redmine/docs/pre_existing_issues.md

Pre-Existing Issues Log

This log tracks bugs, warnings, and confusing behaviors noticed while working on the Redmine 3.4.4 local fork. It is not a task tracker; it is a place to keep context so future plugin edits do not have to rediscover old problems.

2026-04-21 - Duplicate Contact/Helpdesk Avatar IDs

• Area: redmine_contacts, redmine_contacts_helpdesk
• Status: observed/analyzing
• Symptom: pages that display multiple contact/user avatars may show or behave as if every row has the same thumbnail/avatar.
• Relevant code:
  • redmine_contacts/lib/redmine_contacts/helpers/contacts_helper.rb
  • helpdesk/contact views that call link_to ..., :id => "avatar" repeatedly
• Current assessment:
  • Several views/helpers render repeated id="avatar" attributes on lists of contacts, issues, notes, deals, and helpdesk journals.
  • Repeated DOM ids are invalid HTML and can cause JavaScript, tooltip, popup, or CSS selectors using #avatar to bind to the wrong element or reuse the first matching element.
  • This is a better fit for the long-standing "same thumbnail for every user" symptom than the Rails cache digest warning below.
• Next diagnostic/fix idea:
  • Replace repeated :id => "avatar" with :class => "avatar" where no unique id is required.
  • Where an id is required, generate stable unique ids such as contact-avatar-#{contact.id} or journal-avatar-#{journal.id}.
  • Test on a page that currently displays multiple contacts/users with distinct avatars.

2026-04-21 - attachments/contacts_thumbnail Cache Digest Warning

• Area: redmine_contacts
• Status: observed/analyzing
• Log message:

Couldn't find template for digesting: attachments/contacts_thumbnail

• Relevant code:
  • redmine_contacts/lib/redmine_contacts/patches/attachments_controller_patch.rb
  • route: attachments/contacts_thumbnail/:id(/:size)
• Current assessment:
  • AttachmentsController#contacts_thumbnail streams a generated thumbnail via send_file or returns 404; it normally does not render a view template.
  • Rails 4 cache digesting still probes for a conventional action template and logs the missing-template warning.
  • This is likely log noise and probably not the cause of the duplicate-avatar symptom.
• Possible fix:
  • Add a blank placeholder template at redmine_contacts/app/views/attachments/contacts_thumbnail.html.erb with a local fork comment explaining that the action streams files.
  • Do this only after confirming it does not mask the duplicate-avatar bug.

2026-04-21 - Helpdesk Search Manual URL Confusion

• Area: local redmine_contacts_helpdesk search API change
• Status: mitigated in current working copy and LAN deployment
• Symptom:
  • Visiting /helpdesk_search/issues or /helpdesk_search/issues/1 produced ActionController::RoutingError stack traces in production.log.
• Current assessment:
  • The originally implemented API route was /helpdesk_search/issues/:issue_id/ticket.
  • Manual browser tests naturally tried the shorter paths.
• Mitigation:
  • Added usage routes for /helpdesk_search, /helpdesk_search/issues, and /helpdesk_search/contacts.
  • Added /helpdesk_search/issues/:issue_id as an alias for the ticket lookup.

2026-04-21 - acts_as_list Redmine 4 Deprecation Warning

• Area: Redmine core/plugin compatibility
• Status: observed; low urgency while Redmine 3.4.4 remains the baseline
• Log message:

DEPRECATION WARNING: The acts_as_list plugin will be removed from Redmine 4 core, use the acts_as_list gem or similar implementation instead. (called from acts_as_list at /usr/share/redmine/lib/plugins/acts_as_list/lib/active_record/acts/list.rb:34)

• Current assessment:
  • This is an upgrade-compatibility warning from the Redmine/Rails stack, not a current runtime failure.
  • It means some installed plugin or model uses acts_as_list from Redmine core. Redmine 4 removes that bundled implementation, so any future Redmine 4+ migration would need an explicit acts_as_list gem or a local replacement.
  • Since the near-term baseline is Redmine 3.4.4 and upgrading is not currently a goal, this should not block helpdesk search work.
• Next diagnostic/fix idea:
  • If upgrade work resumes, search installed plugins and app models for acts_as_list, then decide whether to add the gem or patch each caller.