Publish/Import From Email Issues - 1.5b5

[Reaper]

I've download and installed 1.5b5.  Now whenever I try to publish via FTP or update via email, the task just continues to run and never completes.  If I watch the FTP server console, Thingamablog never actually connects although in the Tasks Windows it says it has connected and the publish has started.  No matter how long I wait, thats as far as it gets and I need to kill the app.  When I try to import from email, the task is listed in the top window of the task console saying 'running' (with no progress) but nothing is displayed in the bottom pane.  Again I have to kill the app.  The FTP server is functional and the user account is enabled with full rights for the relevant folder.  The email server is working and I can log on with the credentials that Thingmablog is using.  These settings worked with te previous version of Thingamablog....  Any idea's.  Thanks

[Reaper]

Further to this, I've installed 1.5b5 on both a Windows 2003 and 2008 R2 Server and the same issues exist.  I have installed the latest Java Version 1.6_17.  Publishing locally works on both servers, but publishing via FTP never actually connects to the FTP Server.  I've installed a fresh FTP Server (Filezilla) and verified the account is enabled, but still no go.  Publishing from email does not work on either server(hangs).  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Bob]

Hi,

What is the value of your Base Path?  You can check this from the general options on the Configure Weblog dialog box.

[Reaper]

Hi Bob,  the base path is / when set up for ftp and d:\thinagmabog/ when set up for local.  When I log on to the ftp server as the blog user, it works properly and I can create/delete files.....

[Bob]

Does checking passive mode on the FTP options make a difference?

If you could start Thinga from the command line (open a command prompt, cd to thingamablog install dir, and launch it with java -jar Thingamablog.jar) do a publish, and post any output here, it might help in seeing what's going on.

Thanks

[Reaper]

Hi Bob, passive mode seems to make no difference.  Here is the output as rerquested.  At this point, it just sits there saying it is publishing.  Eventually I have to kill the app;

D:\Program Files\Thingamablog>java -jar Thingamablog.jar
17/11/2009 7:52:49 AM net.thingamablog.ThingamablogApp main
INFO: Added to classpath:lang_es.zip
17/11/2009 7:52:50 AM com.gizmotronix.ui.module.ModularApplication loadPropertie
s
INFO: Loading properties
17/11/2009 7:52:52 AM com.gizmotronix.ui.module.ModularApplication restoreModule

INFO: Restoring Module state: site-module
17/11/2009 7:52:52 AM com.gizmotronix.ui.module.ModularApplication restoreModule

INFO: Restoring Module state: feed-module
17/11/2009 7:52:52 AM com.gizmotronix.ui.module.ModularApplication restoreModule

INFO: Restoring Module state: viewer-module
17/11/2009 7:52:52 AM com.gizmotronix.ui.module.ModularApplication restoreModule

INFO: Restoring Module state: task-viewer
net.thingamablog.SwingProfileListener@147917a
net.thingamablog.SwingProfileListener@19fe451
net.thingamablog.SwingProfileListener@46b90a
Prof lists = 3

Connecting to database...
Connected.
17/11/2009 7:52:55 AM net.thingamablog.TAMBProfile open
INFO: Loading Profile: D:\Program Files\Thingamablog\profiles\user.xml
17/11/2009 7:52:55 AM net.thingamablog.TAMBProfile open
INFO: Loaded Profile: D:\Program Files\Thingamablog\profiles\user.xml
17/11/2009 7:52:55 AM net.thingamablog.module.weblog.WeblogModule fireEntriesQue
ried
INFO: Current
{auto_update_feeds_min=10, editor_font_style=0, socks_proxy_user=, auto_update_f
eeds=false, entry_table_col_width2=90, entry_table_col_width1=125, entry_table_c
ol_width4=240, entry_table_col_width3=30, socks_proxy_port=1080, entry_table_col
_width0=305, use_socks_proxy=false, socks_proxy_auth=false, last_open_profile=D:
\Program Files\Thingamablog\profiles, open_last_profile=true, editor_font_size=1
2, entry_table_sort_col=1, ping_after_pub=false, first_run=false, dictionary=d:\
Program Files\Thingamablog\dictionaries\en_US.zip, check_for_update=true, entry_
table_sort_asc=false, editor_font_family=Monospaced, socks_proxy_pass=gM3d58QEf6
A=, socks_proxy_host=, last_sel_site=1258093678443}
17/11/2009 7:52:55 AM com.gizmotronix.ui.module.ModularApplication savePropertie
s
INFO: Saving properties
17/11/2009 7:53:00 AM net.thingamablog.module.weblog.WeblogModule fireWeblogSele
cted
INFO: Michell Management Blog
17/11/2009 7:53:24 AM net.thingamablog.module.weblog.WeblogModule fireWeblogSele
cted
INFO: Michell Management Blog
17/11/2009 7:53:28 AM net.thingamablog.module.weblog.WeblogModule fireWeblogSele
cted
INFO: Michell Management Blog
17/11/2009 7:53:36 AM net.thingamablog.module.weblog.WeblogModule fireWeblogSele
cted
INFO: Michell Management Blog
17/11/2009 7:53:36 AM net.thingamablog.module.weblog.WeblogModule fireWeblogSele
cted
INFO: Michell Management Blog
17/11/2009 7:53:44 AM net.sf.thingamablog.transport.FTPTransport connect
INFO: Connecting to FTP

[Bob]

When it gets to the part where it says "INFO: Connecting to FTP" is the app hanging/freezing at that point, or does it just sit spinning there trying to connect? Also, when you are posting via email, are you connecting to the mail server OK? Is the email message getting imported into Thingamablog?

If nothing is freezing up but you just can't connect, my first guess would be your firewall is blocking something. Do you have port 21 opened up? Do you have Java blocked in your Windows firewall rules?

[Reaper]

Hi Bob, at that point it just sits there saying 'Running', but it has no progress indicator and the 'elapsed time' doesn't change from 00:00:00.  When I eventually cancel the task, most of the buttons of the buttons on the top of the GUI are greyed out.  The only ones clickable are the search and the view site button.  Email doesn't import/publish.  The same issues appear as with publising.  The FTP server is on the same server, and the firewall on the server is off.  I can successfully connect to both the FTP server and the email account using the same credentials as Thingamablog is using from the same server or another.

[bil]

Have you tried turning off the firewall on your local computer? If toggling passive/active doesn't make a difference, turning off the firewall locally shouldn't either, but it's a good test. This does smell like a firewall issue.

Also, I'd suggest using sftp instead of ftp if you can, for win2k3 server there's an ssh/sftp server called copssh

[Reaper]

Hi bil, thanks.  All these issues are manafesting on the server itself.  I'm not publishing from another computer, I'm RDP'd to the server console where both the FTP Server and Thingamablog are installed.  The only thing that has changed since it was all working was that I upgraded to 1.5b5 from 1.1b4.  I've uninstalled and reinstalled from scratch, and created the weblog from scratch.  I've installed on a different server, same results.....  I may have to go back to the previous version although that has issues with importing pictures from HTML emails...

[bil]

Interesting. Is this the stock ftp service with 2k3? Just a shot in the dark, but have you tried using 127.0.0.1 as the ip address to access the ftp service?

[Reaper]

Hi bil, no, I'm using FileZilla.  Interesting you should suggest that.  I was just playing the the FTP connectivity and have found that from the server using the command line FTP client and the FileZilla ftp client, I can connect using either the server name, IP address, localhost or 127.0.0.1.  However, from Thingamablog, I can only get it to connect/publish if I use localhost or 127.0.0.1.  This is different behaviour from version 1.1b4. 

[Reaper]

I guess as long as I leave the FTP bits as 'localhost', that solves that part, but I still can't import from email.  I can successfully telnet from the server on poer 110 to the exchange server and log on with the credential that Thingamablog uses.  However, thingamablog fails to connect, and show no errors... the is a grab of the java console after thingamablog tries to get email;

D:\Program Files\Thingamablog>java -jar Thingamablog.jar
17/11/2009 4:27:19 PM net.thingamablog.ThingamablogApp main
INFO: Added to classpath:lang_es.zip
17/11/2009 4:27:19 PM com.gizmotronix.ui.module.ModularApplication loadPropertie
s
INFO: Loading properties
17/11/2009 4:27:20 PM com.gizmotronix.ui.module.ModularApplication restoreModule

INFO: Restoring Module state: site-module
17/11/2009 4:27:20 PM com.gizmotronix.ui.module.ModularApplication restoreModule

INFO: Restoring Module state: feed-module
17/11/2009 4:27:20 PM com.gizmotronix.ui.module.ModularApplication restoreModule

INFO: Restoring Module state: viewer-module
17/11/2009 4:27:20 PM com.gizmotronix.ui.module.ModularApplication restoreModule

INFO: Restoring Module state: task-viewer
net.thingamablog.SwingProfileListener@17918f0
net.thingamablog.SwingProfileListener@1546dbc
net.thingamablog.SwingProfileListener@1f08ed8
Prof lists = 3

Connecting to database...
Connected.
17/11/2009 4:27:21 PM net.thingamablog.TAMBProfile open
INFO: Loading Profile: D:\Program Files\Thingamablog\profiles\user.xml
17/11/2009 4:27:22 PM net.thingamablog.TAMBProfile open
INFO: Loaded Profile: D:\Program Files\Thingamablog\profiles\user.xml
17/11/2009 4:27:22 PM net.thingamablog.module.weblog.WeblogModule fireEntriesQue
ried
INFO: Current
{auto_update_feeds_min=10, editor_font_style=0, socks_proxy_user=michell_ho\admi
nistrator, auto_update_feeds=false, entry_table_col_width2=90, entry_table_col_w
idth1=125, entry_table_col_width4=240, entry_table_col_width3=30, socks_proxy_po
rt=8080, entry_table_col_width0=305, use_socks_proxy=true, socks_proxy_auth=true
, last_open_profile=D:\Program Files\Thingamablog\profiles, open_last_profile=tr
ue, editor_font_size=12, entry_table_sort_col=1, ping_after_pub=false, first_run
=false, dictionary=d:\Program Files\Thingamablog\dictionaries\en_US.zip, check_f
or_update=true, entry_table_sort_asc=false, editor_font_family=Monospaced, socks
_proxy_pass=7Ea3AG8U4bM=, socks_proxy_host=pershing, last_sel_site=1258093678443
}
17/11/2009 4:27:22 PM com.gizmotronix.ui.module.ModularApplication savePropertie
s
INFO: Saving properties
17/11/2009 4:30:10 PM net.thingamablog.module.weblog.WeblogModule fireEntriesQue
ried
INFO: Current

[Bob]

Have you recently tried connecting with the previous version 1.1?  I'm sure there's something that must be amiss, but off the top of my head I can't think of anything that's changed in the current version that would cause this. Looking at the output you posted it's getting hung up right at the same line of code that's in v1.1. "ftpClient.connect();" 

Will dig a little deeper.

btw, can you connect to any other FTP host other than windows server and filezilla server?

Thanks,
-Bob

[Reaper]

Hi Bob, I have tried to connect to 2 other external FTP servers from Thingamablog, both failed in the same manner.  However when I try to connect from the thingmablog server using the command-line FTP client or the filezilla ftp client, I can connect without issue.  Also, I can connect to the mail server using telnet (POP3, IMAP4) without issue from the thingamablog server, but thingamablog itself fails.  Because I can connect from the server, I don't think it's a firewall issue. I will uninstall 1.5b5 and reinstall 1.1b4 to see if that works...  Of course, the reason for upgrading was to fix the import images from html email issue...  None the less, Thingamablog is a fantastic program and you have done a wonderful job with it, also, I thank you for all you help with my issues.