Google Base Feeder Support Thread [OLD]

There doesn't appear to be a designated support thread. The thread started by Woodyman which was more of a news alert became the official thread but has the wrong title.

Here is the original thread: http://www.zen-cart.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37317

I've made two minor contributions:

v1.3.4 (added to contributions; should be available soon) - added "mpn", removed "label", fixed "product_type"
v1.3.5 (currently testing before uploading to contributions; available for download from my website) - added special prices

The script was originally written by Andrew Berezin and he can be contacted through his Zen Cart account name: a_berezin
Please note that he is no longer providing support for this contribution and any problems with installation etc will have to be addressed by other members in the Zen Cart forum.

I know that v1.3.4 works as I've been using it for quite some time. There may be issues with v1.3.5 so if there are any bugs with the use of special prices specifically, then please post here.

Ideas for future updates:

- Google Base specific product types:

Currently product_type is the string of categories and subcategories that your product is included in on your site. This doesn't seem to be a problem and actually helps with Google Base search results as each category name in the product type becomes searchable. For example, if you sell a Samsung monitor located in Monitors -> LCD on your website, the product_type would be "Monitors, LCD". Both the word MONITORS and LCD are searchable. When Google becomes more picky about product_type, an admin customization for specifying a Google product type to each product will be necessary.

Some tips for best results with the Google Froogle Feeder:

-Change the length of your product titles in your SQL database from 64 to 75-80. Google Base allows up to 80 characters and this will greatly increase your products searchability. I find that more than 75 characters does not look good in the default Zen Cart however.

-Run a cron job for currency updates a few minutes before the google froogle feeder. This will ensure that your prices posted on Google are the same as your website if your default currency is not USD. As a Canadian seller, this was a personal issue for me.

-For your product's model number, use the specific MPN supplied by your manufacturer for best search results. Other model numbers can be placed in your products title.

v1.3.5 now available in the downloads section.

OK, a couple of questions...My items were just removed from search results b/c all products were labeled as product type "other". I guess I have to add the product type manually into the .txt file at this time?

Also, for each and every item, the quantity shows up as zero. I am running Zen 1.3.6 and just recently updated the Google Froogle feeder after not using it for a long time.

Thanks for any input!
Amy

Upgrade to the latest version will fix the product_type (after v1.3.3a all you need to do is overwrite the files, do not have to update SQL).

Put "display quantity" to false in the Google Froogle Configuration and it won't show quantities at all.

A current issue with the script which was a prominent concern from the previous thread is that if your store has a lot of products (i.e. 1000+), the script times out when pulling values from the database. A simple fix has been to lengthen the max execution time in your php.ini (if your host allows access), .htaccess, and also your zen cart admin configuration.

Here are the lines to add to php.ini and .htaccess:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BlessIsaacola http://www.zen-cart.com/forum/images...s/viewpost.gif
I was having issues with mine as well. I solved my googlefroogle timeout problem by making changes in my php.ini configuration file to the following:

max_execution_time = 300
max_input_time = 90
memory_limit = 32M

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by numinix

Upgrade to the latest version will fix the product_type (after v1.3.3a all you need to do is overwrite the files, do not have to update SQL).

Put "display quantity" to false in the Google Froogle Configuration and it won't show quantities at all.

---

Thanks, that did it :) I am glad I didn't have to use the latest SQL. I got many errors with it and had to revert back to my previous download. But updating the files did the trick!
Amy

Has anyone been able to use this script with over 1000 products without editing the php.ini or .htaccess files?

Google Froogle Feeder has been found to be incompatible with Zen Manager. Zen Manager is a script for adding products to your store. Somehow, the manager stores products slightly differently and the Google Froogle Feeder is unable to pull these values. I verified this on a store that could only produce the first line of the feed (non database values). We created a product the regular way and the product was added to the feed without a problem. Thus, the feeder was not timing out at all.

However, there may still exist a timeout issue which a workaround, although not ideal, is being implemented for v1.3.6. I'll have it ready for testing tonight.

v 1.3.6 http://www.numinix.com/zen-cart/goog...eder_1.3.6.zip

View readme for updates. Will post to contribution after no errors other than known issues are reported.

v1.3.6 is now available in the downloads section

1. Updated the Google Base logo;
2. Added a counter to help combat timeouts and allow user to set maximum number of products to process;
3. Added tax region;
4. Removed product_type from the configuration;
5. Code optimization;

I've uploaded all contributions to my website as well and can be downloaded by visiting the Numinix Technology website.