I have Ultimate Addon for Beaver Builder plugin version: 1.3.1.3 installed on my site. It is running fine on WP Engine. I just pulled down my site to Local and it has this same version of Ultimate Addon for Beaver Builder but on my Local site I’m getting a Fatal Error:
Fatal error: Array and string offset access syntax with curly braces is no longer supported in /Users/zanedevault/Local Sites/zane-devault/app/public/wp-content/plugins/bb-ultimate-addon/admin/bsf-core/auto-update/admin-functions.php on line 19
What steps can be taken to replicate the issue? Feel free to include screenshots, videos, etc
System Details
Local Version:
Version 9.0.2+6676
Operating System (OS) and OS version:
MacOS 13.6.6
Security Reminder
Local does a pretty good job of scrubbing private info from the logs and the errors it produces, however there’s always the possibility that something private can come through. Because these are public forums, always review the screenshots you are sharing to make sure there isn’t private info like passwords being displayed.
I changed my Local PHP version to match the WP Engine version and that removed the error.
I hope you don’t mind a couple of follow up questions. I’m always trying to learn. If you’re too busy I totally understand.
Did you figure this because the error message mentioned that the Array and string offset access syntax with curly braces is no longer supported and you were already familiar with this update to PHP? I couldn’t tell the error was related to the PHP version from the error message, so I didn’t even think to check that.
Is it critical for me to update the PHP versions in my WP Engine account, even though doing so will likely break a few of my sites? We use this plugin on many of our installs.
Again, I totally understand if you are too busy, and I appreciate your quick response to my question.
I can’t say that I knew it for certain off the top of my head, but I will say that we do often see issues like this and other errors or formatting problems when sites are moved between Local and hosting (not just with WPE) when things like PHP/WP/MySQL aren’t 1:1. So as a general troubleshooting step, it’s always something to keep in mind.
As far as what this error specifically references, in older versions of PHP, you could use curly braces to access individual characters of a string or elements of an array, but this syntax is now deprecated and was removed in newer versions of PHP.
As far as upgrading your PHP version, we always recommend utilizing the latest version when possible to maintain the best site security and performance. That will also be the case for your host as well. So is it critical that you upgrade right now? No, but it’s something you should be aware of and working towards doing sooner rather than later. I believe WPE still supports PHP 7.4 for now, but it is officially at End of Life status by PHP and won’t be available forever. PHP: Supported Versions
Here is some additional information for WP Engine specifically. There isn’t a specific “end date” yet for 7.4, but again, I recommend looking at any changes or updates now rather than waiting until an update is forced.
