vBSEO FROZEN and can't fix. " PLEASE WAIT . . . "

RE: vBSEO vBSEO 3.5.0 GOLD (PR) & vB 4.0.3 PL1

I had problems with custom re-write rules for Member profile pages where a SPACE between characters, (ie., "Member Name)" was not recognized and vBSEO could not generate a profile page. With no spaces there was no problems, (ie., MemberName).

I did a support ticket and was told to do the following:
General Settings->Character Replacement->Advanced, and change the second option to yes.

That resulted in vBSEO generating the MemberProfile page as: Member+Name.
I wanted to substitute the "+" symbol for the "_" symbol so it would be Member_Name
So I went to the bottom option: custom special character and I placed a _ in the field and pressed save.
Now I have a permanent "PLEASE WAIT" at the top of my vBSEO acp.

I posted an update message in the support ticket and was given the following response:
"I can confirm this issue. You should report the bug."

This PLEASE WAIT . . . first occurred last eve at midnight and IS STILL freezing up my vBSEO.

I changed cHMOD permissions on the config file so I would get error messages - hoping that would stop the problem - then when put back - that same problem persisted.

Anyone have any suggestions ???????

I'd rather not DELETE all vBSEO content and re-install; but, looks like my only option.

Flagged for developer and responded to your ticket.

If you open the config file manually via ftp, you should be able to find the character replacement that you set and delete it. Then, the CP should work again.

BRIAN:
Thank you very much ! That did resolve the acp frozen issue ! NICE !
Any Ideas how to replace the + for a _ ?

Hello,

the point of "Enable special characters in member URLs" setting is to replace spaces with "+". If you replace them with "_", it would work basically the same as with "special characters" option disabled, i.e. some member profiles might be conflicting.
You can disable that setting and include user_id in member pforile profile URL formats like:
members/[user_name]-[user_id].html

I have Member Profile pages setup in the following format:
HAZARD SPORTS
That is intentional for ease of use and so members can verbally tell people their profile pages, (easy to remember).
When I try to add a member with a space between first / last name ,(including FACEBOOK CONNECT), the member is added but clicking to profile page results in warning that member does not exist.
When Enable special characters in member URLs is set to YES - I get a profile page but with the "+" for space.
I currently only have 2 User Names registered as I am NOT promoting the site until I get these details worked out.
I prefer the _ but if I have to leave the + I will in order to preserve the format of profile pages: HazardSports.com/UserName