Author Post

Sitolog

Registered on : 12/04/2011

Posts : 524

Posted : 01/29/2012 11:40:18 "Quote"

First of all, read or re-read the file “read me first.txt” included in the installation pack.
As indicated in this guide, always start by installing the connection module. When you have installed the module, just below the field where you need to enter an encryption key, you will be provided again with all the parameters required to successfully connect. You simply cannot fail if you use this information.

Please note, 97% of the causes are:

forgetting or unnecessarily adding “www.” in front of the domain name.

incorrect password.

URL with http instead of https, or vice versa.

incorrect sync key value — reset it to AABBCCDDEEFFGGHH on both sides.

forgetting to install the connector module.

application or connector version too old, incompatible with the PHP, MySQL, Apache, or other software versions installed on the server.

permissions issues for the connector module’s folder and files on shared OVH hosting.

A small tip: never uninstall Merlin, or you will lose your previous settings. Install over the top instead.

Common errors, known causes and solutions:

  • The connection fails (error message displayed)


Merlin indicates that the license is not valid. This can happen during the first connection even if the license is perfectly valid. Close and restart Merlin to fix the issue.

Connection module (formerly MPRApplicationsConnect, then sitologapplicationconnect, and now sitologconnector) not installed, improperly installed, or too old (always use the latest version available). Uninstall it, delete it, and reinstall it.

In particular, it is very important to uninstall the connection module before migrating Prestashop, then reinstall it on the new PS version, or reinitialize it.

Classic case: incorrect domain name configuration in Prestashop. Load the back office home page; if a domain name configuration error is displayed, correct it in “Preferences > SEO and URLs”.

Tricky case encountered once on a multi-store Prestashop: the sitologconnector module was installed and activated only in one store, and not in the default store in particular.

Incorrect URL: verify the URL to be entered (provided in the connection module configuration window).

Especially in multi-store, enter the full URL of the default store. For example, if your domain name is http://mydomain.com and you have three stores, and the default store address is http://mydomain.com/shop1, this is the URL to enter.

Or, if you use subdomains, include the subdomain in the URL (even if the sitologconnector module does not include it in the displayed URL).

With PS 1.5+: add “www.” before the URL provided by the module, or remove it. This may be necessary when your domain is redirected.

Incorrect encryption key entered (particularly sensitive when changing connector versions). Multiple different key values can be stored in the database. Try with the default value AABBCCDDEEFFGGHH, but also with your personal value if you changed it before, even if the connector indicates it sees the default value.

Database name contains hyphens (“minus” sign). With older versions of PrestaPricing and PrestaCategories, enclose the database name in backticks `` (not necessary with versions less than a year old).

On a Linux server, set the /modules/sitologconnector directory to 755 and its contents to 644.

On a Windows server, ask the system administrator to give equivalent permissions to these folders and files.

On Linux, the owner of this same folder may be incorrect. In this case, use the Linux command chown -R username foldername to assign an owner with sufficient access rights.

Disable your antivirus web protection, or better, exclude the application from this protection.

If you are on a MAC running Windows emulation, also check that this Windows has access to the MAC network. Restarting the MAC may help.

New technical case from version 6.0, especially 6.1.1 to beta 6.1.3 inclusive, and again with Merlin from 1.4: some servers mishandle PHP mb_ commands necessary for unicode decryption of encrypted queries. In short, it refuses to connect (even in “non-encrypted” mode which only affected downstream data) and it’s very hard to guess what’s wrong. This was fixed from beta 6.1.4 and connector module 4.6.a by choosing “Neither encrypted nor compressed” or “Compressed but not encrypted” mode, which avoid encrypting upstream queries. This option is no longer possible with Merlin 1.4 for security reasons; the only fix is to have your webmaster install the PHP mbstring module.

If in the yellow window (visible if “Trace” option is checked) it says php4wduni.php or query.php not found, it means the connector module is still an older version (older than 8.2.a) — update it.

Another complex case: if SQL error messages appear mentioning sql_mode, update the connector module, and if the problem persists, modify your SQL server settings (via PHP.INI, or ask your host to do so) to set the sql_mode server parameter to an empty value (“”).

If your Apache server is running PHP 7.0 or later and the connection trace shows a 500 error, the likely cause is that the PHP mysqli extension is not enabled. Two solutions: either enable mysqli via your hosting Cpanel, or update the connector module to version 7.2.c minimum, which supports the DPO protocol (enabled by default on PHP 7.x).

Since Q1 2018, on Yoorshop hosting, switching to PHP 7 has also caused connection issues due to misconfigured mysqli and nd_mysqli on their side because of CloudLinux. Contact them; they will know what to do.

Ask your host or webmaster if HTTPAccess protection has been set up (can cause “Authentication required...” errors). If so, request the username and password needed to bypass this protection and enter them in the “HTTP User” and “HTTP Password” fields in the connection window.

Also beware of the PHP version. As of 21/01/2021 (Merlin 1.5.1 with connector version 8.2), compatibility is ensured up to PHP 7.2, but not beyond (nor PHP 7.3 — sometimes works — and especially not PHP 7.4, which generates a 500 error at connection).

If it’s connector 10.0.6, after installing it, simply click “Reset” in the connector module from the modules list in the BO. A new key will be generated; enter it in Merlin and it should work. This is due to Prestashop not executing the module’s installation script if an old version isn’t uninstalled first. Version 10.x really needs its installation script to run, which the “Reset” function does. If this connector doesn’t work on your site (currently 5% of cases), tell me via the contact form and I’ll give you a link to a test update.

  • The connection fails with Merlin 1.4.x or 1.5.x even though it worked with previous versions


Double-check the email, back office login password, and encryption key value. This type of error is the cause of 98% of our support calls.

This version requires a new connector module renamed “Sitolog Connector” V8.0.c or later (replacing Sitolog Application Connect), installed in a different folder “sitologconnector”. The old version should only be kept if you continue using PrestaPricing, PrestaCategories, older versions of Merlin, or AutoPresta. The next AutoPresta version will also exclusively use the new connector.
Fix: Sitolog Connector is of course supplied with Merlin 1.4 and later and must be installed.

This new connector is much more secure and therefore stricter. It requires you to enter and customize the encryption key. On first connection, enter the default value AABBCCDDEEFFGGHH unless the key was changed in the old connector module. If you don’t know the key value, you can find it in the connector module configuration page on your site.
If the key value is incorrect, the connection will fail with an error message possibly indicating the connector version is wrong.
Fix: The value in the configuration window and the one entered in Merlin’s login page must match. Try with the default value AABBCCDDEEFFGGHH, but also with your personal value if you changed it, even if the connector says it sees the default value.

Security led us to force encryption of the very first request that retrieves the database name and checks the encryption key, as well as encryption of all requests when the connection to your site is not HTTPS. These encryptions use the PHP mb_convert_encoding command. As noted earlier, some servers don’t support this command, leading to connection failure.
Fix: Ask your webmaster or host to install the PHP mbstring module.

A surprising new case: in recent Prestashop versions, the encoded (md5) password value may be corrupted, yet you can still log into Prestashop’s back office — but not Merlin.
How to check if this is the case: Click in the white area (window background) of Merlin’s login window and type Shift+Alt+t (hold Shift, hold Alt, then press t, release all keys). This opens a page in your browser simulating the DB connection as Merlin does. If you see “Employee login failed”, then either the email/password is wrong or you are facing this case.
Fix: Simply change the employee password in Prestashop’s Team management (you can re-enter the same password; the important thing is that it’s saved again, thus re-encoded).

  • Typical OVH issues (shared servers)


By default, OVH gives 705 permissions to /modules/sitologapplicationconnect. This is insufficient for connection — change to 755.

On some poorly secured servers, CHMOD may be 777. Merlin will refuse to connect — set the connector folder to 755.

When changed to 755 with FileZilla, it may appear accepted, but often on OVH it remains 705. Whether this is a protection or a bug is unclear. Workaround: select the /modules/ folder and recursively set all subfolders to 755. This takes time but works.

Recently, OVH often offers private SQL, whose full address includes a port number (after a colon). Versions before 4.6.e of sitologapplicationconnect did not handle the port number and thus could not connect. Upgrade to 4.6.e or later.

  • HTTP connection search remains stuck for minutes, then a timeout error appears.


Check the URL.

Try with and without www.

Increasingly common: outbound network access blocked by antivirus “Web Protection” (common with Avira, AVG). Disable it or better, exclude the application from this protection.

If the SQL server address contains a port number, you must use sitologapplicationconnect 4.6.e or later, then sitologconnector.

  • License verification fails after ~20 seconds, then server connection also fails. This means either the PC is offline or the software has no network access.


Check your network connection.

If possible, switch to wired network (up to 5× faster).

If your box or LAN uses a Proxy server, configure the application’s “Proxy” tab with the proxy username/password.

Close and relaunch the application, this time as Administrator (right-click icon > “Run as administrator”).

See also this article dedicated to license verification issues.

  • Connection OK but tables are empty:


Set /modules/sitologconnector (formerly MPRApplicationsConnect then /modules/sitologapplicationconnect) to 755 and its contents to 644.

Older PrestaPricing and PrestaCategories: re-check database name and prefix.

Verify that id_lang corresponds to a language in which category/product names are filled. If unsure, set to 0 (default store language).

The server may be configured with “mode security” blocking some queries — try enabling “Encrypt SQL queries before sending”.

It may be necessary to add your (fixed) IP to the list of hosts allowed to access MySQL (via hosting CPanel).

  • Categories show but not products:


Did you enable the link between both tables by clicking the gears icon?

Old versions (before V4): “Prestashop version 1.4” box incorrectly checked.

Check id_lang as above.

Very common: a pre-filter left enabled in the product table.

On OVH “Performance” hosting, try disabling CDN.

Mode security could be blocking queries. Try enabling “Encrypt SQL queries before sending” to bypass it.
If this blocks connection, you have two options:
. Disable Mode Security via CPanel (or ask host).
. More technical: disable only the Mode Security rules blocking product display by analyzing server logs. Examples of such logs:

ModSecurity: Access denied with code 403... [long log lines preserved]

  • Categories/products show but some characters (special, accented, etc.) appear as ? or strange symbols:


If this is the first launch, especially Merlin Backoffice, fully close and restart. Repeat until fixed.

After Prestashop update, uninstall/reinstall sitologconnector.

With PS 1.5+, do not check “Force UTF8 decoding/encoding”.

Ensure alphabet choice matches the default language’s characters.

Before PP v6.1 / PC v4.1, modules did not handle UNICODE DBs. From these versions and in Merlin, always choose “UTF8 (UNICODE)”.

  • Red cross without explanation, or random connection success followed by random unexplained errors:


A red cross without info means an SQL error occurred not caused by the application. Three known causes:

1/ Network connection stability issue. Random timeouts/micro-disconnects corrupt SQL queries.

Try from another PC/with another network cable (no Wi-Fi).

Check server logs for micro-disconnects/timeouts and resolve with host.

Ensure server settings are not too restrictive on execution time and max SQL query length.

2/ Some servers have DDOS protection (firewall, etc.) that may wrongly block our application’s SQL queries randomly.

Options: disable DDOS protection temporarily and find a better one, or whitelist your fixed IP.

Since 2018, many O2Switch-hosted users suddenly had this issue due to firewall blocking connection for 10 minutes, mistaking PrestaPricing/Merlin queries for DDOS. Provide your fixed IP to O2Switch to whitelist.

You may also need to whitelist your fixed IP for MySQL access via CPanel.

3/ Some antiviruses (Avira, Kaspersky) can block network access. Try disabling “WEB/WWW protection” or exclude the app.

  • Older versions of PrestaPricing and PrestaCategories: fatal error line 35...


Re-check the database name and prefix.

  • Error message "Error: PS version cannot be read" ("Erreur: Le numéro de version de Prestashop n'a pas été trouvé dans la base.")


Possible causes:

Almost all other cases mentioned above can lead to this error.

Incorrect parameters entered, such as back office email/password or encryption key.

Poor installation of the connection module (it must add the database number to the “configuration” table).

A firewall on the server side blocking DB access.

Classic case on PS 1.5+ multi-store: ensure the main store URL alias declared in multi-store settings points to the real domain name of the “site” (same domain as back office). Otherwise, when PrestaPricing/PrestaCategories/AutoPresta try to connect by calling a PHP script from sitologapplicationconnect (formerly MPRApplicationConnect), Prestashop redirects via the alias, the script is not found, connection shows as successful in the log window but fails when reading ‘Configuration’ table.

Technical case from v6.0 (especially 6.1.1 to beta 6.1.3): some servers mishandle PHP mb_ commands for unicode decryption of encrypted queries, leading to refusal to connect (even in non-encrypted mode).

Outdated sitologapplicationconnect or sitologconnector module version.

Solutions:

Verify back office email/password.

Uninstall, DELETE the sitologapplicationconnect directory or, from Merlin 1.4, the sitologconnector directory, reinstall the latest connector module, configure, retry.

Check that the configuration table in your DB contains a row named “MPR_PS_Version” with the value as your Prestashop version, 5 digits without dots (e.g. 14510 for version 1.4.5.1). If missing, add it manually.

With PS 1.5: add or remove “www.” before the URL provided by the module as needed.

In multi-store, enter the full URL of the default store (e.g. http://mydomain.com/shop1).

Check folder access rights as explained earlier.

After Prestashop update, uninstall/reinstall sitologconnector.

From version 6 and Unicode migration: to use “Encrypted data” mode, PHP “mbstring” must be enabled on the server (http://php.net/manual/fr/mbstring.installation.php).

Older PrestaPricing/PrestaCategories: upgrade to beta 6.1.4 and connector module 4.6.e or later, using “Neither encrypted nor compressed” or “Compressed but not encrypted” mode to avoid encrypting upstream queries.

  • Error message "Erreur SQL SET NAMES_UTF8..."


Possible causes:

DB access issue due to incorrect setting in setting.inc.php in Prestashop’s config folder. For the Host parameter, replace “localhost” with the server’s local SQL IP address (often 127.0.0.1).

Incorrect PHP server settings — mysqli extension not enabled. In your hosting CPanel or admin interface, go to PHP settings (“Choose PHP version” button sometimes) and check “mysqli”. If conflict with another option like “myslnd”, uncheck that one.

  • Error message "SQL Error Check your syntax near SHOW TABLES ..."


Possible cause: encryption/decryption problem.
Solution: Replace encryption key with another value (both in connection module and application), following guidelines on length and allowed characters. Try default (AABBCC...HH).

  • Rare case: if your server requires HTTP username/password to access pages, specify these in PrestaPricing or PrestaCategories.


Before versions 5 and 3 respectively, do this by replacing the URL with: user:password@URLwithouthttp

Example: if the connection module URL is http://mydomain.com/shop/ and login is Toto with password mypass, enter:
toto:[email protected]/shop/

In current versions, the login window includes HTTP User and Password fields, so no need to modify the URL.

  • Internet connection through a Proxy server


If your internet connection goes through a Proxy server, configure our applications to connect automatically by filling in the requested parameters (proxy address, login...) in the Proxy tab of the connection window.

  • SQL error regarding id_tax


This can occur after changing Prestashop version without uninstalling the connection module first. Disable, uninstall, delete, and fully reinstall it.

  • Server error 500


Access rights issue for the connector module folder (see above).

Disable safe_mode in server admin panel.

Ensure PHP mbstring module is installed on the server.

  • Connection failure on a local server (e.g. EasyPHP)


Depending on EasyPHP configuration, you may need to add the port number to the module’s URL.
Example:
Module says: www.mydomain.com/myfolder/
Use instead: www.mydomain.com:8080/myfolder/ (if 8080 is EasyPHP’s port).

  • On a Prestabox server, impossible to install connection module


No known solution (except “Modules Manager” which is no longer installable but once was via themes). Prestashop has locked down this solution to prevent installation of non-default modules. No comment. However, on a Prestabox with “Modules Manager”, PrestaPricing worked fine once installed.

  • Error at line 18 in URLDecrypte method: ASCII code (-83) invalid


Two known causes:

ovhconfig.php forcing PHP 5.5 which crashes — switching back to PHP 5.4 solves it.

Server difficulty encrypting/decrypting data. Try changing the encryption key in MPR and PrestaPricing (e.g. to default AABBCCDDEEFFGGHH).

  • From Prestashop 1.6.0.13, “Modules” BO page crashes saying MPRApplicationConnect name is incorrect


From this PS version, module names cannot contain uppercase letters. MPRApplicationConnect is thus incompatible. Replace with sitologapplicationconnect (and later sitologconnector). Updated PrestaPricing (6.0.6), PrestaCategories (4.0.4) and AutoPresta (2.5.0) are available. Backward compatibility not maintained.

  • Impossible to install MPRApplicationConnect or its replacements sitologapplicationconnect/sitologconnector in Prestashop CLOUD BO


Normal, as these modules aren’t on PrestaAddons. Since version 4.2, they don’t need to be installed to work. See “read-me.txt” installation guide included with your app.

  • Connection OK but opening main window crashes app saying CKEditor missing


Install latest connector module — it provides this editor. Check “HTTPS” option (uncheck if it blocks connection). Enter HTTPS login in advanced settings if needed.

  • Connection OK but opening main window crashes silently


Could be TLS settings issue after Windows update. See first forum article on Merlin connection issues (license validation).

Could be a Windows .Net bug after an update. Fix by removing recent Windows updates (especially .Net), then reinstalling them one by one.

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