A major problem with editing users

[philipt18]

There seems to be a major bug when editing users. I have several custom reg fields that are drop down-menus. When later editing those users as the admin, the longer drop-down menus are set to the first entry in the menu (not what was selected by the user, nor even the default value). When saving the user, these values obviously get changed, which is a huge problem.

One shorter menu gets set correctly. I have one menu that has 8 options and it is set to what the user selected. I have two much longer menus (state/province and country) which are set to the first option in each menu. I don't know where the cut-off is, or even if length is the determining factor, but I would appreciate it if someone from the company could confirm this bug, and help me figure out a solution.

I'm happy to share my custom reg menu files if they will help.

Thank you.

[philipt18]

So just to further refine the problem, I noticed I have another pull-down menu in the custom reg fields for birth year. In this case, there are 99 options (1900-1998) and this value seems to be retained. So this has more values that the state/province field, but all fields are 4 characters and there are no dummy values (I just defaulted to 1960 and then let the use change the value). I actually had been planning to add a dummy value like the state and country fields, to insure it is properly set and no one selects 1960 out of laziness, but I guess I'll hold off on making that change for now. Any progress tracking this bug down?

[Jason Caldwell]

Thanks for reporting this important issue.
~ Investigating this now.

[Jason Caldwell]

Yes, please do share these with me if at all possible. I'd like to see what your s2Member Custom Registration/Profile Field configuration looks like (i.e. the option values please). Screenshots would be great also, but whatever you can do is fine.

I'm happy to share my custom reg menu files if they will help.

[philipt18]

For State/Province, I have the following settings:

Starts a new section?: No
Form Field Type: Select Menu (drop down)
Field Label/Desc: State/Province (For US and Canada Residents)
Field Required: No
Applicable membership levels: All
Allow profile Edits: Yes

And finally, the options config file:

Code: Select all

|--Please Select--|default
Alabama|Alabama
Alaska|Alaska
Alberta|Alberta
American Samoa|American Samoa
Arizona|Arizona
Arkansas|Arkansas
British Columbia|British Columbia
California|California
Colorado|Colorado
Connecticut|Connecticut
Delaware|Delaware
District Of Columbia|District Of Columbia
Federated States of Micronesia|Federated States of Micronesia
Florida|Florida
Georgia|Georgia
Guam|Guam
Hawaii|Hawaii
Idaho|Idaho
Illinois|Illinois
Indiana|Indiana
Iowa|Iowa
Kansas|Kansas
Kentucky|Kentucky
Louisiana|Louisiana
Maine|Maine
Manitoba|Manitoba
Marshall Islands|Marshall Islands
Maryland|Maryland
Massachusetts|Massachusetts
Michigan|Michigan
Minnesota|Minnesota
Mississippi|Mississippi
Missouri|Missouri
Montana|Montana
Nebraska|Nebraska
Nevada|Nevada
New Brunswick|New Brunswick
Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland and Labrador
New Hampshire|New Hampshire
New Jersey|New Jersey
New Mexico|New Mexico
New York|New York
North Carolina|North Carolina
North Dakota|North Dakota
Northern Mariana Islands|Northern Mariana Islands
Northwest Territories|Northwest Territories
Nova Scotia|Nova Scotia
Nunavut|Nunavut
Ohio|Ohio
Oklahoma|Oklahoma
Ontario|Ontario
Oregon|Oregon
Palau|Palau
Pennsylvania|Pennsylvania
Prince Edward Island|Prince Edward Island
Puerto Rico|Puerto Rico
Quebec|Quebec
Rhode Island|Rhode Island
Saskatchewan|Saskatchewan
South Carolina|South Carolina
South Dakota|South Dakota
Tennessee|Tennessee
Texas|Texas
Utah|Utah
Vermont|Vermont
Virgin Islands|Virgin Islands
Virginia|Virginia
Washington|Washington
West Virginia|West Virginia
Wisconsin|Wisconsin
Wyoming|Wyoming
Yukon|Yukon

[philipt18]

For countries, all the same as states, except the ID is country, the description is Country and the options file is:

Code: Select all

Israel|Israel
United States|United States
|--Select a Country--|default
Afghanistan|Afghanistan
Åland Islands|Åland Islands
Albania|Albania
Algeria|Algeria
American Samoa|American Samoa
Andorra|Andorra
Angola|Angola
Anguilla|Anguilla
Antarctica|Antarctica
Antigua/Barbuda|Antigua/Barbuda
Argentina|Argentina
Armenia|Armenia
Aruba|Aruba
Austria|Austria
Australia|Australia
Azerbaijan|Azerbaijan
Bahamas|Bahamas
Bahrain|Bahrain
Bangladesh|Bangladesh
Barbados|Barbados
Belarus|Belarus
Belgium|Belgium
Belize|Belize
Benin|Benin
Bermuda|Bermuda
Bhutan|Bhutan
Bolivia|Bolivia
Bosnia/Herzegovina|Bosnia/Herzegovina
Botswana|Botswana
Bouvet Island|Bouvet Island
Brazil|Brazil
Brunei Darussalam|Brunei Darussalam
Bulgaria|Bulgaria
Burkina Faso|Burkina Faso
Burundi|Burundi
Cambodia|Cambodia
Cameroon|Cameroon
Canada|Canada
Cape Verde|Cape Verde
Cayman Islands|Cayman Islands
Central African Republic|Central African Republic
Chad|Chad
Chile|Chile
China|China
Christmas Island|Christmas Island
Cocos (Keeling) Islands|Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Colombia|Colombia
Comoros|Comoros
Congo|Congo
Cook Islands|Cook Islands
Costa Rica|Costa Rica
Côte D'Ivoire|Côte D'Ivoire
Croatia|Croatia
Cuba|Cuba
Cyprus|Cyprus
Czech Republic|Czech Republic
Denmark|Denmark
Djibouti|Djibouti
Dominica|Dominica
Dominican Republic|Dominican Republic
Ecuador|Ecuador
Egypt|Egypt
El Salvador|El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea|Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea|Eritrea
Estonia|Estonia
Ethiopia|Ethiopia
Falkland Islands (Malvinas)|Falkland Islands (Malvinas)
Faroe Islands|Faroe Islands
Fiji|Fiji
Finland|Finland
France|France
French Guiana|French Guiana
French Polynesia|French Polynesia
French Southern Territories|French Southern Territories
Gabon|Gabon
Gambia|Gambia
Georgia|Georgia
Germany|Germany
Ghana|Ghana
Gibraltar|Gibraltar
Greece|Greece
Greenland|Greenland
Grenada|Grenada
Guadeloupe|Guadeloupe
Guam|Guam
Guatemala|Guatemala
Guernsey|Guernsey
Guinea|Guinea
Guinea-Bissau|Guinea-Bissau
Guyana|Guyana
Haiti|Haiti
Heard Island/McDonald Islands|Heard Island/McDonald Islands
Honduras|Honduras
Hong Kong|Hong Kong
Hungary|Hungary
Iceland|Iceland
India|India
Indonesia|Indonesia
Iran|Iran
Iraq|Iraq
Ireland|Ireland
Isle Of Man|Isle Of Man
Italy|Italy
Jamaica|Jamaica
Japan|Japan
Jersey|Jersey
Jordan|Jordan
Kazakhstan|Kazakhstan
Kenya|Kenya
Kiribati|Kiribati
Kuwait|Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan|Kyrgyzstan
Lao|Lao
Latvia|Latvia
Lebanon|Lebanon
Lesotho|Lesotho
Liberia|Liberia
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya|Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
Liechtenstein|Liechtenstein
Lithuania|Lithuania
Luxembourg|Luxembourg
Macao|Macao
Macedonia|Macedonia
Madagascar|Madagascar
Malawi|Malawi
Malaysia|Malaysia
Maldives|Maldives
Mali|Mali
Malta|Malta
Marshall Islands|Marshall Islands
Martinique|Martinique
Mauritania|Mauritania
Mauritius|Mauritius
Mayotte|Mayotte
Mexico|Mexico
Micronesia|Micronesia
Moldova|Moldova
Monaco|Monaco
Mongolia|Mongolia
Montenegro|Montenegro
Montserrat|Montserrat
Morocco|Morocco
Mozambique|Mozambique
Myanmar|Myanmar
Namibia|Namibia
Nauru|Nauru
Nepal|Nepal
Netherlands|Netherlands
Netherlands Antilles|Netherlands Antilles
New Caledonia|New Caledonia
New Zealand|New Zealand
Nicaragua|Nicaragua
Niger|Niger
Nigeria|Nigeria
Niue|Niue
Norfolk Island|Norfolk Island
North Korea|North Korea
Northern Mariana Islands|Northern Mariana Islands
Norway|Norway
Oman|Oman
Pakistan|Pakistan
Palau|Palau
Panama|Panama
Papua New Guinea|Papua New Guinea
Paraguay|Paraguay
Peru|Peru
Philippines|Philippines
Pitcairn|Pitcairn
Poland|Poland
Portugal|Portugal
Puerto Rico|Puerto Rico
Qatar|Qatar
Réunion|Réunion
Romania|Romania
Russian Federation|Russian Federation
Rwanda|Rwanda
St. Barthélemy|St. Barthélemy
St. Helena|St. Helena
St. Kitts/Nevis|St. Kitts/Nevis
St. Lucia|St. Lucia
St. Martin|St. Martin
St. Pierre/Miquelon|St. Pierre/Miquelon
St. Vincent/The Grenadines|St. Vincent/The Grenadines
Samoa|Samoa
San Marino|San Marino
Sao Tome/Principe|Sao Tome/Principe
Saudi Arabia|Saudi Arabia
Senegal|Senegal
Serbia|Serbia
Seychelles|Seychelles
Sierra Leone|Sierra Leone
Singapore|Singapore
Slovakia|Slovakia
Slovenia|Slovenia
Solomon Islands|Solomon Islands
Somalia|Somalia
South Africa|South Africa
South Georgia/Sandwich Islands|South Georgia/Sandwich Islands
South Korea|South Korea
Spain|Spain
Sri Lanka|Sri Lanka
Sudan|Sudan
Suriname|Suriname
Svalbard/Jan Mayen|Svalbard/Jan Mayen
Swaziland|Swaziland
Sweden|Sweden
Switzerland|Switzerland
Syrian Arab Republic|Syrian Arab Republic
Taiwan|Taiwan
Tajikistan|Tajikistan
Tanzania|Tanzania
Thailand|Thailand
Timor-Leste|Timor-Leste
Togo|Togo
Tokelau|Tokelau
Tonga|Tonga
Trinidad And Tobago|Trinidad And Tobago
Tunisia|Tunisia
Turkey|Turkey
Turkmenistan|Turkmenistan
Turks/Caicos Islands|Turks/Caicos Islands
Tuvalu|Tuvalu
Uganda|Uganda
Ukraine|Ukraine
United Arab Emirates|United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom|United Kingdom
United States Minor Islands|United States Minor Islands
Uruguay|Uruguay
Uzbekistan|Uzbekistan
Vanuatu|Vanuatu
Vatican City State|Vatican City State
Venezuela|Venezuela
Viet Nam|Viet Nam
"Virgin Islands, British"|Virgin Islands, British
"Virgin Islands, U.S."|Virgin Islands, U.S.
Wallis/Futuna|Wallis/Futuna
Western Sahara|Western Sahara
Yemen|Yemen
Zambia|Zambia
Zimbabwe|Zimbabwe

[philipt18]

oh, and country is a required field.

[philipt18]

Here's a screenshot of my custom reg fields:



For the future, I'd love a way to insert a text block without any field associated, instead of the disabled textarea I'm currently forced to use (for the e-mail agreement at the end). For now, however, I'll settle for getting this issue fixed.

[Jason Caldwell]

Thanks the follow-ups.

I've just made an attempt to reproduce this with your exact specifications, but so far I've been unsuccessful. Please let me know if there is something that I'm missing. This was tested on a clean install of s2Member with the default theme for WordPress v3.3.1.

When I set values in the admin panel, they stick. Is this not happening on your installation? Sorry, I'm not sure I understand completely yet. If it helps, you can send us a Dashboard login privately via this contact form. See: http://www.s2member.com/contact/

[philipt18]

Interestingly the minute before I got the e-mail notifying me of your response I was going in to edit a user an noticed it wasn't happening any more. However, I knew that didn't make complete sense, so I looked at a few other users and was able to find the problem again. One of two things is happening here, and I'm not sure which:

1) It's possible the fix you made for the other custom reg problem fixed something here too. The older users in my database still show the problem, but a user that signed up since I installed the patch file you posted did not show this problem. That said, however, I'm not sure where the cut-off is and if the users that are affected by this are only before I patched the file or the cut-off is not connected to that patch, which leads me to possibility two:

2) At some point I changed the internal recording of countries so they show the full country name instead of the two-letter country code (i.e. originally it said US|United States and now it says United States|United States). The older users in my database would still have the two-letter codes in the database, while newer users would have the full name of the country. It's possible the users with two-letter codes are not being recognized and thus it's getting reset.

Is suspect it's actually the second issue. Until I went to edit a new user I didn't remember I had changed the internal country name. I guess I can open the database up and try to modify the countries. Suggestions for doing a mass replace of country codes? In any case, it might be good if there was some way to indicate that the field value wasn't found instead of just selecting the first field (if it's possible).

[philipt18]

This is another place where having a standard export/import format would be useful. I could just export to csv, edit the fields in a spreadsheet quickly, and import the use data back...

[philipt18]

Okay, so where exactly are the custom reg fields stored in the database?

[philipt18]

Ah, now I see why you don't offer a simple import/export to csv (with fields being listed even if empty). You've put all the values into a single meta field in the database. So unless I'm mistaken there is no easy way to edit all the countries of users in the database. Let me request again, then, that you implement real import/export of users (where each field has a column, even if there is no value). It can't be too hard to build a list of all current field names and export to those fields only when they exist. As for my current situation, and suggestions for fixing the database would be greatly appreciated...

[Jason Caldwell]

Thanks for the follow-up.

2) At some point I changed the internal recording of countries so they show the full country name instead of the two-letter country code (i.e. originally it said US|United States and now it says United States|United States). The older users in my database would still have the two-letter codes in the database, while newer users would have the full name of the country. It's possible the users with two-letter codes are not being recognized and thus it's getting reset.

Is suspect it's actually the second issue. Until I went to edit a new user I didn't remember I had changed the internal country name. I guess I can open the database up and try to modify the countries. Suggestions for doing a mass replace of country codes? In any case, it might be good if there was some way to indicate that the field value wasn't found instead of just selecting the first field (if it's possible).

Correct, if you changed the set of values offered in this drop-down menu, then the default value will be assigned to any given User/Member that does not have a value matching one of your current options. Thus, the default value would be selected, which was improved by the the patch file that I submitted, in order to better cope with configurations such as yours that include more than one empty value slot.

I'll address your other questions momentarily.

[Jason Caldwell]

Regarding default options. We are planning to add support for option groups, so that empty value slots are not necessary to accomplish what you're attempting to do here with markers in the list of options. This will come in a future release of s2Member. See: http://www.w3schools.com/tags/tag_optgroup.asp

[Jason Caldwell]

@philipt18
Rank updated to "Experienced User".

[Jason Caldwell]

Thanks for the feedback.

This is another place where having a standard export/import format would be useful. I could just export to csv, edit the fields in a spreadsheet quickly, and import the use data back...

Okay, so where exactly are the custom reg fields stored in the database?

I agree. While s2Member Pro does support a comprehensive solution for mass import/export of Users/Members, it's support for Custom Registration Fields is limited, in that all Custom Registration/Profile Fields are globbed together into one meta field in the database. This is a known design flaw, and is being addressed in the development copy. Please check this thread for details & workarounds: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=15658&p=48878&hilit=design+flaw#p48878

[philipt18]

Thanks. Is there a timeframe for the release of a version that can handle all fields in their own columns?

[Jason Caldwell]

We are currently shooting for late March 2012, but it could be later, depending on beta testing.

[philipt18]

Thanks

[philipt18]

Jason,

I was just looking at the export tool again, and I noticed it says it can only export 250 rows at a time. Why would there be a limit on number of rows? Does that mean that if I have 1000 users, that I need to do 4 different exports and then combine the files to get a complete look at my users? If so, is this something that is also being fixed in the next version? Thanks.

Thanks for the feedback.

This is another place where having a standard export/import format would be useful. I could just export to csv, edit the fields in a spreadsheet quickly, and import the use data back...

Okay, so where exactly are the custom reg fields stored in the database?

I agree. While s2Member Pro does support a comprehensive solution for mass import/export of Users/Members, it's support for Custom Registration Fields is limited, in that all Custom Registration/Profile Fields are globbed together into one meta field in the database. This is a known design flaw, and is being addressed in the development copy. Please check this thread for details & workarounds: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=15658&p=48878&hilit=design+flaw#p48878

[Jason Caldwell]

This limitation is for performance reasons. Many WordPress installations are on shared hosting and cannot deal with memory intensive operations related to database dumps, etc. Limiting your export to 250 rows ensures there are no performance issues.

I'll make a note of this though, to see if we can provide a UI control to increase it, for site owners on dedicated hosting with extra resources available. Until then, you can open this file and change the max if you like. See: /s2member-pro/includes/classes/exports-in.inc.php

Search for: LIMIT " . $sql_s . ", 250

[philipt18]

Perhaps there is a way to slow down the process so even those on shared hosting can do a full export, even if they need to wait a few minutes? I would think everyone would want to be able to do a full export...