How to: Reporting Issues

How-To: Reporting Issues
WP201: Do-it-yourself Track
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Basic troubleshooting
Is it a bug?
Reporting your find
Using Trac
Using the Forums
Overview

troubleshooting
Basic

Troubleshooting is a systematic search for the rootcause of an issue
Often necessary for solving issues in complex systems (WordPress)
Basic Troubleshooting

Five basic steps:
Define the problem
Reproduce the problem
Identify possible solutions
Test possible solutions
Evaluate results
Iterate these steps until the problem is solved
The Steps

Misbehaving plugins
Misbehaving themes
Improperly configured WordPress install
Improperly configured server
Cause majority of WordPress related issues
The Usual Suspects

“White Screen of Death”
Fatal memory error
Internal server error (Error 500)
Headers already sent error
Common Problems

Disable all plugins
If this fixed it, re-enable one-by-one to find the culprit
Change theme to Twenty Ten (WP 3.0+)
If this fixed it, look at your theme’s functions.php file
Re-upload the WordPress core files
Common Remedies

Think critically, not magically
Always start with the simplest and most likely cause
Try undoing your most recent actions
Don’t be afraid to ask for help if you get stuck
Troubleshooting Tips

Error messages can be helpful
Parse error: parse error, unexpected T_STRING, expecting T_OLD_FUNCTION or T_FUNCTION or T_VAR or ‘}’ in /wp-content/plugins/breadcrumb-navxt/breadcrumb_navxt_admin.php on line 53
Error messages can be misleading
Warning: strpos() expects parameter 1 to be string, array given in /wp-admin/includes/media.php on line 310
Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /wp-config.php:34) in /path/blog/wp-login.php on line 42
More Tips

BUG?
Is it a

Check the documentation
codex.wordpress.org
Plugin/theme author’s plugin/theme page
Check the forums
wordpress.org/support
Is it a BUG?

Intermittent behavior is very difficult to fix
Create a list of steps to trigger the bug
Try them on a “clean slate”
Is it Reproducible?

Your find
Reporting

For WordPress issues:
WordPress Trac (general)
security@wordpress.org (security)
For plugin/theme issues:
WordPress.org forums
Developer’s page for the plugin/theme
Reporting Your Find

Provide instructions to reproduce the bug
Provide as much detail as you can
Always include the version of WordPress
For plugin/theme issues:
Include the plugin/theme version
Things to Remember

Using Trac
Reporting Your Find:

http://core.trac.wordpress.org
Login using your wordpress.org credentials
Using Trac

Search for your bug
If an existing ticket exists:
Don’t open a new ticket
Add a note providing more information
Open a ticket
Reporting Bugs Using Trac

Opening a Trac Ticket
Summary – Keep it concise
Description – Full detail
Severity – If in doubt, leave this alone
Version & Component – The WordPress version, and component the bug was found in.

Using the Forums
Reporting Your Find:

For Plugins and Themes
Go to the extension’s wordpress.org/extend page
E.g. wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wp-lynx
Click on the “others are saying” link
Click on the “Add New” link on the next page
Using the Forums

Starting a New Topic
Fill out Topic title describing the issue
Set Version to the WordPress version you experience the issue in
Message should contain:
Steps to reproduce
Version of the plugin/theme
Add additional tags if appropriate
Don’t remove what was automatically inserted
Don’t change the section
Check the subscribe box

Check in on your tickets/forum topics
Many times more information is needed
Fixes may be made need testing
Final Thoughts

Questions?
Any

How to: Reporting Issues

by John Havlik on Nov 14, 2010

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How to: Reporting Issues — Presentation Transcript