Turn On Joomla! debug

Sometimes it is helpful to use the Joomla! debugging system.
Sometimes a PHP or SQL error may be stopping jDownloads from working correctly on your site, an error message may or may not be shown. There are many possible causes including interaction with other extensions. One way that sometimes helps is to temporally turn on Joomla! debugging.


The steps in turning Joomla debugging are:

1. select Joomla! Global Configuration and select the System tab;

2. find the 'Debug System' option and set to Yes;

3. Also in the 'System Cache' option use the pulldown and set caching OFF;

4. If it is a Language problem then also set 'Debug Language' to On.
debug01A
The next step is to set the error reporting level so click on the Server tab.

1. Set Gzip Compression to No
2. Select Error Reporting to Maximum
debug02A

Avoid the temptation to set the Error Reporting level to 'Development'.  If you do it will show all sorts of 'syntax' errors as some parts of PHP are scheduled at some future date to change so they are marked 'deprecated' in the language definition.

Now try the front end again.  This may show an error or warning message from the database or a PHP error as illustrated below.

Make a screenshot from this error page (or copy the text) and post it in the support forum to seek help.

If you do not see you any error messages (PHP or SQL),it may be that your hosting service has deactivated error reporting in your server settings.

You should contact your hosting service and request that they turn it on.

When you have posted in the forum please remember to deactivate ALL the debugging setup.  Leaving debugging on will slow your site down and confuse your users!

The first picture on the right is an example of a PHP warning.

The second picture is a simulated database error.


debug03 debug05

When an error or warning occurs then the Joomla! debug Console appears at the foot of the page.

Clicking on the fields such as "Profile Information" shows some information that may help identify the problem.
debug04 debug12
When you have finished looking for the 'fault' remember to turn off!

ColinM October 2019

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