Error when accepting a Reviewer Invitation

alexxxmendonca · March 30, 2017, 5:15pm

As a reviewer, when I click on the button to accept the review invitation, I’m getting the following error:

If I click on the button again, the error goes away and the task moves to the next step.

We are using OJS 3.0.2.

asmecher · April 3, 2017, 3:03pm

Hi @alexxxmendonca,

Are you able to reproduce this behavior reliably?

Regards,
Alec Smecher
Public Knowledge Project Team

ajnyga · April 3, 2017, 3:07pm

Just a comment here, that these kinds of errors happen from time to time both with the review form and the submission form. It can be like this or you get the error “status true” etc.

I have usually seen them in workshops where I am teaching to use OJS3, but never been able to reproduce them in any browser.

The errors are not browser dependent and usually after getting such error the same user will not get it anymore. This has led me to believe that it is somehow related to browser cache. I mean, in some cases a script is not loaded properly during the first time but the second time you try everything works.

Edit: it is this one: OJS3 moving between steps in submission and review forms sometimes cause errors

alexxxmendonca · April 3, 2017, 3:55pm

Hi @asmecher,

It didn’t happen the first time around I tested, but it happened this time just before I made this topic.

I tested on two different computers to make sure that it wasn’t just on my computer.

I will run some more tests later.

Best regards,
Alex

ajnyga · April 5, 2017, 6:44am

Hi @asmecher and @alexxxmendonca

I have found a way to reproduce this error. I will post it to Github and paste the link here.

Edit:

github.com/pkp/pkp-lib

[OJS] OJS3.0.2 Review form breaks for users that are visiting OJS for the first time

opened 07:53AM - 05 Apr 17 UTC

closed 02:55PM - 28 Apr 17 UTC

ajnyga

Hi @asmecher and @bozana This is an issue which seems to be very complicated… but at the same time important to solve as soon as possible while it affects one the key features in OJS and a important user group. In some cases the review form gets broken when moving between the steps. You get stuck in the same step and translation keys are ##not translated##. You can proceed by clicking the button in the form again and in the next step you see the "Error submitting form" modal. The problem is mentioned here http://forum.pkp.sfu.ca/t/ojs3-moving-between-steps-in-submission-and-review-forms-sometimes-cause-errors/26283 and here http://forum.pkp.sfu.ca/t/error-when-accepting-a-reviewer-invitation/29819 I have been able to reproduce this several times (not always) with these two scenarios: Scenario 1: - Add a reviewer and log out - Clear your whole browser cache and log in again as the reviewer - Find the correct submission and click the review link - Click the accept review button => **error occurs** Scenario 2 (this is more problematic): - do as above but go as far as step 3 in the review form, as a reviewer would normally do - log out, clear browser cache - log in again, find submission and click review link, you should go to step 3 - fill in the review form and submit the form, press ok for the modal => **error occurs** AND you have just lost everything you wrote to the review form. _This has now happened a few times for our reviewers and it is of course very annoying as they are doing voluntary work._ - Note that if you would had failed to fill in for example the recommendation before clicking submit, the second click on the submit button does not create the error anymore. So I think that _something_ is not loading correctly during the first time the review form is loaded, but this is solved when something is already in the browser cache. I see nothing in the javascript console and nothing in the php error log. Also: **this could be an issue with the submission form as well?**

ajnyga · April 7, 2017, 7:05am

@alexxxmendonca

Do you have this setting in your config.inc.php: https://github.com/pkp/ojs/blob/master/config.TEMPLATE.inc.php#L55

alexxxmendonca · April 7, 2017, 2:00pm

Hi @ajnyga,

Yes, I just confirmed with our IT person.

ajnyga · April 7, 2017, 2:19pm

Ok, a few other questions. Trying to find out what is happening with the form. Probably all of these cases are connected to the validation of CSRF tokens, but there seems to be a few different cases when this happens, some of them maybe connected only to our installation (see [OJS] OJS3.0.2 Review form breaks for users that are visiting OJS for the first time · Issue #2417 · pkp/pkp-lib · GitHub and [OJS] CSRF token validity time (one hour) breaks the review form · Issue #2428 · pkp/pkp-lib · GitHub)
):

When the form got broken, did you use a oneclick reviewer access link?
If you did, did your email open some other browser you do not usually use?

If this is connected to the oneclick link, then:
3. When you click the oneclick link and enter the review form, do you see the tasks and submissions links in the left sidebar?
4. Can you try and send a oneclick link to yourself, then clean your browser cache, and then click the link to enter the form. Does the first step get broken again?

alexxxmendonca · April 7, 2017, 4:38pm

Hi @ajnyga,

1 When the form got broken, did you use a oneclick reviewer access link?

Yes, I did.

2 If you did, did your email open some other browser you do not usually use?

No, I was using Chrome and it opened in Chrome as well.

3 When you click the oneclick link and enter the review form, do you see the tasks and submissions links in the left sidebar?

Yes, I saw them alright.

4 Can you try and send a oneclick link to yourself, then clean your browser cache, and then click the link to enter the form. Does the first step get broken again?

I copy & pasted the URL on an anonymous browse window and then on IE (which I never use) – which means they are free of cache, right? The problem persisted even after doing so.

ajnyga · April 7, 2017, 5:19pm

So do you get this problem every time you visit a review through a oneclick link? I mean regardless of if you clear your cache or not?

alexxxmendonca · April 7, 2017, 5:32pm

I would have to test this more.

I’ll do so and get back to you if problem persists.