Bug Reporting

There will be times when you use CiviCRM - as there are when you use any software - when things don't work the way you expect them to.

When this happens, a good first step is to search the forums for similar problems and follow advice given there.  If your problem hasn't been addressed, posting to the forum is probably the right thing to do.

Have a look on the forum for good posting guidelines and spend a bit of time writing your post. Make sure you are detailed and specific about what software you are using, what you are trying to do and how you are trying to do it. For example letting people know the url you are using (with any confidential details removed) may cause them to realise that you are configuring the wrong page. Unclear posts are less likely to get good replies.

What causes problems with CiviCRM?

Check the following possible sources of problems before you report something on a forum. You can save yourself and a lot of people trouble by isolating the problem. CiviCRM forums try to be friendly and don't criticise you for misjudging a problem, but you'll certainly get more help and resolve problems faster by doing some checking of your own first.

• Misunderstanding the software. We don't claim our documentation is perfect. But please go back and check it very carefully when you hit a barrier. Frustration makes it hard to concentrate, so be sure to read slowly and thoroughly. Also remember that different parts of CiviCRM depend on each other, so check for problems in related modules, besides the one you think the problem is in.
  
• Your server set up. Servers can be configured in many different ways, and these settings can change the way CiviCRM operates. Depending on your issue your server configuration may be causing you issues.
  
• Customisations made to the source code of your installation of CiviCRM. Any changes made to the source code of CiviCRM may have unintended consequences. The community forums may be able to help you, but you will have to be patient, share source code, and try out suggestions.
  
• Bugs in the version of CiviCRM you are using. After you have eliminated all the previous options, you can report your problem as a bug. In fact, we appreciate you doing this, because you are making CiviCRM better for everyone.
  

Recreating your problem on the demo site

Recreating your bug on one of the demo sites helps determine whether your problem is a result of a bug in the source code, or as a result of changes on your site, such as your server setup or any customisations you've made to the code. If you can show us that the code on the demo site turns up your bug, it's very likely that the CiviCRM source code is the problem, and your demonstration will help us find and fix it.

Still, no demo site can cover all possibilities. So even if you can't reproduce your bug there, it might still be a bug in CiviCRM. It is, however, probably triggered by your server setup or other customisations.

Write to the forum and explain the problem you are experiencing. If the bug was reproduced on the demo site, describe exactly what you did there. If not, include as much information about your server setup as you feasibly can. Configuration files from the web server, CMS, and CiviCRM will be valuable.

If the forum suggests you discovered a bug in CiviCRM, you can report it to the CiviCRM bug tracker (http://issues.civicrm.org/jira/browse/CRM).

Using older versions of CiviCRM

If you are using an older version and the problem you are experiencing is a bug that has been fixed in the lastest release, be prepared for the answer that it is time to upgrade to the latest version. Although the CiviCRM community tries to be as helpful as possible, and we recognize that upgrading puts a burden on your organisation, it is difficult to support multiple versions simultaneously.

Fixing bugs

The amount of time taken for the bug to be fixed depends on the severity and complexity of the bug.  It could be as quick as the same day, but it could take much longer.

To get bug fixes, the easiest way is just to download and install the latest revision of CiviCRM. Downloading bug fixes between releases and fixing ('patching') your existing software is possible, but it's a more involved process and depends on your technical ability and server setup.