Template file writable/unwritable

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adam_fake
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Template file writable/unwritable

Post by adam_fake » Thu Nov 13, 2008 5:30 pm

I;ve just transferred my site from one host to another, imported the database and updated the Configuration.php file and the site works.

I've gone in to edit the templates and i'm now getting the error:

* Could not make the template file writable
* Could not make the template file unwritable

Is this to do with permissions or something else i need to update? I've seen a few posts about the permissions of the Parameter files, is this what i should be looking for?

adam_fake
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Re: Template file writable/unwritable

Post by adam_fake » Thu Nov 13, 2008 5:38 pm

Forgot this:

Operation Failed!: failed to open file /var/www/vhosts/xxx.xxxxx.xxx/httpdocs/templates/rhuk_milkyway/index.php for writing.

founder
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Re: Template file writable/unwritable

Post by founder » Sun Jan 04, 2009 2:01 am

googling "joomla writable unwritable" produces this forum's entries of nov 13, 2008 at the top of the list -- yet there is no reply to adam_fake's query.

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Re: Template file writable/unwritable

Post by jstrak » Wed Feb 11, 2009 2:29 am

I had the same thing happen with 1.5.8. I have other sites on 1.5.9 and this has not happened with them so I was going to just upgrade thinking it might have been a bug.

Then I thought it was really probably just me given there weren't that many threads on this topic.

I went to my original files from my joomla download of 1.5.8 found the template folder for rhuk and then I uploaded the whole folder so the original css files would be in there.

It worked. Logo appeared - writable non writeable no issue.

I didn't change the permissions as I had earlier and I simply change the code for the logo and the footer and all worked well.

Then I made a note to self to ALWAYS save a copy of the working css and document my path in terms of action so I can work backwards to find out where I screwed up.

I suspect you already found a solution but I just wanted to post for others who might be struggling.

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Re: Template file writable/unwritable

Post by sylhet81 » Wed Feb 11, 2009 11:50 am

Hello guys, im new to joomla and having problem editing tamplates. i'm using joomla 1.5.9. there is three templates already there, when i try to edit any of those it says "Operation Failed!: failed to open file /Applications/xampp/xamppfiles/htdocs/joomla15/templates/rhuk_milkyway/params.ini for writing"

and under the parameters it says:
The parameter file /templates/rhuk_milkyway/params.ini is unwritable!

can anyone please help me to solve this problem? please,,,,,,

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Re: Template file writable/unwritable

Post by mr_moe » Sat Apr 04, 2009 11:56 pm

right people it tookalot of thinkin and reading to finally figure this stupid issue out....

basically wot ever file you want to make writeable you have to change the permissions to 777 which means you give access to the file. so in ftp you would find the configuration.php file and set the permission to 777 and when you change things in your administrator back end this file will change. So for every file you want to change you have to change the permission. another example...say i wanted to change the css file for a certain template; i would find the css file on that template in ftp then change the permission of that file to 777 and when i edit it my administrator back end it will change. i hope this helps

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Re: Template file writable/unwritable

Post by edk_01 » Sat Sep 05, 2009 7:19 am

digging this back up. i'm getting this occurring with 1.5.14 running on windows. chmod in ftp clients won't work. is there any other way Joomal can edit is own ini files? the only way I can get change to stick, is open the file in another application and overwrite the existing file when I make changes, this is going to get very tedious very quickly.

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Re: Template file writable/unwritable

Post by mucug » Wed Dec 23, 2009 8:43 am

Anyone got any solution? We do have same problem too on Windows shared hosting, can't even install new extensions, global configuration modification etc... stuck up with further development at live website...

Thanks in advance...!

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Re: Template file writable/unwritable

Post by pgodfrin » Thu Dec 24, 2009 2:04 am

I am running 1.5.15, on a Windows Server 2008 box. I was able to get past this by executing a chmod 777 params.ini in the template directory.

I don't know if Windws Server native has a chmod command, I've installed UnxUtils from sourceforge to get the Unix commands...

Luck and Cheers,
pg

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Re: Template file writable/unwritable

Post by keb1965 » Thu Dec 24, 2009 3:57 am

CHMOD the permissions on the server side of the file to 755 NOT 777 ... after you are done editing the file, it is advisable to change them to at least 655.
This is on *NIX servers ... windows servers have file permissions too, but there is no chmod command. Right off hand I can't recall (it has been so long since I used a windows server) .. but essentially you have to have read/write permissions to edit the file

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Re: Template file writable/unwritable

Post by pgodfrin » Thu Dec 24, 2009 6:49 pm

Yup - I meant 755. And what it did was grant RW to the everyone group. Not the most secure method, but as this is behind a firewall and for internal use only, I think we're ok...

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Re: Template file writable/unwritable

Post by Spiderpen » Tue Jan 05, 2010 1:26 am

I had the same message as the OP, and although you can get write errors from permissions not being set so that a file is writable, I believe this is a different problem. My troubleshooting led to think that the message :

Code: Select all

* Could not make the template file writable
* Could not make the template file unwritable
is related to Joomla! wanting to check the permissions via FTP. If you look at the top of the form where you are getting that error you will see a form where you can enter your FTP login credentials. Enter your FTP userid and password and the problem should go away.

Hope that helps.

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Re: Template file writable/unwritable

Post by sargis » Fri Jan 08, 2010 9:23 pm

Spiderpen wrote:

Code: Select all

* Could not make the template file writable
* Could not make the template file unwritable
I've just solved this problem by using:

Code: Select all

chown apache index.php
Does anybody know if chmod 777 is a security risk?

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Re: Template file writable/unwritable

Post by edk_01 » Mon Jan 11, 2010 9:59 am

solved. FTP sorted out the problem. setup FTP and added the usual credentials etc to Joomla and all now works OK. Using Windows 7 on the test box, set directory listing to Unix style not DOS.

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Re: Template file writable/unwritable

Post by elamonii » Wed Jun 16, 2010 5:36 am

Thanks to mr_moe :)

file permission change to 777 works nicely in server.

thank again
elamonii

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Re: Template file writable/unwritable

Post by msafiri85 » Mon Jun 28, 2010 11:57 pm

The easier way to edit files is by using Notepad++ or any other edit program.
Eg. I wanted to remove the created by Artisteer and change the whole footer.
Using your FTP locate the index.php copy it or drag it out of ftp as my ftp can't edit inside it. Open it with Notepad++ scroll down up to line 135 or so. You will see the footer details change the way you want. Save it as index.php anywhere easy to find. By using FTP in my case Filezilla upolad the file to the server. DONE

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Re: Template file writable/unwritable

Post by Armon99 » Wed Jun 30, 2010 8:57 am

To:msafiri85 and to everyone!
Hi,
About using Notepad, I can also make change there, such as changing the logo or anything on the header of a template?
Another thing, on the above post someone mentioned about

"to make writeable you have to change the permissions to 777 which means you give access to the file. so in ftp you would find the configuration.php file and set the permission to 777 and when you change things in your administrator back end this file will change."

Question is how do you get to "ftp". I went to the folder where i have my template and followed it to the end, but couldnt see the ftp.
I must say, am new to this.
Thanks in advance!

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Re: Template file writable/unwritable

Post by msafiri85 » Fri Jul 02, 2010 12:36 pm

In administration, go to Extensions > Template Manager
double click on default template, the click on Edit CSS on top right
Select template.css and click edit
look for
div#logo {
position: absolute;
left: 0;
top: 0;
float: left;
width: 298px;
height: 75px;
background: url(../images/image name.png) 0 0 no-repeat;
margin-left: 30px;
margin-top: 25px;
}
And chance the background: url(../images/image name.png)
FTP
Every host has ftp panel but you can download Filezilla and fill all needed deatails in order to get in your server

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Re: Template file writable/unwritable

Post by aamedya » Tue Jul 06, 2010 2:01 pm

Does anybody know if chmod 777 is a security risk?
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Re: Template file writable/unwritable

Post by Clutch34 » Wed Jul 07, 2010 8:29 am

Here's my issue --

The problem is, when I try to go in and change the template.css file, it doesn't work. I mean, it says unwritable, I change permissions to 777, template.css now says writable. Once I go in and make the changes and click "Apply" or "Save", none of my changes worked and the template.css file once again says 'unwritable' and the permissions have switched back to 644 automatically!

Does anyone know how to get around this?

Thanks!

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Re: Template file writable/unwritable

Post by rjbarry » Mon Sep 06, 2010 4:37 am

I have the same problem as Clutch34. Chmod the file back to writable, make a change and it becoms unwritable again.

It is owned by the "apache" user.

I'm using the joomla turnkey in a virtual box.

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Re: Template file writable/unwritable

Post by BIG_FELLA » Wed Nov 02, 2011 5:37 am

This had me stumped for hours too and after reading heaps of info about it I came across this forum and "msafiri85" comment and he's right

Using note pad or npad2 you'll be able to edit the file locally and then upload using ftp (FileZilla or similar).

:D
Regards,

Pete.


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