Hi Preston. Does the workaround not work for you (using a dropdown rather than checkboxes)? When using a drop down, it did not matter if that choice was made first or not; no more fatal errors occurred. If that does not work for you, please let me know. Thank you.
The EXACT same error occurs. Nothing has changed. have you watched the video?
please advise
Preston
Hi Preston. I did not watch the last video (#3) because I did not realize at the time that added additional information which was not in the support ticket.
Because these are not support forums, I recommend that you send the videos in response to your support ticket, so that the proper people have all the information related to your issue. You’re welcome to post about your issue and your experience here, but for a resolution to the problem, you will need to go through support. Thank you.
Greetings Chris
I did as you suggested and responded back to the support technician (Samuel) that his work-around did not resolve the fatal error issue.
Be advised: I again ran this test on the Gravity Forms Demo Site so as to avoid any issues with my local environment.
I also included a link to the fourth video which shows me employing the work-around by using the drop down list (set up as he suggested).
Although the video clearly showed that although I had followed the suggested steps in his work-around, it still caused a fatal error.
Yet here was Samuel’s response:
I was able to replicate the fatal error with your form and resolved it by following the steps described in my previous email. Please give it a try.
…incredible. Samuel is literally asking me to “give it a try” even though I sent him a video showing that I did just that and that his work-around also caused the same fatal error.
I have never seen anything like this…
Once again, I am presenting these steps so that it is clear exactly what is done. Since (apparently) no one will watch any of the 4 videos OR that they simply do not understand the error, I will post screenshots of the video here which shows the error.
I. A series of steps for single donation. This works correctly.
Step 01: In the drop down list, I choose a single donation.
Step 02: Two paypal buttons are displayed.
Step 03: The SINGLE DONATION PayPal transaction is in progress.
Step 04: The SINGLE DONATION PayPal transaction COMPLETES SUCCESSFULLY.
II. A series of steps for monthly donation. This also works correctly.
Step 01: In the drop down list, I choose a monthly donation (i.e. a subscription).
Step 02: A single paypal button is displayed.
Step 03: The donor clicks button, which initiates the PayPal transaction.
Step 04: The PayPal subscription process (correctly) begins.
Step 05: The PayPal subscription transaction COMPLETES SUCCESSFULLY.
III. THE FOLLOWING SCENARIO IS WHERE THE FATAL ERROR OCCURS.
Step 01: In the drop down list, I initially choose a single (one-time) donation. Notice that the correct (2) PayPal buttons are displayed.
Step 02: Before I submit the form, in the drop down list, I CHANGE THE SELECTION to a MONTHLY donation (i.e. a subscription).
Step 03: Notice that while the subscription-type transaction only showed ONE button when a subscription choice was selected (see above), here, once I changed the selection to MONTHLY, the PayPal buttons DO NOT UPDATE to reflect the change FROM a single-type transaction TO a subscription-type transaction.
Step 04: As a donor, I would not know that anything was wrong at this point, so I would continue the transaction with the assumption that the form now recognizes my change from a single, one time transaction type to a monthly (subscription-type) transaction.
Step 05: So the donor clicks the Pay Now button, expecting to continue the subscription process…
Step 06: And (as I’ve stated, repeatedly) the donor is met with a FATAL ERROR. From the end-user’s perspective, the website is broken and their confidence in donating to this nonprofit is gone.
In conclusion,
I’ve demonstrated this in every way I know how, including using Gravity Forms OWN demo site. I’ve included several video’s demonstrating this scenario. Yet (again) this was my latest response from Gravity Forms:
I was able to replicate the fatal error with your form and resolved it by following the steps described in my previous email. Please give it a try.
…you can lead a horse to water, but if he doesn’t drink, then what?
I’m left here with a project that is (now) two weeks behind schedule and I cannot even get GF to understand or acknowledge the problem.
How exactly do I move this forward?
Please advise.
Greetings Chris,
Re: your comment
@chrishajer Hi Preston. I did not watch the last video (#3) because I did not realize at the time that added additional information which was not in the support ticket.
My apologies for any confusion. Was the following not excerpted my original support ticket?
The causes of the failures are as follows: once the use enters an amount, the paypal field is displayed. However, IF -in the case of the the checkbox form- the user THEN checks “Make this donation Monthly” and so triggers the Subscription PayPal feed, the process ends with a Fatal Error.
If -in the case of the the radio button form- the user THEN selects “YES” for “Make this donation Monthly”, and so triggers the Subscription PayPal feed, the process also ends with a Fatal Error.
If not, please accept my apologies, but I cannot find any earlier correspondence.
Thanks again,
Hi Preston. Thank you for the detailed information and the screenshots in this topic. I will get with Samuel today and see what we can figure out.
The ultimate resolution will be to fix the error which you experienced initially, with the radio button selection change being made after the buttons were displayed, and that has been referred to the product team, but I am curious why the work around worked for Samuel, but not for you. I will update the topic here when I have more information. Thank you.
Thanks Chris,
I’d would however, like to make clear that the fatal error happens on ANY such control wherein a choice can be made (i.e. radio, checkbox, select list, etc.). To the point where I really dont think it is (or it’s just) the control but rather the rendering of the PayPal button itself.
I have observed that whatever the initial rendering of the PayPal button is (be it, single payment or subscription). That is what will be used, regardless of user selecting a different option. So if the user changes his/her selection (from single to subscription or vice-versa), the PayPal button seems unable to re-render to match the appropriate button(s) based on the (newly) selected option. I sincerely hope I have made that clear.
Anyway, that’s my $0.02. I look forward to hearing back.
Preston
Also, I would love to see a video of the work around working for Samuel.
Thanks,
Preston
Hi Preston. I am going to investigate further today. I’ve watched all your videos several times, and I am going to set up some tests after talking with Samuel. Thank you.
Hi Preston. I will update you on Wednesday. Thank you.
Greetings,
On 10/27/21 I received a response wherein Gravity Forms support (finally) acknowledged the error which repeatedly causes a fatal error (see any of several videos posted in this thread).
However, upon acknowledging the error I was informed of the following:
We don’t have any workaround available for the scenario where the user changes his mind switching the type of donation to a different one.
I’m sorry but, I have to say that it is incredible that this slipped through the testing phase. Alas, “to err is human…” They go on to state that…
The product team is already working on a fix, so you’ll hear from us as soon as possible, note that it may take longer than normal for them to respond.
This is due to the nature of your current inquiry and hopefully with their help, we can find a solution for you.
That said, my project has been on hold for two weeks while I worked to even get an acknowledgement of the issue and now it seems that it may be some indeterminate amount of time before a fix is forthcoming. As this may (for some) be an edge case, i’m not even sure this fix is a priority for GF. Is it Chris?, please advise.
That said, in order to move my project along and not hold up the client any longer, and in no small part due to the fact that -at this point- I am already invested in GF, I must consider using the “Legacy” PayPal add-on. I’d rather not have to resort this, but I fear this is my only option.
However I noted that the legacy PayPal add-on is no longer available via the add-ons page inside the Gravity Add-ons" page and can only be accessed from the downloads page, in the “Legacy Add-ons” section.
This brings up a few questions
- Is this Add-on still supported with updates, etc. ( I noticed it is currently at version 3.5)?
- If so, is there a cut-off date wherein updates will no longer be provided by GF?
- Is GF aware of any sunset date for PayPal’s older API?
Answers to these questions can help inform me if the legacy PayPal Add-on is still a viable option or if I must abandon GF altogether as a platform for accessing PayPal donations for my client.
Please advise.
Preston
- We do not plan on updating the PayPal Standard Add-On.
- There is no cut off date for when the plugin will be removed altogether from our downloads page.
- We do not have a sunset date from PayPal on when the older API will be deprecated.
You could use the PayPal Standard Add-On temporarily until a fix is released for the conditional logic issue with the PayPal buttons not being reinitialized after changing the transaction type.
I am checking in with the product development team currently to find out the status of the issue so that I can give you a better timeframe for a fixed release. Thank you.
Greetings Chris
That was 3 days ago. Any update?
Thanks,
Preston
Hi Preston, the product team have implemented a fix but it’s awaiting review and testing. I will follow up again with them on Monday.
Great news!
Please keep us posted.
Thanks,
Preston
…and 41 days since initial post…
Chris,
Is it possible to get an update as to what is (or is not) happening with regard this issue? Is there any timeline? Is it actively being worked on (or not)? Is it not a priority? It’s been a significant amount of time with zero feedback. Please advise.
Thanks,
Preston
I can report the same behaviour. As soon single donation or monthly donation is choosen, the respective feed is set and will not change if the donation is switched.
Would appreciate a solution as well
Hello WP-Stars. The latest build, v 2.2.1 available here Log In ‹ Gravity Forms — WordPress fixes this issue. If it does not for you, please open a support ticket:
https://www.gravityforms.com/open-support-ticket/technical/
Thank you.