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Help with Wordpress Editor!!!

by Captain_Morgan
10 replies
Hi there

I have uploaded a free wordpress template and I went into editor to change a few things, but hey I was missing the SAVE button, instead Ive got this:

You need to make this file writable before you can save your changes. See the Codex for more information.

Now Im no programmer or technincal person but can someone guide me how i can get the SAVE button back please.

I tried reloading another FREE template but still got this message, how do I overcome this??
#editor #wordpress
  • Profile picture of the author TSDMike
    Originally Posted by Captain_Morgan View Post

    Hi there

    I have uploaded a free wordpress template and I went into editor to change a few things, but hey I was missing the SAVE button, instead Ive got this:

    You need to make this file writable before you can save your changes. See the Codex for more information.

    Now Im no programmer or technincal person but can someone guide me how i can get the SAVE button back please.

    I tried reloading another FREE template but still got this message, how do I overcome this??
    I don't know, but if you search the wordpress.org site you'll probably have a good chance of finding a solution. I would type the phrase:

    site:wordpress.org "You need to make this file writable before you can save your changes"

    into Google and see what comes up. You might need to play with it a bit before you find what you're looking for.
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    • Profile picture of the author blogsetuplab
      So was the save button OK before you uploaded the template?

      Or is it just the save button when you're editing this particular template?

      It's probably a problem will permissions on the file you're trying to edit - it could be that the file is read only or that the file/folder permissions on the webserver for that file are restricting you saving it.
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  • Profile picture of the author alexdigital
    Hiya,

    Blogsetuplab is right, it's permissions.

    Easiest way to change them is with your FTP client. Find the file you want and you can usually right click and edit the info/permissions.

    You need to make it writeable.

    Hope this helps.

    -Alex
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    • Profile picture of the author blogsetuplab
      Originally Posted by alexdigital View Post

      Hiya,

      Easiest way to change them is with your FTP client. Find the file you want and you can usually right click and edit the info/permissions.
      Unless you're on a Windows web server where FTP client's CHMOD commands don't work - that's when the fun really begins!
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  • Profile picture of the author Istvan Horvath
    Originally Posted by Captain_Morgan View Post

    You need to make this file writable before you can save your changes. See the Codex for more information.
    And what did you learn when you clicked on the link WP provided? It outlines clearly, showing even screenshots, what you have to do.

    On a general note, nobody should ever use that online theme editor! Ever.

    Here are the reasons why:
    - changing permissions on your file to make them "writable" means you open your blog up for hackers. If a file is writable... any hacker kid can screw up your blog.
    - 99.99% of the users after editing never change back the permissions, so your blog will stay vulnerable all the time
    - there is no UNDO button there... once you edited something in the files you can never go back!

    Don't be lazy: download the template file you want to edit to your computer, open it in a decent editor (PSPad is free!) after saving a backup copy of it and upload the edited version.
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    • Profile picture of the author alexdigital
      Originally Posted by Istvan Horvath View Post

      And what did you learn when you clicked on the link WP provided? It outlines clearly, showing even screenshots, what you have to do.

      On a general note, nobody should ever use that online theme editor! Ever.

      Here are the reasons why:
      - changing permissions on your file to make them "writable" means you open your blog up for hackers. If a file is writable... any hacker kid can screw up your blog.
      - 99.99% of the users after editing never change back the permissions, so your blog will stay vulnerable all the time
      - there is no UNDO button there... once you edited something in the files you can never go back!

      Don't be lazy: download the template file you want to edit to your computer, open it in a decent editor (PSPad is free!) after saving a backup copy of it and upload the edited version.
      Great advice. I always forget to set them back!

      I'd be interested in knowing the real risk and how easy is wordpress to hack when the permissions are wrong? I've run many blogs which i'm sure have the wrong permissions and, touch wood, i've not had any problems.

      Can you remind me of what the permissions should be so I can double check?

      -Alex
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  • Profile picture of the author dremora
    The permissions are wrong. You need to change the files under wp-theme to 755 permissions via the file manager. Here is the howto from wordpress:

    Changing File Permissions WordPress Codex

    Do not make it world writeable for security reasons though.
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    • Profile picture of the author Istvan Horvath
      Originally Posted by dremora View Post

      The permissions are wrong. You need to change the files under wp-theme to 755 permissions via the file manager.
      There is no directory named "wp-theme".

      On files the "writable" permissions are 666.
      Otherwise they should be 644.

      On folders the "writable" permissions are 777.
      Otherwise they should be 755.

      <rant>don't spread misinformation if you don't have the knowledge to give the right advice3...</rant>
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  • Profile picture of the author num777
    Here is another solution:

    Edit the files you want to change in a local editor (pspad, notepad, nvu, frontpage...)
    Upload the modified files using a tool like FileZilla.

    I usually don't like to edit files in the Wordpress edit, first because the window is fairly small, there are no color codes... and I also found that WordPress sometimes doesn't take certain modifications.
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  • Profile picture of the author Istvan Horvath
    Well, the "writable" permission literally means it is writable by the whole world... anybody can hijack your files and take over the control of your blog.

    Normally, files should be 644 and folders 755.
    (Note: if you are uploading 'media' through your WP admin panel > Write post, it will ask you to make the wp-content directory writable!)
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