Hello,after I published my site and all was working well I decided to make some aesthetic and functional changes.Thats when this issue started. Getting my PayPal buttons to work correctly.No matter how I install them all they do is refresh the page I'm clicking them on. Interesting? I know... I noticed something peculiar,When I go back to one of the old (unrevised) pages,(which I saved in BV but do not use anymore) the Buy it Now PayPal button(s) work fine.Using these old pages are outta the question,I totally changed everything.I was on the phone with paypal tech support and the tech recommended having someone here take a look at the source code on the page or maybe the homepage too since all recurring pages were cloned from that one.I did find some extra garbage with the select all highlight(old text boxes and such)laying in the background and deleted them on every page then republished but I'm still having this issue.I wonder if there might be more and how do I check and look further since it's so hard to see with the way I setup my site.Can someone who knows html code fluently please go to www.logstolumber.org/freeformslabs.html and read the source code,hit the BIN button while your there and tell me if you see anything "funky" and Please tell me how to fix it.I've done everything the "trouble ticket guys" asked which wasn't much other than install BV10.1 because "all the paypal issues were fixed in that version".I'm sure they're very busy and my problem is,well,my problem. I deleted all the buttons and reinstalled new from BV10 and installed straight from PayPal too by copy&paste.No matter what ,the result is always the same.Theres no doubt I did something wrong but man o' man I sure do NOT know what it is or how to fix it!I'm sure you all will realize quickly that I'm a Sawyer/Logger,not a web designer so please keep that in mind if/when there might be a fix or a plan.I need step by step and in laymens terms.I'm sorry if I sound so arrogant,I'm not.I just get confused with the lingo sometimes.Thankyou very much to whoever has the time for this,I've lurked here throughout putting my site together(which was most monumental for me)I read more throughout that time than I ever did for weeks on end and I'm humbly grateful for having this venue available with so much capable help.Goodluck and thanks again! Mark
www.logstolumber.org

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"This is my fifteenthousandth time...and I still do not know what I am doing!"

<form target="PayPal" action="https://www.sandbox.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post">
Mark...I'm not an expert in html coding, but I believe the word in red should not be there! I don't know a lot about the PayPal "Sandbox" feature, but I believe it is only for testing your PayPal button operation before actually publishing the page. I think it allows you to go completely thru the "Buy Now" process, including payment and receiving a purchase report from PayPal. BUT, it is all not real. Just a make-believe purchase. No charge on the credit card, etc.

I would suggest that you load one of the "old Pages" into BV and just copy one of the buttons that does work. Then you can preview the page and try the button. Of course you don't want to go thru the entire purchase process, but that would tell you if I'm right.

Don't save the altered page til you see the PayPal button works!

Edit: As an after thought...If you would try to break up your paragraphs, they would be easier and faster to read especially for us really old fellows!

Dave,thankyou so much for the kind reply.I regret to inform you that after trying to copy from one of the old pages I have the same issue.This is one of the first things I tried to do.
As simple as I am with this I tried by get to the issue by process of of elimination and down the list I went.

I realize this is stumping some people....even the trouble ticket guys are sending me links to the PayPal button installation tutorial.

As far as the "sandbox" that you see in the code,that was added yesterday(well after this issue started) after trying to install the first button with bv10.It should still do something more than refresh the page,even if it is a "make believe" transaction.It should at least appear to link to the paypal site.

This next paragraph is not directed to anyone,just a thought of mine...

I'm still at a loss,I realize how easy it could be to read my plea and have the assumption that I'm just another guy who didn't read or listen to the tutorials.I spent a good part of my life while putting the site together over the last several months doing nothing but watching tutorials and reading.I may have missed something but it wasn't in the PayPal button setup tutorial,in fact I can lipsync that tutorial,I seen it so many times..

Dave,Thankyou for your comments and observations.I apologize to you and the older fellas about the long winded novel that wasn't "broken up into paragraph form".
I can't express in this forum how grateful I am that someone cared enough to offer up to this challange of mine... Any other comments or observations are welcome..I am desperate for a remedy!
Thanks again,Mark

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"This is my fifteenthousandth time...and I still do not know what I am doing!"

well are you using the paypal generated code or are you using the BV pay pal buttons? that would be my first question. i use only the Pay pal generated code and copy and paste in a html box. examples of this are here:
www.patsmelkoff.com/teachingschedule.html
these work great and you can look at the source code and compare it to the source code you are using.
the second thought i have is why don't you upload the newest version of bv. you state bv10 in your short novel. relax, just kidding
hope this helps,
mrmagoo144
www.videopostcards.info

mrmagoo,
yes I tried both,the paypal generated and the bv and the results are the same. I have gone back and back and back...and thats whats led me to the forum...
Clicking the button doesn't even open up a new window....just refresh's the page...leave it to me to have something come up that is not understandable or even remotely easy to fix.Thats my MO!!
Thanks for the "stab" at installing the "newer" version...that was better than the first cup of coffee!!!
Mark

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"This is my fifteenthousandth time...and I still do not know what I am doing!"

Sorry that didn't help you out! I compared your PayPal button code with one of mine and that is what I saw as the major difference!

I'm pretty sure that "sandbox" code should not be in a final operating form. But it is true; it should still do more than "refresh" your page!

Here is another questionable code compared to mine:
Mine: (<input type="hidden" name="currency_code" value="USD">
<input type="hidden" name="lc" value="US">
<input type="hidden" name="bn" value="PP-ShopCartBF">
</form></div> (<<Notice this is the end of my button code)
<div id="bv_" style="position:absolute;left:380px

Yours:
<input type="hidden" name="bn" value="PP-ShopCartBF">
</form></div> (<< should be the end of the button coding)
</form></div> (But this follows the end and may be "confusing the button action!)

Try editing that out of the code and see what happens. If it doesn't work...you can always re-copy the button to get back to this point. Just be sure not to "save" this page until you hit on what made it work!

You can "preview" any changes to see if the button works.

Another thought: That coding that I showed you where you have two incidences of</form></div> seems to indicate you have your PP button installed "inside" another form! But I really can't see the start of the other form!

This is the exact same line that the PayPal tech found peculiar..Two closers,right? I do not know code but I understand what you are telling me..He recommended that I NOT edit til I spoke with someone here about it.
I just read the rest of your post..You lost me at "form" what are you asking me? I wonder if there is something I did in the site design that was incorrect like maybe the green boxes in the background of the text.Those are the only forms I know of...It looked good at the time but if it was a recipe for a monster I wouldn't know.... Mark

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"This is my fifteenthousandth time...and I still do not know what I am doing!"

Mark
Another major difference between our codes is that yours has no "return" url in the button and no "cancel" url.
Here's a copy of mine....maybe you could put that coding into the button and see if it works. (Or maybe just go back to PayPal and re-create the "add to Cart button".
<input type="hidden" name="return" value="http://www.birdhouses2luv.com/thankyou.html">
<input type="hidden" name="cancel_return" value="http://www.birdhouses2luv.com/sorry.html">
Just replace with your urls.

EDIT: I just caught you last post and FYI I altered one of my buttons with that </form></div> code and my button still worked! So probably not the culprit!

yes,the last button I installed I didn't put the info in for where to send the successful and canceled payments.I'll go ahead and change it back and republish but it won't fix the issue.It's just something different I tried compared to the usual.I shoulda thought about that before I asked you to read the source code...
I'm going to take a closer look at editing out that line....what do you think?I mean worse case scenario just republish the page right?

Dave, I just republished that page with a BV button instead of the paypal generated button.All info is entered correctly and same issue..Have you noticed that it does not open up a seperate window too..Could this be of importance? Thanks again for your help,I'm sincerely grateful! Mark

__________________
"This is my fifteenthousandth time...and I still do not know what I am doing!"

At this point I would recommend going back to PayPal and recreate the add to cart button. You can do that as often as you need to. Then just reinstall it on your page. Preview it and see if it then works. If it does; republish. No biggy...it will just overwrite the page that isn't working.

I've got to go clean house and yard work, so don't think I bailed out on you! I'll check back occassionally! There are others that are much more experienced than I who will probably jump in to help also! Talk later!

your pay pal buttons will not work if you put the button inside a form. you have it inside the green box form. i have copied your page and put my add to cart button outside the form and it works fine.
here is the link:
www.videopostcards.info/test300.html
mrmagoo144
www.videopostcards.info

Dave , I deleted the old button and regenerated a new one from paypal....same results. I forwarded the file for the freeformslabs page to a mutual friend of ours from the threads and he's lookin' it over....I have a feeling he'll nip it in the bud but I know he's extremely busy and it might be some time before getting back to me. 6 hr timezone difference and whatever work he's got lying in front of him.....doesn't make me a priority,and I shouldn't be either! I'm grateful he even asked I send it...but I'll keep taking stabs at it until we've exhausted all efforts...I still have not tried to edit that code you found,you know, the extra </form> or whatever the heck it was....don't know if I should tinker with it or not til I hear back from the other side of the pond...... Thanks again for hangin' in there with me....I'll check back often..... anyone else with input,please share it. I'm still in need of a fix. Mark

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"This is my fifteenthousandth time...and I still do not know what I am doing!"

mrmagoo,,are you kidding me???? No,your not(i just saw it)I asked that question too up alittle in the field...Why is that? and what can I do to make my site look like it does right now and function the way it's supposed to. Man,I'm really not surprised....I knew it was me! Just poor design.....Thankyou for your help,now I have a new issue(s),huh? Any recommendations?
I just did what you did and your absolutely right!!It works just fine like it used too..Heres what threw me,There is a PayPal link at the bottom of the page that works fine.It's not a BIN button or ATC button but it works so I didn't suspect.My experience shows here,I'm sure and thats why I posted.Thankyou very very much to you and Dave! I'm very excited and impressed....I would still be interested in any recommendations you might have to fix my situation.I like the look,I don't know how I can keep the look and get the buttons to work where I want them too..can the buttons be placed in textboxes or ontop of pic's that are on top of forms?
Thanks again for the action,I love you ,man!!! Mark

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"This is my fifteenthousandth time...and I still do not know what I am doing!"

no as long as you have the button in a form it willnot work.
why do you have a form there anyway?
usually you want to use a form if you are going to move a lot of elements from one place to another on the same page. i will work on your page without the form and see what happens and how it looks. the form doesnt help the appearance of a page.
mrmagoo144
videopostcards.info

Mark,

I fixed it for you, but IGNORE the file I sent you in the first email, I just resent you another email with your page attached. Use this one please.

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Ramsey

Website Design
Wedding Directory
Wedding Dress Hire
Wedding Dresses, Cambridge

Thanks, mrmagoo! I was kicking that can of worms around, but didn't think to pour them out! HeHe!

Mark...why is that green form a form?? Couldn't it just be a "shape" with that color scheme?

There's no form on the page. But the lightbox was stretched over the whole page.

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Ramsey

Website Design
Wedding Directory
Wedding Dress Hire
Wedding Dresses, Cambridge

After further review I must change my call (post#16)!! The only other form I see is the Google Ads and the PayPal codes are outside that form??
Now I'm really confused!

Thanks, Ramsey!!

Well.. hold you're breath (with the rest of us) as Mark is just resaving the page I sent him, publishing and hopefully it will work... I don't know for certain I have fixed it until he does

Patiently waiting

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Ramsey

Website Design
Wedding Directory
Wedding Dress Hire
Wedding Dresses, Cambridge

i dont agree with you mar. there are 2 forms on his page, one with the navigation on the left and the other in the middle. his text on the left has most of the titles outside of the form and will not be considered part of the form.
mrmagoo144
www.videopostcards.info

Sorry, I didn't phrase my post very well...

There are no forms on his page that I can see are affecting this paypal button. If there was he has removed them before he sent the page to me.

Sorry.. somethimes I type too quick!

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Ramsey

Website Design
Wedding Directory
Wedding Dress Hire
Wedding Dresses, Cambridge

he is using the green box on the left and middle as a form. if you take his page from existing html you will see the 2 forms. pay pal buttons will not work inside a form.
mrmagoo144
www.videopostcards.info

HUGE MASSIVE apologies... I just spotted it! Never seen that done before and so missed it.... Ok, back to plan B...

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Ramsey

Website Design
Wedding Directory
Wedding Dress Hire
Wedding Dresses, Cambridge

no problem
mrmagoo144
www.videopostcards.info

Problem Solved

Mark has now got the problem in hand and is working on it, thanks to MrMagoo

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Ramsey

Website Design
Wedding Directory
Wedding Dress Hire
Wedding Dresses, Cambridge

Guys,
I cannot thankyou enough for all the support......you guys really get into it when duty calls,huh? What a conversation that has taken place since I buried my face in my website.
POOR WEB DESIGN on MY PART! I hope I said that in my original post,regardless, Mrmagoo,THANKS!!!you hit the nail right on the head,I was worried it was something incompatable I may have thrown together early on and time went by and I published not realizing that even though the buttons worked fine the first goaround(before putting ontop of forms) I did make some significant and stupid changes since then.
I've decided,and for god sakes hold your breath, to change alot more than just the forms to shapes. I've always liked the feel of the site but a few things that i wanted to do as afterthoughts are getting done now.I figure might as well since I have to delete forms on 20 some odd pages.I haven't started with the buttons yet ,realizing now what the hell I had done but I'm starting at the beginning since this is where it all began .

Ramsey,just like always I owe you one brotha!

and Dave,thanks for hangin' with me throughout the a.m.
I never coulda gotten this figured out without you guys....I promise you I'm much better at sawing logs and operating the mill......I published a new homepage so far with no FORMS www.logstolumber.org just shapes.You know,thats what I thought I was doing to begin with.Form,Shape whats the diff...Thats what I thought!!! I'll get the rest done asap!!

Again,I'm humbly grateful for the support and it reminds me in an ever so vivid way...why I signed up here! Thankyou , Mark

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"This is my fifteenthousandth time...and I still do not know what I am doing!"

You are quite welcome, Mark. This forum and the people on it are just another of the great benefits of being a member of the VodaHost family! Don't you feel sorry for those people that go with other hosting services...just to save a couple bucks?!

As for me....I love to help people and everytime I do I learn more about this game!

Good luck with your website and if you run into trouble with the upcoming changes....never fear; there will be plenty of kind people to ask for help!

Good Day.

looks good so far and good luck
mrmagoo144
www.videopostcards.info