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Problem uploading wordpress theme

by perpetualmike
11 replies
Hello Warriors,

When I try to upload a new theme for my wordpress blog, I get this
message:

Unable to create directory /home/cyberworldwebdesign/public_html/wp-content/uploads/2011/01. Is its parent directory writable by the server?

Does anyone know what this means?

Thank you

Mike
#problem #theme #uploading #wordpress
  • Profile picture of the author donnan
    Hi mike,

    It means that the folder where the theme would be saved to does not have the correct permissions set to allow writing to the folder.

    You need to use your ftp program to change permissions on the folder to 777
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  • Profile picture of the author Tim Franklin
    It could mean a number of things, did you by chance install using fantastico?

    Just as a security precaution, it is not the best idea to setup 777 (world writable) permissions on a folder, it can allow some bad things to happen,
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    • Profile picture of the author donnan
      Tim he is trying to upload his theme, not any important data.

      Ok, chmod it to 755, that will make Tim happy, but depending on the server configurations, it also may not let you write to the folder on this setting.
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  • Profile picture of the author gottahave
    Are you trying to upload the theme's zip file from within your Wordpress control panel?
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    • Profile picture of the author perpetualmike
      I googled wordpress themes, found one that I liked, and downloaded it and saved it on my desktop.

      Then I logged into my wordpress dashboard and clicked on themes to change my theme.

      Clicked on upload, hit the browse button, and double clicked on the file on my desktop.

      Then I got the message previously stated.

      Sorry, I don't even know what is meant by the 777

      Thanks
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      • Profile picture of the author donnan
        Do you have access to your hosting by either cpanel or plesk?

        777 is a permission set for files or folders.

        A folder must have the correct permission for it to accept files.

        777 is thought of as the most insecure setting as it allows ALL reading/writing/executing

        Often servers are setup to only allow this setting and the server applies it's own security measures to avoid security issues with folders or files with this setting.

        An ftp program like filezilla will allow you to change folder/file permissions, also using cpanel or plesk you can log into and change those permissions as well.

        If you are really stuck...give me a yell over yahoo or skype and I will try and help you.
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      • Profile picture of the author Tim Franklin
        It sounds like something I have seen before, when a fantastico installation file was improperly setup at the host, just a guess at this point as we do not know much about your installation,

        The reason I am thinking it might be this issue is that in some cases if you use an installer like fantastico it can create the false impression that fantistico is the files owner, which means you cant create a directory.

        Default, permissions for files uploaded from a functioning FTP program should be 755, for the folder, in question.

        You can also upload a compressed archieve, and uncompress it to your host folder, public_html/whatEver/directory

        In this case the file permission also should be setup properly, from time to time strange things happen, you can manually check file permissions using an FTP program but I seriously doubt that is the issue as it would require a malfunction of the FTP program,

        The other possibility is that you have a bad theme, try a different theme and see if you get the same error message.

        Originally Posted by perpetualmike View Post

        I googled wordpress themes, found one that I liked, and downloaded it and saved it on my desktop.

        Then I logged into my wordpress dashboard and clicked on themes to change my theme.

        Clicked on upload, hit the browse button, and double clicked on the file on my desktop.

        Then I got the message previously stated.

        Sorry, I don't even know what is meant by the 777

        Thanks
        Signature
        Bitcoin | Crypto | Blockchain Secrets |
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3200764].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author donnan
    This is the error gottahave "Unable to create directory" this is an error that the server generates because the permissions are not set correctly on the parent folder where the theme will be stored.
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  • Profile picture of the author perpetualmike
    I'll try a different theme and see what happens.
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    • Profile picture of the author donnan
      Give me a yell anytime if you need help.
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  • Profile picture of the author philipwilson3249
    It gives permission error. change mod rewrite settings.
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