EasyPopulate 4.0 Support Thread

[mc12345678]

Okay, I need help with two issues I am experiencing. One is easier to explain and the other I will explain and if you need more clarification to make sense of it please ask questions.

1. The first issue is with upc field. We have some products with upc code starting with zeros. Something like, 000768251143. When I generate an export file. The csv file that is generated drops the leading zeros in the upc column. 000768251143 becomes 768251143. Is there a way to protect this field during file generation to treat it as a text field so the numbers are not messed up? I did not have this issue with previous easy populate that uses text file instead of csv file. I will greatly appreciate any help in solving this issue as this is a show stopper.

2. The second problem is when I export a file, some of the description fields are empty even though they have content. There's nothing unique about the products that are missing descriptions so I am not sure how tell you how to duplicate this problem. However, it seems that the seem products that are dropping description fields on export remains the same (which makes me think there's something common between them even if I can see it).

I will appreciate any help to get to the bottom of these two issues.

Thanks!

Thank you so much for the clarification. As suggested, I tested the downloaded file in my text editor and everything looks as expected. This is good and it means there's no problem with Easy Populate with regards to the file that's generated. As you rightly suggested, I noticed that Open Office have a function to indicate the column type and once I changed it to text for the upc column everything worked as expected with the leading zeros preserved. This means that issue is resolved with regards to the leading zeros. Thank you so much for your time and troubleshooting with me.

With regards to the description field, I am going to play with it a bit and report back my findings. The strange thing is even though when I open the file in Open Office, some product description are missing in the field, if I close the file and open it in the text editor, the descriptions are there just not showing when I open it Open Office. Strange I know (unless there's a maximum length for a cell in Open Office). I will play around and see what I find out.

Thanks!

So for clarification, the remaining problem is that when opening your CSV with open office, the description field does not contain all the information that is expected, though it always had some amount of information when looking in OO. (Ie, no description fields that have information on ZC are totally blank in OO.) The next thing (which was under investigation) was to determine if the truncated fields are of a consistent length. I might suggest an equation applied to each row to gather the length of the cell(s) in question and then perform a max at the bottom of that column to determine if there is a max that means anything. In light of an unusual max like 3965 (not a multiple of 2^x or (2^x)-1) I would think that the issue is related to a character or sequence of characters that OO is acting on. If so (OO acting on) then would need to identify the offending character(s) using a standard text editor, change, delete, replace, the character(s) and then try to open the file in OO again.

With the above hopefully correctly summarized current condition, maybe someone else has some "words of wisdom". There maybe issues related with character conversion (ie was the current database updated to where it is now UTF-8 from a previous version, was something like Microsoft Access used at one point to populate the database, etc...) Your assistance would help identify how to proceed and what caused the problem you are experiencing.

[k1ra]

How do I uninstall Easy Populate?

I got an error when trying to run the install.sql in Admin

'WARNING: An Error occurred, please refresh the page and try again.'

In phpMyAdmin the error says

SQL query:

INSERT INTO admin_pages
VALUES (
'easyPopulate', 'BOX_TOOLS_EASY_POPULATE', 'FILENAME_EASYPOPULATE', '', 'tools', 'Y', @configuration_group_id
);

MySQL said: Documentation
#1062 - Duplicate entry 'easyPopulate' for key 'page_key'

and thus I have no Admin->Configuration->Easy Populate menu item.

The Admin->Tools->Easy Populate required me changing all the php [<? ] tags in the tempEP/fileList.php, since I cannot for some reasons get shortcodes enabled on my localhost.

When I upload a file with two sample items, I get an error 1054

MySQL error 1054: Unknown column 'EASYPOPULATE_CONFIG_CUSTOM_FIELDS' in 'field list'
When executing:
INSERT INTO products SET
						products_model					=	'P1010669' ,
						products_price					=	'15.9' ,
						products_image					=	'P1010669.jpg' ,
						products_weight					=	'0' ,
						products_tax_class_id			=	'' ,
						products_date_available			=	'' ,
						products_date_added				=	CURRENT_TIMESTAMP ,
						products_last_modified			=	CURRENT_TIMESTAMP ,
						products_quantity				=	'3' ,
						master_categories_id			=	'9' ,
						manufacturers_id				=	'1',
						products_status					=	'1',
						metatags_title_status			=	'',
						metatags_products_name_status	=	'',
						metatags_model_status			=	'',
						metatags_price_status			=	'',
						metatags_title_tagline_status	=	'' , EASYPOPULATE_CONFIG_CUSTOM_FIELDS='' 
MySQL error 1054: Unknown column 'EASYPOPULATE_CONFIG_CUSTOM_FIELDS' in 'field list'
When executing:
INSERT INTO products SET
						products_model					=	'J17960B' ,
						products_price					=	'15' ,
						products_image					=	'P1010328.jpg' ,
						products_weight					=	'0.5' ,
						products_tax_class_id			=	'' ,
						products_date_available			=	'' ,
						products_date_added				=	CURRENT_TIMESTAMP ,
						products_last_modified			=	CURRENT_TIMESTAMP ,
						products_quantity				=	'2' ,
						master_categories_id			=	'9' ,
						manufacturers_id				=	'1',
						products_status					=	'1',
						metatags_title_status			=	'',
						metatags_products_name_status	=	'',
						metatags_model_status			=	'',
						metatags_price_status			=	'',
						metatags_title_tagline_status	=	'' , EASYPOPULATE_CONFIG_CUSTOM_FIELDS=''

I can only gather this is stemming from whatever options should be showing in Admin->Configuration->Easy Populate.

So...how do I a)get the configuration menu item to show OR b)uninstall this thing and try again?

[mc12345678]

How do I uninstall Easy Populate?

I got an error when trying to run the install.sql in Admin

'WARNING: An Error occurred, please refresh the page and try again.'

In phpMyAdmin the error says

SQL query:

INSERT INTO admin_pages
VALUES (
'easyPopulate', 'BOX_TOOLS_EASY_POPULATE', 'FILENAME_EASYPOPULATE', '', 'tools', 'Y', @configuration_group_id
);

MySQL said: Documentation
#1062 - Duplicate entry 'easyPopulate' for key 'page_key'

and thus I have no Admin->Configuration->Easy Populate menu item.

The Admin->Tools->Easy Populate required me changing all the php [<? ] tags in the tempEP/fileList.php, since I cannot for some reasons get shortcodes enabled on my localhost.

When I upload a file with two sample items, I get an error 1054

MySQL error 1054: Unknown column 'EASYPOPULATE_CONFIG_CUSTOM_FIELDS' in 'field list'
When executing:
INSERT INTO products SET
						products_model					=	'P1010669' ,
						products_price					=	'15.9' ,
						products_image					=	'P1010669.jpg' ,
						products_weight					=	'0' ,
						products_tax_class_id			=	'' ,
						products_date_available			=	'' ,
						products_date_added				=	CURRENT_TIMESTAMP ,
						products_last_modified			=	CURRENT_TIMESTAMP ,
						products_quantity				=	'3' ,
						master_categories_id			=	'9' ,
						manufacturers_id				=	'1',
						products_status					=	'1',
						metatags_title_status			=	'',
						metatags_products_name_status	=	'',
						metatags_model_status			=	'',
						metatags_price_status			=	'',
						metatags_title_tagline_status	=	'' , EASYPOPULATE_CONFIG_CUSTOM_FIELDS='' 
MySQL error 1054: Unknown column 'EASYPOPULATE_CONFIG_CUSTOM_FIELDS' in 'field list'
When executing:
INSERT INTO products SET
						products_model					=	'J17960B' ,
						products_price					=	'15' ,
						products_image					=	'P1010328.jpg' ,
						products_weight					=	'0.5' ,
						products_tax_class_id			=	'' ,
						products_date_available			=	'' ,
						products_date_added				=	CURRENT_TIMESTAMP ,
						products_last_modified			=	CURRENT_TIMESTAMP ,
						products_quantity				=	'2' ,
						master_categories_id			=	'9' ,
						manufacturers_id				=	'1',
						products_status					=	'1',
						metatags_title_status			=	'',
						metatags_products_name_status	=	'',
						metatags_model_status			=	'',
						metatags_price_status			=	'',
						metatags_title_tagline_status	=	'' , EASYPOPULATE_CONFIG_CUSTOM_FIELDS=''

I can only gather this is stemming from whatever options should be showing in Admin->Configuration->Easy Populate.

So...how do I a)get the configuration menu item to show OR b)uninstall this thing and try again?

Unfortunately I don't know the answer about uninstalling, but it looks like you may be missing a language file which would seem to explain the error message text.

[mc12345678]

Unfortunately I don't know the answer about uninstalling, but it looks like you may be missing a language file which would seem to explain the error message text.

Okay, although I didn't have a chance to find exactly where that variable is, (ie if in admin panel or not), but I didn't find it in a code search. So my guess is that I was wrong above.

My suggestion might be to reinstall the files. Something doesn't seem right to me about sending a variable to the SQL statement rather than the value being substituted for the variable.

[mc12345678]

How do I uninstall Easy Populate?

I got an error when trying to run the install.sql in Admin

'WARNING: An Error occurred, please refresh the page and try again.'

In phpMyAdmin the error says

SQL query:

INSERT INTO admin_pages
VALUES (
'easyPopulate', 'BOX_TOOLS_EASY_POPULATE', 'FILENAME_EASYPOPULATE', '', 'tools', 'Y', @configuration_group_id
);

MySQL said: Documentation
#1062 - Duplicate entry 'easyPopulate' for key 'page_key'

and thus I have no Admin->Configuration->Easy Populate menu item.

The Admin->Tools->Easy Populate required me changing all the php [<? ] tags in the tempEP/fileList.php, since I cannot for some reasons get shortcodes enabled on my localhost.

When I upload a file with two sample items, I get an error 1054

MySQL error 1054: Unknown column 'EASYPOPULATE_CONFIG_CUSTOM_FIELDS' in 'field list'
When executing:
INSERT INTO products SET
						products_model					=	'P1010669' ,
						products_price					=	'15.9' ,
						products_image					=	'P1010669.jpg' ,
						products_weight					=	'0' ,
						products_tax_class_id			=	'' ,
						products_date_available			=	'' ,
						products_date_added				=	CURRENT_TIMESTAMP ,
						products_last_modified			=	CURRENT_TIMESTAMP ,
						products_quantity				=	'3' ,
						master_categories_id			=	'9' ,
						manufacturers_id				=	'1',
						products_status					=	'1',
						metatags_title_status			=	'',
						metatags_products_name_status	=	'',
						metatags_model_status			=	'',
						metatags_price_status			=	'',
						metatags_title_tagline_status	=	'' , EASYPOPULATE_CONFIG_CUSTOM_FIELDS='' 
MySQL error 1054: Unknown column 'EASYPOPULATE_CONFIG_CUSTOM_FIELDS' in 'field list'
When executing:
INSERT INTO products SET
						products_model					=	'J17960B' ,
						products_price					=	'15' ,
						products_image					=	'P1010328.jpg' ,
						products_weight					=	'0.5' ,
						products_tax_class_id			=	'' ,
						products_date_available			=	'' ,
						products_date_added				=	CURRENT_TIMESTAMP ,
						products_last_modified			=	CURRENT_TIMESTAMP ,
						products_quantity				=	'2' ,
						master_categories_id			=	'9' ,
						manufacturers_id				=	'1',
						products_status					=	'1',
						metatags_title_status			=	'',
						metatags_products_name_status	=	'',
						metatags_model_status			=	'',
						metatags_price_status			=	'',
						metatags_title_tagline_status	=	'' , EASYPOPULATE_CONFIG_CUSTOM_FIELDS=''

I can only gather this is stemming from whatever options should be showing in Admin->Configuration->Easy Populate.

So...how do I a)get the configuration menu item to show OR b)uninstall this thing and try again?

So, I've reread your original statement above. I don't currently have access to a computer to review the code and identify which value is supposed to be the pagekey, but if you identify which of the values of the errant SQL is the page key, then, go into mySQLadmin and identify the duplicate entry to possibly delete it and rerun the SQL statement(s) that provide the menu option(s) that you are missing possibly to rename/renumber the page key so that you are then able to successfully use EP4.

As to short tags, that would be in your php.ini and may require resetting cache/sessions after change, or waiting if your host/the version of PHP allows.

[k1ra]

So, I've reread your original statement above. I don't currently have access to a computer to review the code and identify which value is supposed to be the pagekey, but if you identify which of the values of the errant SQL is the page key, then, go into mySQLadmin and identify the duplicate entry to possibly delete it and rerun the SQL statement(s) that provide the menu option(s) that you are missing possibly to rename/renumber the page key so that you are then able to successfully use EP4.

As to short tags, that would be in your php.ini and may require resetting cache/sessions after change, or waiting if your host/the version of PHP allows.

Finally got around to this again...and THANK YOU for giving me an idea of where to go..

I ended up going into phpMyAdmin, navigating to the admin_pages table, and deleting the BOX_TOOLS_EASY_POPULATE value. I re-ran the install.sql, which ran correctly this time and viola! Menu item for Easy Populate now appears under Admin->Configuration.

[k1ra]

One step forward...still another to figure out I am still getting the MySQL error 1054: Unknown column 'EASYPOPULATE_CONFIG_CUSTOM_FIELDS' in 'field list'...when trying to import 2 test products.

It has got me stumped.

I should add that exporting a csv of the two products [different from the 2 being imported] that already exist on my site, EP does not download any data.

[mc12345678]

One step forward...still another to figure out I am still getting the MySQL error 1054: Unknown column 'EASYPOPULATE_CONFIG_CUSTOM_FIELDS' in 'field list'...when trying to import 2 test products.

It has got me stumped.

I should add that exporting a csv of the two products [different from the 2 being imported] that already exist on my site, EP does not download any data.

Referencing my ever knowing resource, it looks like you may still have some remnants of another version of easy populate installed. Although this is called EP version 4, it is not a "one-for-one" upgrade, but a unique product of it's own. So there may be some mixing and matching of code between this and your site. Have you tried using the tools-developers tool kit to search through all files catalog and admin, of file type php for the term described above?

[jwaynehinkle]

I am using easy populate to populate the data from different manufactures on my site, I currently load every product into my all products category and have been manually linking them to there respected categories from within the admin panel, this take a ridiculous amount of time to accomplish when it was only 100-200 products it was not that big of a deal, however I am no loading thousands at a time, I am wondering is there any way to tell easy populate to "link" the product not "duplicate" the product into multiple categories/sub categories, I read through the wiki page, and have searched all over the forum and have not been able to find the answer or if I did maybe I did not understand what it was I was looking at.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks
J

[mc12345678]

I am using easy populate to populate the data from different manufactures on my site, I currently load every product into my all products category and have been manually linking them to there respected categories from within the admin panel, this take a ridiculous amount of time to accomplish when it was only 100-200 products it was not that big of a deal, however I am no loading thousands at a time, I am wondering is there any way to tell easy populate to "link" the product not "duplicate" the product into multiple categories/sub categories, I read through the wiki page, and have searched all over the forum and have not been able to find the answer or if I did maybe I did not understand what it was I was looking at.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks
J

When you say that you are using easy populate, are you referring to this version of it, or another?
With regards to this version of easy populate, the readme states:

2) You MUST use products_models to distinguish your products for import. Any record with a blank v_products_model entry will be skipped.
Also note that is you enter the same products_model twice, the latest record entry will over-write any previous entries. The exception
here is if you enter a different category; this will result in a linked product. "Duplicate" products with the same products_model number
is not supported. If you have these entries in your database, you may get unpredictable results.

So, it would seem that this will create two linked products if you change only the category for the product(s).

As for the way that new information has been updated, that does sound labor intensive, to import under a general group then to use the database to move it around, especially if you already know where it is going to end up. Why not just start with the desired location and bypass all the extra effort?

There are multiple ways to import information, each has it's own filename prefix, and each performs a slightly different action applicable to the data that you get when you export that type of file. It is rather easy, but unfortunately the documentation is currently limited. May have to review the code to figure out exactly how to get in what you are expecting. I can say this, if you export a file, then only rename the date portion of it at the end, it will upload the same data exported. Have to also watch what type of editor(s) used.