Implications of Master Category ID Reset on Linked Products

[mc12345678]

What condition would result in the master category changing using what version of Easy Populate?

Would seem would want to not have that possibility.

[mexico]

What condition would result in the master category changing using what version of Easy Populate?

Would seem would want to not have that possibility.

I'm pretty sure all versions of Easy Populate do this if you do the following:

1. Download a CSV file with a product that has linked references, resulting in multiple entries for the same product model.
2. Keep only one of the entries for modification purposes, but not knowing if such entry is the one that contains the Master Category ID (it is difficult to keep track of this when you are handling thousands of products).
3. Upload the modified CSV file. The entry included in this CSV file will then become the new Master Category ID.

I tested this a couple of times with Zen Cart 1.5.1 and Easy Populate v1.2.5.7c.

[mc12345678]

I'm pretty sure all versions of Easy Populate do this if you do the following:

1. Download a CSV file with a product that has linked references, resulting in multiple entries for the same product model.
2. Keep only one of the entries for modification purposes, but not knowing if such entry is the one that contains the Master Category ID (it is difficult to keep track of this when you are handling thousands of products).
3. Upload the modified CSV file. The entry included in this CSV file will then become the new Master Category ID.

I tested this a couple of times with Zen Cart 1.5.1 and Easy Populate v1.2.5.7c.

Not the case with EasyPopulate v4 (https://www.zen-cart.com/showthread....Support-Thread), unless the Master_category_ID is downloaded then changed from the original and again uploaded with the modified master_category_id. Otherwise it leaves the master_category_id alone, but may cause additional linked product if the category information is changed.

[vickilapp]

Not the case with EasyPopulate v4 (https://www.zen-cart.com/showthread....Support-Thread), unless the Master_category_ID is downloaded then changed from the original and again uploaded with the modified master_category_id. Otherwise it leaves the master_category_id alone, but may cause additional linked product if the category information is changed.

Does anyone know how to do a mass change of master category? We've created a new category called "Purple Rain", where we've linked all of our purple beads. I want to do a sale on purple beads, but it doesn't work to use sale maker on the purple rain category, because most of the beads have a different master category. I've got v154 and EasyPopulate v4. Don't want to do it one by one. Thanks in advance!

http://www.beadinspirations.com/purple-rain-c-1029.html

[mc12345678]

Does anyone know how to do a mass change of master category? We've created a new category called "Purple Rain", where we've linked all of our purple beads. I want to do a sale on purple beads, but it doesn't work to use sale maker on the purple rain category, because most of the beads have a different master category. I've got v154 and EasyPopulate v4. Don't want to do it one by one. Thanks in advance!

http://www.beadinspirations.com/purple-rain-c-1029.html

I've been trying to carefully review the notes I've made about working with master categories and a feature that was added to EP4. The v_status field can be used to accomplish a couple of things, one of which is to move a product from one master category to another. The thing is, it sounds like you want to keep all your existing linked product, but just want the master category to fall under a single category in order to place all such items on sale.

So a v_status of 7 will move a product from whatever category it is in and make it's master category the category that is indicated by the categories_name_X text. It will then as applicable and remove the product from its previous category. To keep the product in its previous category(ies) (linked) basically the entry for the product to indicate the master category should be before other entries of the same product.

If you don't have unique model #s for all of your product, you can add products_id to the user defined field(s) in the configuration and then change to using products_id or blank_new, export your existing data, sort the data on your primary key, find the product that you want to "centralize", for the first instance of each product add a row of data with the category(ies) identified to this new master category, and change the v_status field for that row only to 7.
Backup database.
Upload,
Import
Verify information,
Backup again for "safety".

[vickilapp]

Thanks for the info. I tried what I understood your suggestion to be.

I set up the easy populate v_status column to be 7, and uploaded and imported, but it did not change the master category. Each item does have a unique model number, and it is listed in more than one category. Ultimately I changed each item's master category one by one, which takes too long. In the future, is there a way to use Easy Populate to do this? Maybe I'm doing it wrong? It would be helpful to have a step-by-step instruction, if this is possible. Thanks so much for your help with this.!

Vicki

[mc12345678]

On the row where the status was set to 7, was the v_categories_name_X field populated to be the desired master category?

The row(s) that follow with status of 0 or 1 for that product would then be linked to the first.

As to offering instruction, I'm pretty sure that even if I provided a step-by-step, which I'll try to incorporate into the next Rev for various operations, there will be one or more usages that I'll miss. I admit that the guidance appears to be hidden in the revision notes, the original intention was to offer a way to remove linked product, but knowing that the master category was the object of revision it also serves the purpose requested and doesn't drop the necessary relationships in the database.