Merging Accounts - Duplicate Accounts

[wfitg]

I have a client that i manually added to Blesta. Latter she ordered just a domain name only. Instead of logging in to her existing account she filled out the form again. This means she registered twice.

 

She used the same email address each time she registered. Why did Blesta not catch this and have her log in instead. IOW why did Blesta allow registering twice with the same email account?

 

How can I merge these in to one account? The merge features says it is unavailable.

[Tyson]

Merging clients isn't yet available.

 

She probably had "Specify a username" checked and "Use email as username" unchecked, so she chose to create her own username instead.

[wfitg]

when will merge accounts be available?

[wfitg]

Blesta should catch the email address as a duplicate .

[Michael]

Blesta should catch the email address as a duplicate .

 

Then you'd be screwed if you have a test account and a admin account with the same email address but different usernames.

[wfitg]

If I made a test account I would use a different email address.

[Michael]

If I made a test account I would use a different email address.

 

Not everyone does. Probably 80% of people use the same email address for most things.

[wfitg]

Not everyone does. Probably 80% of people use the same email address for most things.

80%? wow, If I were making a test account i would also setup and use a test email address.

It is a simple matter to cancel the services in one account and then add them back in the duplicate account. Nonetheless, there is not a simple way to delete the account where the services have been cancled and moved. That requires going in to the database. However, the account ID's in the database do not match the Blesta's ID numbers in the admin control panel for invoices, etc. So someone could accidently delete the wrong item.

 

We at least need a way to delete account items, and ultimately the account itself, without having to do data base changes. 

 

When is the ability to "merge" accounts going to be available?

[Michael]

80%? wow, If I were making a test account i would also setup and use a test email address.

You'll end up with more than one email address to log into to get a email to see if it worked or not. Most people don't have test email addresses.

 

It is a simple matter to cancel the services in one account and then add them back in the duplicate account. Nonetheless, there is not a simple way to delete the account where the services have been cancled and moved. That requires going in to the database. However, the account ID's in the database do not match the Blesta's ID numbers in the admin control panel for invoices, etc. So someone could accidently delete the wrong item.

 

That's why the guys recommend NOT to edit the database unless you know what you are doing . Everything in the database is linked to the Blesta ID (Aka Database number), to get it it's the ID on the URL, click on a client account:

/clients/view/6 (6) is the ID. The Account ID is just a reference.

 

We at least need a way to delete account items, and ultimately the account itself, without having to do data base changes. 

You can delete stuff with the Admin Tools (From Naja7Host) But some of it is still in development.

 

When is the ability to "merge" accounts going to be available?

Not sure.

[Daniel B]

What I did a while ago (and thanks for reminding me to redo this on my new install) is just to remove the option of selecting a username.  That way it forces people to use their email as their username...and would then catch this issue if it happens again.

 

Remember though, you'll have to redo this edit for any update that replaces this file since it's editing a core file.

 

Edit this file: /plugins/order/views/templates/standard/types/registration/signup.pdt

 

Find and [either remove or comment out]:

<div class="radio">
    <label>
        <?php
        $this->Form->fieldRadio("username_type", "username", ($this->Html->ifSet($vars->username_type) == "username"), array("id"=>"username_type_username"));
        $this->_("Signup.index.field_username_type_username");
        ?>
    </label>
</div>

[Blesta Addons]

What I did a while ago (and thanks for reminding me to redo this on my new install) is just to remove the option of selecting a username.  That way it forces people to use their email as their username...and would then catch this issue if it happens again.

 

Remember though, you'll have to redo this edit for any update that replaces this file since it's editing a core file.

 

Edit this file: /plugins/order/views/templates/standard/types/registration/signup.pdt

 

Find and [either remove or comment out]:

<div class="radio">
    <label>
        <?php
        $this->Form->fieldRadio("username_type", "username", ($this->Html->ifSet($vars->username_type) == "username"), array("id"=>"username_type_username"));
        $this->_("Signup.index.field_username_type_username");
        ?>
    </label>
</div>

 

That normally should be a option in blesta to disable it .

[Daniel B]

That normally should be a option in blesta to disable it .

 

I totally agree, would be nice if there was an option to disable it.  I'll put in a feature request .

[wfitg]

I totally agree, would be nice if there was an option to disable it.  I'll put in a feature request .

Hi Dan

At least removing the option to signup with a user name is a reasonable work around. (thanks) I suspect what happened isshe did not see the "sign in" feature and just filled out the form. In her email to me she said she was confused on what to do at that step. She also said it was confusing when she got to the 'config' domain page even though I have the DNS servers already set. She overlooked the domain privacy check box at the bottom, so i had to manually add it.

Now that I have Blesta in production there are several aspects that are confusing customers. The biggest one is handling Domain transfers. One guy said he thought he was buying a new domain and stopped the process. When I sent him back to do it again he said the pages look identical to when "buying a domain" until he got to the very end where there is a box for the EEP code. These pages also need to be modified for UI/UX clarity.

Another confusing item is the paypal logo. It does not say "PAY" or "Buy". Some clients do not think to click without direction.

These are common sense changes that should have been part of the UI/UX development IMHO. It is one thing to write great "code". It is something all together different to make that code provide a good user experience. We have to remember that not everyone is as computer literate as we want them to be. They need the process to be simple and clear. Hopefully the developers will keep this in mind when they are designing the UI.

Is there a list of pages that can and can't be modified?

[wfitg]

That normally should be a option in blesta to disable it .

Thanks for the tips NaJa

[Daniel B]

Take screenshots of all the UI areas you think need to be improved and open feature requests threads about it...the devs are very responsive to these things .

 

In the mean time, every single page of the UI can be modified.  Blesta is almost completely open source.

[wfitg]

You'll end up with more than one email address to log into to get a email to see if it worked or not. Most people don't have test email addresses.

 

 

That's why the guys recommend NOT to edit the database unless you know what you are doing . Everything in the database is linked to the Blesta ID (Aka Database number), to get it it's the ID on the URL, click on a client account:

/clients/view/6 (6) is the ID. The Account ID is just a reference.

 

You can delete stuff with the Admin Tools (From Naja7Host) But some of it is still in development.

 

Not sure.

Blesta gives an option to change the starting mumber.

The problem with deleting items in the data base only happens when we change the starting number. They match in the db when we leave the default.

Blesta changes the starting number to the custom number on the invoices in the admin panel but not in the database. So if we do NOT set a custom starting number then we can find and delete items easily. If not, it is difficult to match the number to the one we want to delete.

[wfitg]

Take screenshots of all the UI areas you think need to be improved and open feature requests threads about it...the devs are very responsive to these things .

 

In the mean time, every single page of the UI can be modified.  Blesta is almost completely open source.

OK, i'll do that this weekend.

Can any and all of the template files be modified?

I suppose it is time to setup a copy of blesta for development only. But losing changes on an update is frustrating.

[Daniel B]

OK, i'll do that this weekend.

Can any and all of the template files be modified?

I suppose it is time to setup a copy of blesta for development only. But losing changes on an update is frustrating.

 

The good thing about Blesta is that the patches only change the files that need to be changed.  So if an update doesn't involve changes to the templates at all, as long as you use the upgrade patch instead of the full install to upgrade...you shouldn't have to redo the changes.  Of course keep details on everything you have changed though so you can verify after each update.

 

The only files that are encrypted in Blesta are the licensing files, so all of the template files can be modified.

[wfitg]

The good thing about Blesta is that the patches only change the files that need to be changed.  So if an update doesn't involve changes to the templates at all, as long as you use the upgrade patch instead of the full install to upgrade...you shouldn't have to redo the changes.  Of course keep details on everything you have changed though so you can verify after each update.

 

The only files that are encrypted in Blesta are the licensing files, so all of the template files can be modified.

I can do some minor edits, but I am sure i will probably break something if i try to do anything more than that. LOL

I have a great respect for those that can code.

I'll try.

Thanks

(i'll sign up soon at MyHostingBoard)

[Blesta Addons]

if i have time i can do a plugin to hide the username field by jquery .that way you don't need to edit the templates and save your edition every upgrade . the plugin will only work with v3.3 and above .

[wfitg]

if i have time i can do a plugin to hide the username field by jquery .that way you don't need to edit the templates and save your edition every upgrade . the plugin will only work with v3.3 and above .

Thanks naja.

But There are other things I want to change as well. This will gime a reason to learn and do.