Terry or Dave- PlantFiles fix request

Please (when you get a chance & if it's possible) fix the PlantFiles database so that they all include the link back to plantfiles when you add them to your journal. It's working on some cultivars, but not on others. It's really a nice feature.
Thank you both for all you do!
Julie

I saw that too, add some plants from PF to my Journal and most have that handy link back to PF but not all of them. Couldn't figure out why some do and others didn't.

I also get a nagging thing when working in My Tools and Journal, if I add something from PF to my Journal, instead of getting the link back to my Journal to continue working on that newly added plant entry, I get the 'return to PF' link. I now have to click several times to get back to my new journal entry.

I've noticed it too, there doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason to it, but certain plants the link just doesn't get made. I've tried to go back later and re-add the ones that didn't work and it still doesn't work, so the problem seems to be with those certain individual PF entries and not just a random bug. If Dave has time to fix this I'd be happy to provide a list of the plants in my journal where the link didn't get made properly to assist in figuring out what's going on.

Can you see anything that the ones that aren't showing up in the journal have in common?

For instance, some PlantFile entries don't have a specific epithet if they are a hybrid with a cultivar name. Is it those that aren't linking in the journal? Or something else that they all have in common?

I've noticed that there are some genera that tend to be more prone to it than others, there'll be times when I have a couple new plants from a particular genus and none of them will work (although I'm not sure if it's a problem with the entire genus or not, in some cases I think I have others from that genus that have worked). I haven't noticed any other patterns in terms of whether they have cultivar names, etc. I've got a fair number of plants with cultivars and a fair number of straight species, and both of those definitely work some of the time and I'm pretty sure I've had cases of both where the link didn't work. I'm on my lunch break right now but when I get home from work tonight and have more time I can take a look through the journal and see if I notice any patterns.

I will list a couple that I added from PF to see if you can see a pattern, I can't.

I am copying the Common Name and then Cultivar, I added them the same day:

Perennial Wallflower 'Bowles' Mauve' NO link added
English Wallflower 'Bedder Mix' YES link added

Geranium, Cranesbill 'Rozanne' NO link
Hedgerow Cranesbill 'Bill Wallis' YES link


This message was edited May 8, 2008 12:48 PM

I don't see anything diffferent on yours either Sue.

Could it be how you are adding them to your jounal?
Plant 1 added through the link FROM the PlantFile entry?
Plant 2 manually added to your jounal without going through PlantFiles?

Do any of you do it both ways, or always the same way?

No, these were all added from PF. I have older ones that I added manually way back when I first started, but not these. I purposely picked these 4 as I added them the same time while I had the entire PF listing opened from the Cranesbills and Wallflowers.

Ok, here's a sample from my journal. Seems random to me too, but I could just not be picking up on the pattern? Let me know if more samples would help you locate the problem, I've got 3 weeks off :) and I'm desperate for something productive to do.

Annuals-
Antirrhinum
Liberty Mix- no link
Chrysanthemum
Showmakers Grandiflora Amor Dark Pink- no link
Spicy Cheryl- link
Dianthus
Elation Red- no link
Dusty Miller
no specific cultivar- link
Gazania
Kiss Golden Flame- link
Geranium
Border Supreme Mix- no link
no specific cultivar- link
Ipomoea
Sweet Carolina Bronze- link
Begonia
Bronze Leaf Pink- no link
Bronze Leaf Red- no link
Benitochiba- no link
Nightlife Red- no link
Coleus
Black Dragon- link
Wizard Mix- link
Wizard Pineapple- link
Wizard Scarlet- link
Wizard Velvet Red- no link
Impatiens
Super Elfin Blue Pearl- no link
Super Elfin Pink Imp- no link
no specific cultivar- (think I just copied the Super Elfin Pink Imp entry and put in new pics)
Nasturtium
Alaska Mixed- link
Empress of India- link
Whirlybird Mix- link
Jewel Mix- link
Petunia
no specific cultivar- no link
Burgundy Madness- no link
Hurrah Red Star- no link
Double Mix- no link
Listed as Grandiflora Blue (maybe a cloned entry)- no link
Listed as Grandiflora Lavender (maybe a cloned entry)- no link
Fantasy Red- no link
Sweet Pea
Matucana- link

I usually add directly from plant files using the link at the bottom, but occasionally will clone an entry and add new pictures, if Plantfiles doesn't have the cultivar and I'm feeling lazy.

Thanks! I'm not seeing anything that the non linking ones have either in common amongst themselves, or different from the linking ones.

I just tried to randomly add some test entries to my own journal both manually and linking from PlantFiles. So far I haven't been able to get any of them to link.

Then I went to the Hedgerow Cranesbill 'Bill Wallis' entry because one of you said it DID link, and when added to my journal it did link.

I'm not seeing a pattern here at all.

I've had the problem too, but I'm no help in diagnosing it since I can't remember which ones I've added how... I do know I've added iris from PlantFiles and gotten no links on any of them, but I've noticed the same thing with other plants and I just can't remember for sure which ones.

Joan--I think you were right on track with one of your earlier suggestions. As I'm going through my journal, so far the only plants that seem problematic are the ones that have a genus and cultivar but no species. I'm only in the A's in my journal, but so far every plant that doesn't have a species is missing its PF link, and every plant that has a species name (regardless of whether it has a cultivar or not) seems to have a link. I'm going to keep looking because I could swear I've had the problem a few times with things that did have species names (most of my plants have a species, and I know I run into this bug a lot!). But so far this seems to be holding true. At least it's somewhere to start!

Thanks for checking that. If we want Dave to fix it, it will help if we can figure out where the problem lies.

That's it!
Of the ones I listed above, if missing species, it also is missing the links.

yay!! Thanks you all :D 1 step closer

I've now gotten through the C's in my journal (and since I have probably a thousand or so plants in there, that's quite a lot!) and I haven't found any exceptions yet. I've run across a few that do have a species that were also missing links, but when I went to look those plants up in PF it seems there's been some name changes on them which I guess broke the link to the journal. For those when I re-add them it works fine. So I think the problem does lie with those poor species-less plants!

I agree. I've been checking a few in my journal also.

I know we can't add species to the 'species-less' entries, because for most hybrids it's not correct to do so.

I think we need Dave's input next. If the journal linking is dependent upon there being BOTH a genus and species, perhaps he could re-program it to be genus AND EITHER species or cultivar?

Or maybe, (probably), I'm way off base in trying to figure out what needs to be done. ^_^

Has this been resolved yet? I noticed that if I added a rose to my Journal, none have the PF links on them so was reminded of this thread.

I have a feeling Dave's a bit busy with the marketplace. I was adding some stuff to my journal over the weekend and anything that was missing a species name didn't get the link made so I don't think it's been fixed yet.

It really, really would be great to get this fixed. I also have found over the years that if there is no species in the PF entry then the link is not made.

As I order plants I put them in my Journal from the "Add to Journal" link in PF. If they aren't in PF I add them to it. Then when plants arrive I like to go to my Journal, mark that I've received them and then double check height, color, sun requirements and even read the Comments if they are there to help me decide on the best place to plant them. Without the PF link in my Journal entry I'm toggling over to PF and then manually adding the needed info to the Journal entry so it's readily available to me. Lotta work I know!

I've had another request asking if there is anyway this could be fixed, so I'm bumping this up again.

Is it possible to program this so the PlantFile link is added to our journals if the PlantFile entry has a species OR cultivar? The way it is now, it won't link back to PlantFiles if it has only a cultivar. It will, however, link if the PlantFile entry has a species.

Thanks, Joan. Sharondippity and I have been struggling with this problem recently. I have a large iris journal and have no links at all. Having a link to plant files would save my duplicating a bunch of information.

Completely agreed. I've known of this bug...but thought it was an accepted reality. If it can be fixed I would be so happy! Susanne

Last time I asked was in May :-(

I've been hoping too...

Okay, it should be working now! Could ya'll check your journals and see how it is working?

Yay! Thank you Dave! I checked my journal, and the first few species-less entries that I checked now have the PF link, and I also tried adding a new plant from PF that didn't have a species and the link got created for it. So I think it's fixed!

Thank you for checking, and to Joan for bringing the issue back up again. Also, thank you all for digging deep and figuring out what specifically was causing the problem. That made it much easier to fix!

Thanks Dave! I checked the Iris entries in my journaI, as all of those have only cultivar and no species. They are all now linked to the PlantFile entry. think this fix will make a lot of people happier, including me. :)

^_^

Oh, I can now declare this as Happy Journal Day! Thanks Dave.

Thanks from me too. This is great!

Oh, very excellent--thanks, Dave!

You are all very welcome, and thank you for your patience. It was one of those nagging bugs that was hard to fix, at least until ya'll really picked it apart and realized exactly how it was being triggered. I really appreciated the help you gave.

Thanks, Dave ! I am off in the wilds of Mississippi and will check on my journal when I return. I am answering from a public library right now and must move on. Thanks.
Betty

Make sure you logout before you leave the library. :)

I did! I am home now. Thanks for your concern.

Thank goodness for free web access in public libraries -- even in rural Mississippi. Thanks, librarians, and thanks Gates Foundation for donating the computers.

This message was edited Nov 1, 2009 12:58 AM

OK, this still has a glitch in it. I added a new rose to my Journal from the PlantFiles, Lady Emma Hamilton and now checking the entry in my Journal in my Roses category, it didn't add the PF link.

Out of curiosity, I tried to add that same rose to my journal and it made the link for me. Maybe Dave's fixed it already or else there are some weird gremlins at work!