EasyPopulate 4.0 Support Thread

[mc12345678]

Thank you for your response and sorry to sound thick.

In response:
1) So in EP4 the CSV export only offers v_categories_1 - this is installed on the new website. On the old website EP0 is used and exports a CSV with the headings v_categories_1, v_categories_2, v_categories_3 and so on up to 7.
2) Only English.
3) Just English
4) Shoes for instance below:
v_categories_name_1 v_categories_name_2
Shoes Size 6
Shoes Size 5
5) I've taken the latest version of EP4 for the new website. The old website uses just Easy Populate from several years ago.

Thanks, Rich

No problem. The questions were asked to help ensure that we are/would be on the same page.

Okay, so... If English is the only language that is used, then when working with fields that are language based such as "v_categories_name" the _1 that follows will assign the data to the language that is identified as having a language_id of 1... In a standard default install of Zen Cart that will be English.

So, to identify the category name information for English in a standard install, that data will go into the column that is titled v_categories_name_1. For a products_description, the v_products_description_1 column will be populated with the description to be presented in English.

So... How are sub-categories handled? Well, for English, all information has to be placed under the v_categories_name_1 column, but somehow the main category has to be identified to have a sub-category.... This is done by listing the main category separated by something and then followed by the sub-category of that main category. In a default EP4 installation, that dividing character is the carat (^) (shift 6 on a Standard US based computer keyboard).

For your example, the category information to put a product in the sub-category of Size 6 under Shoes, then the information in the field (column of v_categories_name_1) would be:

Shoes^Size 6


For the product that is to be in Size 7 of Shoes:
Shoes^Size 7

Now if you had a category that was a sub-sub-category, then something like:

Shoes^Blue^Size 6

Would place the product of that row into the Size 6 sub-category of the Blue category that is in the Shoes category....

Such above information would also be displayed in the output file if product were exported.

As to "several years ago", EP4 has been around for a long time thanks to the work of several others before me (as can be seen by going to the first post of this thread). This version though works differently than others have worked.

Does that help at all?

If you look back through this thread (use a search in the forum or perhaps even better from your favorite internet search tool) for say CONCATENATE, then there are instructions provided throughout about how you can "convert" an existing import file from the way that/those versions of Easy Populate operated to how EP4 works.... I know that I have provided such instruction multiple times but haven't gone back myself anytime recently to locate the posts...

For an example in say cell Y2:
=IF(N2<>"", CONCATENATE(M2,"^",N2),M2) & IF(O2<>"",CONCATENATE("^",O2),"") & IF(P2<>"",CONCATENATE("^",P2),"")

That would combine four cells together into a single cell where all of the content is combined as "expected". That result could then be copied to your v_categories_name_1 field....

[RichBarnett]

No problem. The questions were asked to help ensure that we are/would be on the same page.

Okay, so... If English is the only language that is used, then when working with fields that are language based such as "v_categories_name" the _1 that follows will assign the data to the language that is identified as having a language_id of 1... In a standard default install of Zen Cart that will be English.

So, to identify the category name information for English in a standard install, that data will go into the column that is titled v_categories_name_1. For a products_description, the v_products_description_1 column will be populated with the description to be presented in English.

So... How are sub-categories handled? Well, for English, all information has to be placed under the v_categories_name_1 column, but somehow the main category has to be identified to have a sub-category.... This is done by listing the main category separated by something and then followed by the sub-category of that main category. In a default EP4 installation, that dividing character is the carat (^) (shift 6 on a Standard US based computer keyboard).

For your example, the category information to put a product in the sub-category of Size 6 under Shoes, then the information in the field (column of v_categories_name_1) would be:

Shoes^Size 6


For the product that is to be in Size 7 of Shoes:
Shoes^Size 7

Now if you had a category that was a sub-sub-category, then something like:

Shoes^Blue^Size 6

Would place the product of that row into the Size 6 sub-category of the Blue category that is in the Shoes category....

Such above information would also be displayed in the output file if product were exported.

As to "several years ago", EP4 has been around for a long time thanks to the work of several others before me (as can be seen by going to the first post of this thread). This version though works differently than others have worked.

Does that help at all?

If you look back through this thread (use a search in the forum or perhaps even better from your favorite internet search tool) for say CONCATENATE, then there are instructions provided throughout about how you can "convert" an existing import file from the way that/those versions of Easy Populate operated to how EP4 works.... I know that I have provided such instruction multiple times but haven't gone back myself anytime recently to locate the posts...

For an example in say cell Y2:
=IF(N2<>"", CONCATENATE(M2,"^",N2),M2) & IF(O2<>"",CONCATENATE("^",O2),"") & IF(P2<>"",CONCATENATE("^",P2),"")

That would combine four cells together into a single cell where all of the content is combined as "expected". That result could then be copied to your v_categories_name_1 field....

Well, that has just worked superbly!

Thank you for your extensive and comprehensive responses on this! Really appreciated.

Best, Rich

[mc12345678]

Well, that has just worked superbly!

Thank you for your extensive and comprehensive responses on this! Really appreciated.

Best, Rich

Excellent! Now, thing is though that if this new site wasn't restored back to before the "problem" import *and* if it is not (re-)designed to support product in categories with sub-categories, then need to take action to basically remove linked product from those "parent" categories.

At the moment I forget the detail, but it is covered in the instruction about reassigning the master_categories_id using the status value of 7.

If it was just a development site (recommended for initial testing) then restoring the database should be easy.

[RichBarnett]

No, that's all fine as I'm taking the opportunity to re-design my categories so I'm not taking a straight copy. Everything is being uploaded in stages and is working well so far.