• version details (Joomla, PHP, mySQL etc)
• browser name, version & platform (eg. Firefox, Safari, Chrome and which platform Mac/Win)
• URL showing the problem
  
  • if no URL is available then a screen shot
• any error messages (please cut and paste them out of your browser into the forum, don't try to remember them and type them in.)
• turn on Joomla's debug mode and try to create the error again (also look at the debug output and copy and paste any relevant sections into your forum post.)

File Uploads

Ok, first up file uploads for those that aren't clear are the following sorts of things:

• adding a picture on your computer to an aritcle (you upload the image file)
• installing a new component/plug-in/temple (these items are uploaded to your website)
• uploading data to a custom component (like PDF & JPGs to Flipbook or CSV files for use in EasyTable)

A file upload is literally the transmission of data from your computer to the web server that your website runs on.

Unlike normal activities like editing text or creating menus which send small amount of data to specific fields, file uploads send much larger amounts of data in a pre-packaged format.  Files that can be uploaded can be a variety of types, common ones include:

• ZIP/GZ  (compressed data files)
• JPG/PNG/GIF (images)
• SWF, AVI, MOV, MP3, MP4 (Flash, audio & video)

As file uploads are usually self contained packages they have to be treated with much more care. As such hosting services and most CMS software have limits on what can be uploaded. Some file restrictions that you might encouter include:

• no executable files
  • to prevent virus transmission
• no script files
  • like PHP
  • Perl etc
  • done to prevent hacking of the website
• no files over a specified size
  
  • typically ranges from 0Mb to a user configurable number
  • usually the better the host the bigger you can go

Generally the one that causes the most trouble with a CMS website is the maximum file size you're allowed to upload. In Joomla this is controlled by a PHP variable called upload_max_filesize.

The value this variable has is usually controlled by your hosting service at the cheap end of town and by yourself in the nicer hosting services.

What's my upload_max_filesize?

The default PHP value is 2M (2 megabytes), most hosting providers change it from this either up or down. There are a variety of ways to find your websites value:

• on WHM/CPanel system
  • Open the PHP Configuration icon and look for the line highlighted in image below.
• on Joomla 1.5
  • Select the menu "Help" -> "System Info" -> "PHP Information"
  • Scroll down to the end of the PHP Core section to find the value of upload_max_filesize
• using a test PHP file
  • create and upload a phpinfo() file to your server (if you don't know what this means don't do it)
• contact your hosting provider

How can I change my upload_max_filesize?

There are a range of ways including using your WHM access to change it, setting a php.ini file up and finally calling your hosting provider. We recommend you read about it because you can cause problems if you do it the wrong way.

As a starting point here's a Google search for you.

JInstaller::install: Failed to copy file

This is a common message that usually results from file or directory permissions on the hosting environment.  The easiest way to check if the problem is being caused by permission issues is to use Joomla's built-in "System Info" option in the Help menu.

When you select the "System Info" option, then you are presented with a range of information tabs about your website and the Joomla installation.

As shown in this screenshot one of the tabs you can choose is called “Directory Permissions’ - for you to be able to successfully install components, plug-ins and templates then all of these directories listed should show as “Writable”.  If they don't (the directory permission show as “Unwritable”) you will need to change the permissions for your Joomla installation.

How do I change the permissions for my Joomla installation?

First up - changing permissions can be dangerous. If you don't really understand permissions and ownership get the technical support staff at your hosting service to fix the permissions for you.  Specifically the webserver will need read and write access to the Joomla installation, it will also need ownership or membership of a group that owns the websites directories.

Changing permissions will depend on your website hosting setup.

• If your host provides cPanel access you can use the “File Manager” to change the directory permissions.
• If your host provides Shell access you can use chmod and chown to set the permissions to 755 and the group owner to the webserver's group
• If your host has a custom control panel specific to them you may be best off opening a support ticket to get the problem resolved.

It's not my Permissions!

If your permissions are all showing as writable then the next most likely cause is that your Joomla installation is version 1.5.10 - a typical error in this case will look like this:

JInstaller::install: File
'/website/tmp/install_38bd786260b81/SomeComponent.install.php' does not exist.
Component Install: Could not copy PHP install file.

Joomla 1.5.10 had a slight change which causes this error to be thrown, it has been resolved in all subsequent versions.  The simplest solution is to upgrade to a latter (and more secure) version of Joomla 1.5.

It's not my Permissions and it's not Joomla 1.5.10

If you've gotten this far and it hasn't worked the final thing to check is your “Global Configuration” for “FTP Settings”. If you have FTP enable/disbaled, flip the FTP option (set it to the opposite setting) and try again.

In our experience with our software/templates and with Third Party products these steps have resolved 99% of installation issues via the Joomla Installer.

See People Software is a brand of Craig Phillips Pty Ltd (CPPL).

CPPL's core business is:

• software development for:
  • iPhone applications
  • Joomla Extensions
• devloping new websites using Open Source solutions like Joomla!
  • setup
  • on-server configuration & support
  • training
  • templates
  • public/intranet website
• Managed Web Services
  • Maintenace
  • Managed Websites
  • Managed Services
  • Service Monitoring

The best way to get us involved is to drop us a line via our contact form!