Hi,
I've recently launched a school P&C website (www.waverleyprimarypandc.org.au) that I'm hosting off an account on my hosters shared web server (ie. waverleyprimarypandc.org.au is a directory that runs off the root robertfairhead.com).

I've had a couple of problems that I thought could be due to how Joomla is installed in the directories on the server. The typical one is that I have to change permissions via CPanel before updating the global configuration or template params etc.

I've also had to do this when installing extensions and plugins via the Joomla Extension Manager ... and then I found that once installed, the ownership of extension com/mod directories changed to nobody (or root) and I could no longer do anything with the various files because I didn't own them.

Ok, so I should set up FTP in the global config. Well, I had several goes at this, encounted a weird problem (the global config file from the subdirectory website got copied to my root director!), but thought I'd cracked it ... till I got errors using the Joomla installer, like "Warning! - Failed to move file". Turn off FTP, the installer worked, turn it on, the error returned.

I found a post that suggested the /tmp file needed the full path in the global config, so I added this and got the charmingly obscur error message: Warning: is_dir() [function.is-dir]: open_basedir restriction in effect. File(/) is not within the allowed path(s):

The Joomla docco website says this is due to a restriction on my hosting account: docs.joomla.org/How_do_you_install_an_extension%3F

During all this (teeth gnashing) time I've been calling my website hosting support, getting them to reset ownership, delete duff files etc, but whenever I've asked them about exactly how I should configure Joomla so I don't keep callingn them about these problems, they palm me off to the Joomla forums.

And the forums seem to be split 50/50 on whether or not to use FTP!!

So I find myself totally stumped by Joomla (again!) - all I want to do is to create a couple of interesting websites using Joomla, concentrating on content, with a little look at presentation, and recently all I've done is spend hours going around in circles, Google'ing and chmod'ing files!

Can anyone give me a few pointers or is this a more of consultancy fee discussion?

Many thanks (it's helped to vent my frustration in this post),
Robert

Until I got my own server I too had permission issues - he's my solution

Good ISPs should be aware of the issues and have resolved it for you.

Robert,

I've found over time that FTP layer settings can be one of the more frustrating parts of maintaining Joomla.

There's several extensions that still don't like FTP layer, so even if the rest of it works out ok, those will still give you a headache.

With CPanel, the problem that I generally find is that when you upload files using the Cpanel File Manager, they will have your account as the owner/group permission on the file.

Without FTP Layer on, any files uploaded using Joomla will have nobody/nobody as the owner/permission group, as that's what Apache uses.

With FTP Layer on, they should have your account as the owner/group permission on the file.

As you've found, the problem can then come down to particular folders having the owner/group setting for your account while Joomla is trying to then use nobody/nobody or at least upload files via nobody/nobody to folders with your account owner/group permission.

What I tend to do (though note that I've got my own server so have some tools reseller accounts may not have) is to change all the files and folders to have the account's owner/group permissions (using SCP/SSH). From there, I turn on the FTP layer, and in most cases, Joomla then runs without problems (except where you then go to use one of the extensions with an FTP layer warning).

If you can't change the permissions yourself, the reverse can be done by the hosting company support usually: have them set everything to nobody/nobody for the apache user, and then you just need to remember to do everything via Joomla. If you need a file manager, there's a few like NinjaXplorer that will give you a file manager in Joomla. This will then let you upload files and they'll have the appropriate permissions.

Hope that helps.

Some further reading: FAQ Joomla Permissions:
forum.joomla.org/viewtopic.php?t=121470

Thanks to you both for your feedback. Between you and me (and the whole Joomla community) the permissions issue seems to be overly complicated. I understand the reasoning behind it, but you'd think there'd be a simple way to install extensions/templates and update configuration ... and I had thought that the "simple way" would be to enable FTP and use the Joomla Installer.

My experience to date is that with FTP enabled I can't use Joomla's Browse and Install option (Joomla reports it "can't find the install package"). FTP'ing the unzipped package to a tmp directory on the server installing files from this directory results in a similar error message.

If I disable FTP, I can use the Joomla installer, but then I get permission errors when I try to do updates.

Hosting my own server is not an option at the moment and I've just renewed my hosting service for another 12 months, something I may not have done if these problems had reared earlier (next year I'll be looking for a Joomla specialist hosting service).

So for now it looks like I'll have to cludge my way through this ... unless someone knows of an installer that works with FTP!

Regards,
Robert

robertf wrote:


forum.joomla.org/viewtopic.php?t=225840 outlines something to check in your configuration.php to do with FTP layer settings if they're off.

If the tmp folder has your account owner/group permissions, then the Joomla installer won't be able to write to the that folder when you do a Browse and Install.

If the FTP change in the post above doesn't work, then the other thing to try is to:
- turn on FTP layer
- Install NinjaXplorer
- delete tmp folder Cpanel file manager
- turn off the FTP layer
- go to NinjaXplorer in Joomla
- create the new tmp folder, which should then have the apache nobody/nobody permissions.

Hi Patrick,
I have stumbled accross this Joomla forum post and tried a couple of the suggested solutions, editing the FTP settings directly in config.php and entering the full path name for the tmp directory.

Unfortunately neither worked

I will try your suggestion and, time permitting, will ask for help at Tuesday's SJUG meeting.
Regards, Robert