Troubleshooting

Common issues and how to resolve them.

Next Inventory Admin Page Shows a Blank Screen

The page loads but the Next Inventory interface never appears.

1. Browser console errors — Open the browser console (F12) and look for red errors. A failing file load (404) or a security policy blocking scripts are the most common causes
2. Damaged or incomplete installation — Re-install the packaged ZIP from nextsoftware.dev over the top of the existing installation. Your data is preserved, and the interface files are restored
3. Joomla cache — Clear the Joomla cache under System > Maintenance > Clear Cache and hard-refresh your browser (Ctrl+Shift+R)

Session Expires While Entering Data

You lose unsaved work when the Joomla session times out mid-edit.

1. Session plugin disabled — The bundle includes the System - Next Inventory Session plugin specifically to handle re-authentication transparently. Verify it is enabled under System > Manage > Plugins (search for "Next Inventory Session"). Without it, session expiry on long-running data entry will require a full page reload
2. Session lifetime too short — Joomla's default session lifetime is 15 minutes. If you do long data entry sessions, increase Global Configuration > System > Session Lifetime to 60 minutes or more
3. Multiple admin tabs — Having multiple admin tabs open can race on session keepalive. Prefer to work in a single Next Inventory tab at a time
4. Cookie settings — If your browser blocks third-party cookies or your site is served across multiple domains, session cookies may not persist. Check browser privacy settings

Low-Stock Notifications Not Arriving

Items are below threshold but no email or push notifications fire.

1. Subscription preferences — Each user controls their own preferences per notification type under Notification Preferences. Make sure the recipient user has the Low Stock notification type enabled
2. Email configuration — Joomla's mail settings must be working. Use the Send Test Mail button under Global Configuration > Server > Mail to confirm your site can send email at all
3. Deduplication window — Low-stock notifications throttle to once per 24 hours per item per user. If you already got an alert for the item today, another won't fire until tomorrow
4. Push subscriptions — Browser push requires VAPID keys. Under Configuration > Settings > Notifications, verify the VAPID public key is configured (or click Generate). Users must also grant browser permission when first subscribing
5. Threshold misconfiguration — Verify the item's Low Stock Threshold field is set. Items with no threshold never fire low-stock alerts regardless of stock level

Barcode Scanner Not Working

Scanning a barcode doesn't populate the search field or jump to the item.

1. Focus not on input — USB keyboard-wedge scanners type characters into whatever input has focus. Make sure the search input is focused before scanning
2. Scanner suffix mismatch — Most USB scanners append Enter after the barcode. If your scanner is configured with a different suffix, reprogram it to send Enter — the scanner's manual has a config barcode for this
3. Camera permission denied — For camera-based scanning, the browser must have camera permission for your Joomla site's domain. Check the site's permissions in the browser address bar
4. HTTPS required for camera — Browsers only allow camera access on HTTPS sites. If your admin is served over plain HTTP, camera scanning won't work
5. Barcode not in database — A scanner that beeps and types doesn't guarantee a match. Verify the item record has exactly the barcode value being scanned, with no leading or trailing whitespace

Stock Quantities Out of Sync with Transactions

The Items list shows a stock quantity that doesn't match the sum of transactions.

1. Direct edits — Editing the Stock Quantity field directly on an item record does NOT create a transaction. Always use transactions (Add Stock, Remove Stock, Adjustments) to keep the audit trail accurate
2. Unit conversion rounding — If transactions were recorded in different units, small rounding differences can accumulate. Record an adjustment to reconcile the number, with a reason noting the correction
3. Unfinalised drafts — A draft movement, transfer, or adjustment changes nothing until it is finalised. Check Stock > Transfers and Stock > Adjustments for drafts you expected to be committed
4. Deleted items — Deleting an item does not remove its transaction history. If quantities look wrong after deletions or a botched import, contact [email protected] before attempting any cleanup

Joomla Update System

Updates are not found or downloads fail.

1. Package must be enabled — Go to System > Manage > Extensions, filter by type Package, and verify the Next Inventory package and its pieces are enabled. A disabled piece can make updates fail with "Failed to download package"
2. Download key — Updates from nextsoftware.dev require your download key. See Enter Your Download Key for the one-time setup. If you've already saved it but updates still fail, re-paste the key (check for stray whitespace) and re-save
3. Server unreachable — Ensure your server can reach nextsoftware.dev. Some hosting providers block outbound connections — contact your host if updates never appear

Component Conflicts

Next Inventory conflicts with another extension.

1. Template styling leaks — Some templates inject their own CSS that overrides the Next Inventory interface. Next Inventory resets the most common conflicts automatically, but highly customised templates may still fight back. Try switching to a standard admin template to confirm, then report the template to support
2. JavaScript errors — Open the browser console (F12) and check for errors. An error from another extension (especially editor plugins) may prevent the interface from starting
3. Plugin conflicts — In System > Manage > Plugins, try temporarily disabling recently installed system plugins one at a time to identify a conflicting plugin, then report the combination to support

Installation Fails, and Retrying Keeps Failing

Installing the package stops with a database error — often about a duplicate constraint or a duplicate entry — and every attempt after that fails the same way.

1. Update to 6.1.0 or later — this is the fix. Two separate defects caused it, and both are resolved:
   • A database rule was named in a way MySQL requires to be unique across the entire database, so the install was refused whenever another NextSoftware extension was already present, or when a second Joomla site shared one database. MariaDB scopes the same name per table, which is why it only ever bit on MySQL
   • Because the setup steps were not safe to repeat and uninstalling removed nothing, a single failure left the tables behind and every retry collided with them — the site became permanently unable to install Next Inventory at all
2. Nothing to clean up by hand — 6.1.0 makes setup repeatable and renames the rule on existing sites automatically. A site where the rename cannot be applied keeps the old name and carries on working
3. Still failing? — Send support the exact error text and your MySQL or MariaDB version. The message names the object it objected to, which is usually enough to identify the clash

Language Overrides Have No Effect

You create an override under System > Manage > Language Overrides, save it, and the wording in Next Inventory does not change.

1. Update to 6.1.0 or later — the usual cause. From 6.0.0 to 6.0.x the administrator language files were installed into a folder nothing reads, so overrides had nothing to attach to and failed silently. Installing 6.1.0 over the top puts them where Joomla looks. No data is affected
2. Override the Administrator, not the Site — Next Inventory's admin wording belongs to the Administrator client. Pick that client in the override screen
3. Search by value, not by key — find the constant behind the label you want to change by searching the override screen for the text you see, then create the override against that constant
4. Reload the page — translations are delivered to the browser once per page load, so a hard refresh (Ctrl + Shift + R) shows the change
5. The string may be new — 6.1.0 raised the interface from about 145 translatable strings to more than 800, so a label that could not be reached before probably can be now

Demo Data Never Resets Itself

Auto-Reset is switched on, but the demo data never goes back to its original state.

1. Create the scheduled task — the setting alone does nothing. Go to System > Scheduled Tasks > New and add a Next Inventory: Reset demo data task. See Demo Mode
2. Schedule it hourly — the task checks your chosen interval on each run and does nothing until one is due, so running it hourly simply means the reset happens close to when it falls due
3. Check the interval has elapsed — with a 7-day interval, nothing happens for a week. The task log records which case applied: auto-reset off, no demo installed, or not due yet
4. Confirm a demo is actually installed — there is nothing to reset otherwise