Easy CSV Importer Features Guide
This guide is not intended to instruct you on setting up your own campaign, every users needs are different. It is a quick reference should you find yourself not sure about any features of the Easy CSV Importer plugin. This guide will explain each feature/function and give advice on how best to use them along with any other information that might be helpfull.
~ Updated: 13th October 2010 ~
~ Plugin Version: 1.7.1 ~
All Pages Or General
Control Panel
The control panels main purpose is to remind the user of what csv file (project) they are working with and allow the project to be changed quickly. It has different features which I will explain individually:
- RSS Feed button, click on this to begin getting instant updates about Easy CSV Importer.
- A black tutorial video button, click for help on the page that your viewing.
- Buttons numbered 1 to 8, each representing the stages used to build a project.
- A menu of all your csv files for quickly changing projects.
Start Page
Upload CSV File
A standard file upload for .csv files only. The limit is applied by your local php.ini file, not Easy CSV Importer. Your csv files will be placed in a folder named “ecifiles” which is created automatically on installing the plugin. You will find the folder in the “wp-content” directory. If it cannot be found, you may create it manually. It is also recommended to get to know how ftp works especially if your data provider can deliver very large files either directly to your blog or by email.
eStore Create Products Only
This option only shows up if the eStore plugin is installed, otherwise it is hidden by default. Selecting and submitting a csv file under this tab will create a project that will only allow you to create eStore products. It is new, delivered in version 1.6.8 so there is room for improvement.
eStore Create Products With Pages
Create a new project under this tab will not only allow you to create eStore products, but will also create pages. Each record of data is used to create a product and page at the same time. This allows the plugin to place the product ID’s into their own pages and automatically set your products up to be displayed on your blog.
Post/Page Generator – Standard Project
This is the most common project type where you import to the blog your actually working on, create posts on that blog and possibly run updates.
Post/Page Generator – Blog2Blog
This is something I still consider to be a prototype. There is much room for improvement but due to the low level of responses from buyers I have not considered it a priority feature. However it is not abandoned, any serious developer would use the approach I have provided. It allows us to place data into an online blog, from our desktop using the power of our computer rather than doing all the work on the server. This is ideal for the largest of csv files especially if the server your using has tight restrictions, which they often do as a security requirement. I’m hoping to re-create the Blog2Blog system before the year is out.
Import Data Page
This plugin will import data from a CSV file and put it into a new database table that has the same structure as the CSV file itself. Posts are not created at the point of data import, it is one of many steps.
Full Data Import – SQL Query Per Record
The most commonly used method to importing data. It will create and execute a single sql query for each record and importer all records without stopping, unlike “Events” method. This is not as efficient as creating a single larger query that holds many records but it can be less problematic with some data. If a problem occurs, it is much easier to locate the record causing issues and take action.
Full Data Import – Large SQL Query
This data import method will build a large query with many records, you have the option of how many records will be used to build a single query. The plugin will build the query, action it and then begin building a new query with more records. On this method, it will keep going until all data has been imported.
Manual Events Data Import – SQL Query Per Records
This method allows us to import a little slower than Full Data Import methods. We get to decide how many records we wish to import in a single event. Say a user has 1,000 records and requests 100 records to be imported in one event. The effect would be that the user must manually action ten events until all data is imported. This allows us to import very large files, without trigger security issues on a shared server. It may seem a little strange manually triggering each event, but in the long run it can be worth it. Just remember to keep visiting the page and clicking the button while leaving short time gaps between each event.
Staggered Data Import – Scheduled Increment
This is where things get complicated for me, because the plugin allows you to finish the campaign and begin creating posts before all data is even imported. This method allows us to automatically import data a selected number of records per event. Events are triggered by both visitors to the blog, much like cron but not using cron and also by Easy CSV Importers own schedule system. The reason I need my own schedule system in this plugin is to control how many projects are allowed to be triggered at any one time. Staggered is not recommended and should only be used if the other methods cannot be used.
Custom Fields Page
Standard Custom Fields
The ECI plugin will establish all existing custom fields used in your blog and make them available for selection in multiple menus. Three columns of these menus and a row of them for every column in your csv file. The idea is to pair a custom field “key” (the name of the custom field) with one of your csv file columns. Data from the paired column will be put into that custom field, for each post. The reason for multiple columns is to use a single column in many custom fields or even many different columns in one custom field, should it be a custom field that allows more than one within your theme.
ShopperPress Custom Fields
Not very different from standard custom fields apart from the part where the plugin displays all custom fields from the blog. Instead the only custom field keys shown are the standard ShopperPress keys. If you have ShopperPress installed, you will want to use a lot of the custom fields under the ShopperPress Custom Fields tab, however you may also use the Standard Custom Fields.
Manage Keys
ECI will locate any previously used custom field keys in your blog and to add more you can do so by setting them up in a post or page. If you don’t want to do that, you can use this tool for adding new keys from this page, the keys won’t exist as custom fields but will be saved as part of the plugins settings. You can remove keys from the list shown by typing them exactly as displayed and clicking remove. This will help to keep the custom field menus tidy.
Special Functions Page
All In One SEO Keywords
Select the column which has comma seperated keywords and phrases in it. Any data you select will be used as the All In One SEO keywords value as it is with no changes by ECI.
Thumbnails
This requires you to select a csv column that holds your image data. Specifically the images you would like to be assigned as the “Featured Image” for your posts. ECI will apply your images using the featured image function brought to us in WordPress version 2.9 and improved in 3.0.
URL Cloaking
If you would like url’s to be hidden, use this function for one of the columns in your csv file. On submitting the special fields form, you will see an example of what the cloak url will look like. I’m open to helping my customers customise the cloak format.
Permalink/Slug/Post Name
This function allows you to maintain url’s especially if you have a lot of inbound traffic. The plugin and WordPress by default will create your parmalink based on post names but that may result in breaking inbound links because the resulting permalinks are different.
Pre-Made Dates
Apply publish dates to your posts with dates from your data. Please test this and ensure that your date format works.
Pre-Made Tags
Use this to apply existing keyword and phrase values as your post tags.
Tag Generator
If you do not have pre-made tags, you can let ECI generate some from text, such as description.
Excerpt Generator
You can build an excerpt for All In One SEO on the Post Layout page. That excerpt will be more accurate however you can also select a column of data that holds text to generate an excerpt. That excerpt will be saved as the standard post excerpt and show in the excerpt box on the post edit page.
Category Splitter
Some data providers will give you data that has categories held in a single column, seperated by a forward slash. This function must be used to split the categories. If your data has a different seperator value I can easily arrange for a suitable function to handle it. The category splitter option will cause categories to be used in order as found in the data, so the first term will be used as your parent category and so on.
Categories Page
Category Splitter Selected
When you see this message, it means you have made use of the “Category Splitter” feature on the Special Functions page, see above. Simply click the “Accept Category Splitter” button too continue.
Create Categories
The form under this tab allows you to select up to 3 category columns, in order of hierarchy. On saving, you will see your Category Group on the page for further edit. Due to technical issues, only one category group can be created and so only one parent. However we are reviewing how to improve this.
Create Categories Early
This form allows you to create your categories before continuing to finish your project setup. It is not recommended unless you have specific needs for it. The Conditions pag can help you do things with categories so if you happen to need any of the special conditions to do with categories on that page then you will need to create them early.
Single Default Category
This function will over-ride all other category functions. It allows you to select an existing category already in your blog and all posts will be assigned to that category.
Post Layout Template Page
I would like to make clear that these are not instructions on using the Post Layout Template page. It is one more advanced features of the Easy CSV Importer plugin and tutorial videos are available for instructions on how to use it. There are also All In One SEO features available on this page which you can activate on the Interface Configuration page.
Custom Upload/Insert Media Buttons
There are custom buttons, currently three, which you will need to use to being designing your post layout. Please get to know them.
Add eStore Shortcode
You only need to use this media button if you are also using the eStore shopping cart plugin. Something I highly recommend if you are interested in building e-commerce sites. The shortcodes have been re-designed to work with Easy CSV Importer and allow automatic import of products which are instantly displayed on pages.
Easy CSV Importer Help
This button will display some help information for the Post Layout Template page.
Add Tokens
This is the main button, it will open a window showing the tokens required to build your layout. Each token represents a column in your csv file. The tokens are replaced by actual data when the plugin creates each post. You can place them in the html area also and construct links or image placement using url data.
Conditions Page
Match And Change Condition
The match and change feature allows you to apply the condition to a selected column. You then enter a possible value that the plugin will find in that column. Lastly you enter the value you would like to replace the found value. It is a basic form of text spinning or simply making values better for reading i.e. changing no or yes in an “available” column to something like “Available” and “Sold Out”.
Updating Page
Main Reference
The reference acts as a key between the data in your csv file and the data stored in the database table. Your csv file data or the tables data may change over time and so we cannot simply go by the order the records are in, when updating. The ideal reference would be a product number, any type of unique code or ISBN for example. If your data does not have such a column then you may build your own reference key using up to three columns. The combination of the three columns must result in unique groups of values per row of data. It can be a complex thing to understand and apply if you are not a developer or have experiance with data. Sub-Reference 1 and Sub-Reference 2 could be things like place names, locations, post codes, telephone numbers and even product names. On saving, the plugin will do its best to establish if your reference is trully unique or not.
Existing Post Update
If you install Easy CSV Importer into a blog that already has posts, you may want ECI to adopt those posts. If the posts were created by another import plugin for example, the chances are you may need them to be updated. This feature allows you to tell the plugin if it should adopt a post when titles match. The title the plugin is about to create compared to the one already existing. You must understand that if your blog has posts with matching titles but different content and this is required for you. Then you may cause content to be overwritten by using this feature.
Automatic New File Processing
Activating this will tell the plugin to process new csv files. It will detect when a file is new based on the files date stamp. To trigger this you must overwrite the old file with a new one and the plugin will import it’s data providing everything else has been setup correctly for accurate data updating.
Use Content Exclusions
If you plan on editing posts after they have been imported but still want to run update campaigns then you must use this feature. It will allow your custom fields to be updated but avoid updating post content when you have edited the page. When you save an edited post, it will be marked in a way that avoids the content getting an update. This prevents your changes being overwritten.
Use Custom Field Exclusions
If you would like specific columns not to be used to update custom fields originally made with those columns then use this feature. On saving the form a new form will be displayed listing all your column titles. You must then select which columns you would like to be left out of the update process for custom fields.
Column Update Exclusions
This tab only appears if you set Use Custom Field Exclusions to yes. It requires you to select Include or Exclude for each column. Exclude will prevent a column being used in the update process for custom fields.
Create Posts Page
All forms on this page allow you to make pages or posts, use the new custom post types, set post status and comment status.
Full Speed Post Creation (standard)
Full speed is the alternative to Staggered which is when we drip feed posts into our blog. Full speed standard will make posts with all of your data in one long process. The more data you import the longer the process will take.
Full Speed Post Creation (events)
The events approach is required when dealing with very large sets of data and on a server you don’t have control over. It splits your project data into multiple events, each on initiated manually at the click of a button. This allows us to take a moments break from using the server and prevent issues.
Staggered Post Creation
This method allows us to create posts over long periods of time. Visits to your blog trigger events, events are tailored to suit your needs. You can force a minimum time gap between events and select the number of posts to be created per event.
Settings Page
To be complete.
Tools Page
To be complete.
Widgets Page
To be complete.