If this is the same issue that @grover_c had, @Matthew will need to look into it.
Have you tried using different browsers?
I’m using Firefox and had no problem with a new installation.
And yes, I tried Brave, but no difference.
Hi Oliver,
I’ve found something … interesting?
I tried editing one of the essay albums on one of my test sites (on the testing stream) and I’m seeing the same problems you are: no image group builder icon and no auto-refresh button.
I then checked my main site, which is on the release stream and had no problems editing an existing essay and no problems creating a new one.
I tried again on another testing site that’s on the testing stream and it didn’t work. So I switched that site over to the release stream and tried again. Still nothing. I also tried creating a new album after making the switch.
I checked another test site that I build with the release stream and it works.
I’ve used Lightroom Publisher for all of this.
I’ve also tried different versions of php on the sub-domains containing test sites, but I get the same behavior.
So far, every time I’ve tested on a site that was already on the release stream, Essay works. And when test on a site that is on the testing stream, Essay is not working.
You mentioned you were using a test domain. Do you happen to be running it on the testing stream (maybe Ben had you test something in the past?)
Hi Rod,
thank you for the effort.
I used a fresh install in another directory with one of my registered domains. That works.
And I tried deleting all album set templates and everything I created that Matt mentioned in his video.
No go. And for now I’m not willing to build up the whole site again. Why doesnt it work???
Best regards,
Oliver
Did you try reinstalling all modules? There is a button in backlight > modules to do this.
I don’t know
Try Daniel’s suggestion. I misread your earlier post and thought you were working with a fresh install on the site where Essay wasn’t working.
Hi Daniel,
I already reinstalled all modules. No success.
Until @Matthew or @Ben can take a look, you could try the Update Album Files link on the Special Links page along with Clear Template Cache,
You could also try changing the version of php the domain uses. In my host’s Cpanel, I can change php version on a per sub-domain basis.
(I haven’t seen a difference in Essay functionality when changing php version, but your host might have different configurations)
Hi. Typically, if these items do not appear, it’s indicative of JavaScript breaking somewhere on the page prior to those scripts running, and preventing their execution. Sssooo …
Have you introduced any custom JS of your own to the site?
If not, then it would help for us to be able to see the issue happening. In which case, please DM login credentials for your Backlight admin. You may like to set up a separate admin user to share with us, so that you don’t need to give us your personal password.
@Matthew do you know if the testing stream is using the same build as the release stream?
I’m not running anything special on my test site, yet I’m seeing the same problems as Oliver.
Sites built with the release stream aren’t showing any problems with Essay though.
Hi @rod_barbee, can you please email me the gallery URL and a Backlight admin login for your test site where this is broken?
will do
Thanks, @rod_barbee. I’ve found that when I login at www.bl4-test… that the auto-refresh and image picker icons don’t appear. When I log in at bl4-test… they do. I also found that after I had logged in at www.bl4-test… that visiting /backlight on bl4-test (non-www) showed that I was logged out.
That means the sessions are sticking to the specific URL that you are logged in at.
I can see the auto-refresh and image selector icons after logging in at bl4-test and reloading the albums.
@volvoxturbo, could this be the case for you? That the URL you have logged to Backlight is not the same as the URL of your albums? e.g. one has www and the other not, or one https and the other http, or other differences.
this is weird. Why would www be inserted into the url? That doesn’t happen when I log into my main site?
I just tested it on another test site. When logging into that site, www is not inserted into the URL and Essay works as expected.
@Ben While logged into Backlight, I just removed the www from the URL address window and hit enter to reload the page. It goes to the login screen and I log it. The www was no longer there and Essay is working fine. Just like you found
What seems to be happening is that in Firefox, when I try logging into backlight on that test site, www is inserted into the url. This doesn’t happen in other browsers.
Hi Ben,
thank you for your help.
Thats what it is.
In creating the essay album I followed Matts video.
Then: If I click on my demo essay album in backlight in the Drafts folder it opens without www.
If I click the “View in Browser” button, it opens in a new window with www. and don’t shows the two icons. If I delete the www. in the address and reload the page everything is fine 
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Hi Rod,
thank you for your help.
Matt suggested forcing http://domain without www either via Apache configuration or .htaccess
Best regards,
Oliver
…I also changed the API URL in TTGPublisher in Lightroom to non-www and everything works now.
Thanks to all for their time and ideas!
Best regards,
Oliver
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Hi Rod
Glad I found this thread. Same was happening to me - the “auto-update” and “image group builder” were not appearing. For some reason one had https://www.domain the other had https://domain.
Everything works now but took a few days to find this thread.
Thanks for the community sharing!
Jeanne
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