rss_feedburner_url
autolink	1
access_component	1
userlist_usertype	0
sefutf8	0
enablepdf	1
jmambot	0
annmodid	62
changename	0
userlist_username	1
rules_infb	0
help_infb	1
onlineusers	1

| Kunena integration settings:

Warning: Spoiler!

Kunena - AlphaUserPoints Enabled: activity=1 avatar=1 profile=1 activity_points_limit=0
Kunena - Community Builder Enabled: access=1 login=1 activity=1 avatar=1 profile=1 private=1
Kunena - Gravatar Enabled: avatar=1
Kunena - JomSocial Disabled
Kunena - Joomla Enabled: access=1 login=1
Kunena - Kunena Enabled: avatar=1 profile=1
Kunena - UddeIM Enabled: private=1

| Joomla! detailed language files installed:

Warning: Spoiler!

Joomla! languages installed:
en-GB	English (United Kingdom)

Third-party components: CommunityBuilder 1.9 | UddeIM 3.1

Third-party SEF components: sh404sef 4.2.1.1586

Plugins: None

Modules: None

And as soon as I clicked "Submit"...

I saw the sh404SEF note in the configuration report. An air of dread filled the room, because I so want that to work.

But disabling that component does solve the problem. I have it set to use the Joomla router (in its fourth configuration box for Kunena), but apparently it still has issues only for some topics.

If you have any ideas, please let me know. Otherwise, sorry to waste your time.

Two suggestions:

1) Read the article and implement the recommendations in menu issues

2) Change the forum integration plugins as indicated in red font below:

Kunena - AlphaUserPoints Disabled
Kunena - Community Builder Enabled: access=0 login=1 activity=1 avatar=1 profile=1 private=0
Kunena - Gravatar Enabled: avatar=1
Kunena - JomSocial Disabled
Kunena - Joomla Enabled: access=1 login=10
Kunena - Kunena Enabled: avatar=0 profile=0
Kunena - UddeIM Enabled: private=1

Aside from the possible problems you that may be caused by using sh404SEF (see also To what extent does sh404SEF support Kunena? ) and you might like to ask about those on the sh404SEF forum, your problem may be caused (or contributed to) by the integration of Community Builder. As a simple test, you could try disabling the Kunena - Community Builder plugin; if this fixes the hover problem, let us know.

The hover preview is controlled by Javascript. Therefore, there's a conflict between some Javascript on your site and Kunena. My guess is that the problem is not caused by the interaction of sh404SEF or Community Builder but something else. These are the Javascript libaries that are running on your site: There could be a conflict between some of the "extra" Javascript you've added in addition (when you installed some Joomla extension) to the libraries that are normally used on a J! 3.1 website. That's my guess.

Hi sozzled,

Thanks for the great reply. I have to tell you, as I look through this forum I'm amazed by the quality and quantity of your responses. You keep Kunena a vibrant and informative place; I know few if any who could keep a complex community afloat as well as you do.

As to my problem, I did as you said. Your plugin settings make much more sense than the ones I had. I changed them, disabled the Community Builder plugin, and ran the test. The problem only occurred if sh404SEF was enabled. And it is very odd that it affects what on the surface are random topics within each category.

But to be clear, the hover works great on all topics. What doesn't work is clicking the links for certain topics. It should lead to the topic text that matches what the hover very correctly produces. Instead, it won't take you to the topic properly. That seems to me like it wouldn't be a javascript problem, but you know a heck of a lot more about, well, everything here than I do.

My guess is that everything would be fine with sh404SEF and new topics, but these few older ones won't work. And that's enough, among a few other issues, to keep me from using sh404SEF for now. I can see how it would be a nightmare to write an extension like that, because you're linking to a variety of complex extensions over which you have no control, and they're always in flux. To a degree, everyone has that problem, but third-party SEF has tentacles into absolutely everything.

Thanks again, sozzled. I appreciate it!

quantumgravity2 wrote: To be clear, the hover works great on all topics. What doesn't work is clicking the links for certain topics. It should lead to the topic text that matches what the hover very correctly produces.

I sort of got the problem around the wrong way, didn't I? :laugh:

Yes, Javascript "drives" the hover but it should not interfere with the targets of the links. The [SEF] links, in Kunena, are controlled by the Kunena router. If this sounds confusing to you, it's twice as difficult for me to explain it. Basically, we do not use so-called SEO "optimisers" here at this forum - nor do we recommend or endorse any third-party Joomla SEO products. As you may know, this forum has many topics that, in effect, say, "I can't seem to make Kunena work with 'brand X' SEO product"; sh404SEF is only one of several such products.

The Kunena project has no affiliation with, nor do the authors of those SEO products have any involvement with the project, with any SEO products on the market. Basically, good old [reliable] Joomla SEO is good enough for Kunena. When people ask "what can I do about my 'brand X' product?" or "why doesn't Kunena work with 'brand X'?" or "when are you guys going to fix Kunena so that it will work with 'brand X'" there's not a lot we can do.

Kunena is a free product. Many (most (?)) of the 'brand X' tools are things that you have to pay for. We do our best, within the constraints of what we can do with providing a free resource, to help but we're unable to provide the same degree of support that people expect when they pay for a product. To a great extent, the topics in this category rely in the information shared by other users of sh404SEF and not on the expertise within the Kunena development team. The simple truth is that some products play nicely with Kunena and some don't. In the final analysis (if it's a choice between one thing or another) each person can decide what is more important ... and I can't decide those things for anyone.

Your particular problem may not necessarily have anything to do with sh404SEF but all the evidence seems to suggest that it does.

Thanks for your well wishes. I try to do my best.

Cheers

All points well made, as usual.

Yep, I thinks it's clearly the responsibility of the third-party (and paid) SEF extension provider to work correctly with Joomla AND the substantive and functional extensions like Kunena and Community Builder. It can't possibly work the other way around.

I can see how SEF questions over which you really have no control might drive you nuts, although you do seem to stay sane.

That said, it wouldn't be easy to code a third-party SEF extension nor keep it current.

And for that reason, you're absolutely right. Joomla SEF is more stable. Everything is written with it as a known and a base. It's always going to be less of a risk. I'm coming to the conclusion that although some features of precise URL control are very nice, it just isn't worth the hassle of breaking things that otherwise work.

If people like me want to use a third-party SEF extension, their best bet is probably to only use it on a site that has versions of Joomla and the primary extensions that are a few iterations old.

Thanks again, sozzled. Cheers from Las Vegas to Canberra.

My pleasure. I wish you well in your communications with the guys at anything-digital.com.

Sanity is only an illusion - or so the voices inside my head keep telling me. :laugh: