Troubleshooting
Problems are grouped by where you notice them. Two screens help with most of them: System → System Errors, where the help desk records errors it ran into, and, in Pro, Email → Email Logs, which lists every e-mail sent or failed.
Installing and activating
Section titled “Installing and activating”The install stops with a database message
Section titled “The install stops with a database message”“JS Support Ticket needs MySQL 8.0.13 or MariaDB 10.4 or newer…” or “JS Support
Ticket was not installed or updated because the database failed a test it
needs to pass…” means the database server is too old, or the database user may
not create, alter or drop tables and indexes, or InnoDB or utf8mb4 is not
available. Nothing was changed. Ask your host to fix the part the message
names, then install again. See Requirements.
Every screen goes to the Pro Installer
Section titled “Every screen goes to the Pro Installer”The message “Please activate JS Support Ticket Pro to continue.” means the site has no valid licence for its address. This happens on a new install before activation, and after moving a live site to a domain your licence does not cover. Enter your key on the Pro Installer screen. Your website’s help desk pages keep working meanwhile. See Your licence and your domains.
The Pro Installer has no Start button
Section titled “The Pro Installer has no Start button”Start only appears when every item in the Environment Check passes. Read the messages under the checks; they say what failed, and for Writable Folders which folder. Package Download fails when the server cannot download files from the internet, which some hosts block.
Activation or the download fails
Section titled “Activation or the download fails”The error is shown on the Pro Installer screen. Failures are also written to
jssupportticket-pro-installer.log in Joomla’s log folder. An error about a
certificate means PHP cannot verify JoomSky’s SSL certificate; the message
asks you to check PHP’s curl.cainfo or openssl.cafile setting, which your
host can do. If the install fails part way, your previous files are restored.
Updating
Section titled “Updating”“JS Support Ticket could not finish updating its database”
Section titled ““JS Support Ticket could not finish updating its database””The files were updated but some tables could not be created. Fix the cause the message names, usually the database user’s permission to create tables, then install the package again or use System → Maintenance: Database → Fix. See If the update cannot finish.
No e-mails are sent
Section titled “No e-mails are sent”JS Support Ticket sends e-mail through Joomla’s own mailer. Check these in order:
- Joomla’s mail settings. Under System → Global Configuration → Server, make sure Send Mail is on and the mailer settings work. Use Send Test Mail there to check.
- The address the help desk sends from. The help desk sends from the addresses under Email → System Emails. A ticket’s e-mail goes out from its department’s address, or from Default Alert Email if the department has none (System → Settings, Default System Email tab). Without a sender address nothing is sent.
- Which e-mails are switched on. The Mail Settings tab of System → Settings turns each kind of e-mail on or off for the admin, staff and the customer.
- The mail queue. See below.
E-mails arrive late, or only when someone visits the site
Section titled “E-mails arrive late, or only when someone visits the site”Outgoing Mail Delivery on the General Settings tab of System → Settings decides when mail is sent:
- Send immediately sends each e-mail while the page that caused it loads. An e-mail that fails is put in the queue and tried again later.
- Send from the queue puts every e-mail in the queue.
The queue is sent by the help desk’s background jobs. They run in one of two ways:
- with Run Background Tasks On Page Load set to Yes, when someone opens a page on your site, so on a quiet site mail waits for the next visitor;
- from Joomla’s System → Scheduled Tasks, with a task of the type “JS Support Ticket: send queued email”.
If you choose Send from the queue and set Run Background Tasks On Page Load to No, you must have that scheduled task, or nothing is sent.
Auto-close, overdue marking or feedback e-mails do not happen
Section titled “Auto-close, overdue marking or feedback e-mails do not happen”These are background jobs too. With Run Background Tasks On Page Load set to No, they need a scheduled task of the type “JS Support Ticket: ticket maintenance”. Screens whose features depend on background jobs say “Background jobs only run when someone opens a page.” or “Background jobs are not running.” with a Create the task button.
The ticket form
Section titled “The ticket form”The help topic box says “No HelpTopic found”
Section titled “The help topic box says “No HelpTopic found””Help topics belong to a department, and the form only lists the published help topics of the department chosen. A new install has none. Add help topics for each department under Flow → Help Topics.
A visitor sees “You are not logged in”
Section titled “A visitor sees “You are not logged in””Only logged-in users can submit tickets unless Visitor can create ticket is Yes (Pro). Turn it on in System → Settings, or ask the customer to log in.
The form refuses the ticket
Section titled “The form refuses the ticket”| Message | Cause |
|---|---|
| “Limit exceeds maximum tickets” | The customer has reached Maximum tickets for the period. |
| “Limit exceeds maximum open tickets” | The customer has reached Maximum open tickets: they must close a ticket first, or you raise the limit. |
| “Duplicate Ticket not allowed.” | A ticket with the same e-mail address and subject was created in the last 15 seconds, usually a double click on Submit Ticket. The first ticket was created. |
| “Banned email cannot create ticket” | The address is under Email → Banned Emails (Pro). |
| “Incorrect Captcha code” | The visitor’s CAPTCHA answer was wrong. |
The limits are on the Ticket Settings tab of System → Settings, and in the setup wizard. They do not apply to the administrator.
Attachments are rejected
Section titled “Attachments are rejected”The ticket is still created; only the file is refused.
| Message | Cause and fix |
|---|---|
| “Error file size too large” | The file is larger than Maximum File Size (in KB). |
| “Error file ext mismatch” | The file’s type is not in Allowed File Extensions. |
| “File read write issue files cannot upload” | The help desk could not save the file. Make sure the data directory (Data Directory, a folder in your site’s root) exists and the web server can write to it. |
All three settings are on the General Settings tab of System → Settings, with Maximum Attachments, the number of files allowed at once. The form shows the current limits under the attachment box.
Access
Section titled “Access”The administrator shows “Authorise error”
Section titled “The administrator shows “Authorise error””The Joomla user does not have the Access Administration Interface permission for JS Support Ticket. Give their user group that permission in the component’s Options → Permissions, or under System → Global Configuration → Permissions.
A staff member sees “Access Denied! You have no permission to access this page.”
Section titled “A staff member sees “Access Denied! You have no permission to access this page.””Their role does not allow that action. Check the role’s permissions under People → Roles, and any permissions set on the staff member under People → Staff Members (Pro).
A staff member sees “Your account has been disabled”
Section titled “A staff member sees “Your account has been disabled””Their staff account is not active. Edit them under People → Staff Members (Pro).
A customer sees “You are not allowed to view this ticket.”
Section titled “A customer sees “You are not allowed to view this ticket.””Customers can only open their own tickets (and, in Pro, tickets shared within their organisation). A visitor reaches a ticket through Ticket Status with the e-mail address and ticket ID it was raised with.