easy populate 4, getting a feed to work headache, please help?

[mc12345678]

can anyone assist me with getting the feed to divert these items to a subcategory for the category i define it to go to please?

there's no subcategory column header from what i can see in the database, I could have just replaced main categories for a default value of the category i wanted and then used the suppliers info for category titles for subcategory titles header and problem solved

Ok, so I've commented and posted over the last few posts about some "ideas" that could be implemented. Here is what I understand and then from there, you may need to adjust, choose or otherwise revise how things are done.

First of all, back in post #4 I described how the information needs to be listed within v_categories_name_1 to place a product in a sub-category of a category...

Having a v_categories_mame_1 field populated as described there for a product row will place in (if a new product) or link to (if already in the database) that category path.

Now with that information/knowledge, if the vendor provides a product/product update and assigns it to category "Foo", then when it is first added to the database it will only exist in category "Foo". But, if the product has been stored in category "Foo" and also has been linked to category "Wid^gets^Many", then whatever information has been updated about the product will be seen everywhere that it is linked including in "Wid^gets^Many". Now, you say, but I don't want the category "Foo", so disable that category (but keep the product active) and when the customer will in a round about way be able to find the product only in "Wid^gets^Many". But... There is one other thing about that situation... If the customer is not really supposed to know about the category "Foo", then the master_categories_id needs to be updated to a category to which they are to readily have access.... This can be done by having the product listed two times in a file where the first time reassigns the v_master_categories_id to the "Wid^gets^Many" category (v_status of 7 with v_categories_name_1 of "Wid^gets^Many") and the second time to "add" the product to its vendor supplied category (v_categories_name_1 of "Foo").

The importance of this last action is so that the canonical URL (Single address to uniquely get to this one product no matter in how many categories it is linked) will be in a category that is customer accessible.

As far as the database, a category has a parent category. If that parent category is 0, then the category is located immediately off the top of the category list. Further, there is an expectation that any category looking at its parent and its parent's parent, etc... doesn't end up in a loop. (e.g. would be bad if category 3's parent is 2, whose parent is 1, whose parent is 3) That is an unnatural condition, but when people meddle with the database they could cause that sort of condition.

So, there are options... You could link all of your product to the desired category(ies), by uploading a "modified" file of what the vendor has provided where the only information in the file is the unique key (v_products_model in a default install) and the v_categories_name_1 field (if that's all you want to modify), I say that, but I think there has been comment that the v_status column may need to also be included which is something I have for the next version to address along with the products_type (sorry I digress), anyways, with the unique key and the field(s) to change or retain, that file will perform the action(s) of linking the product to the category(ies) desired. If in that file all of the status for a unique product is set to 7 then that category will become the master category. Suggestion would then to be again upload the vendor provided file and the product would be linked to the vendor defined category(ies). Disable the vendor provided categories that are not to be shown to the customer. Now when updates to those existing product are made, the update(s) will be shown to the customer. If a new product is provided, well, it will appear in the vendor provided category (visible from the admin), but not be linked to a desired category and that new product would need to be "reassigned" in a similar way as above.

There are other methods of doing this though I can't think of any single solitary silver bullet, but a lot of it depends on what you have accessible from the vendor's site, how you manage obtaining new files to update the product, how many such vendors are used, the possibility of additional unique code, categories to be used and how to assign product to them, etc... Need to really really really sit down and plan on what you have on the one side, what you want to have on the other side and how much work can be automated between the two... The more time you spend on doing "routine" tasks, the less time you have to really run your store...

[flappingfish]

Need to really really really sit down and plan on what you have on the one side, what you want to have on the other side and how much work can be automated between the two... The more time you spend on doing "routine" tasks, the less time you have to really run your store...

agreed it seems almost customisable to work like a dream with zencart its just this one issue that i cant solve, the images issue for now is something that can be solved easy enough by developers but this part has baffled 4 off us.

at minute i just have the supplier provided categories under v_categories_name_1 and no way to prefix it on the suppliers side to enter the subcategory of the computing category. As you said it is indeed updating items in the subcategories that i'd already listed so perhaps the easiest way is to just move them and then delete the column "v_categories name_1"

i do have a feed file with the master category id of "83" (computing) for every product but it ignores that completely as it obviously already has category id's assigned for the supplier made categories from the feeds i've uploaded.

how would the feed act if i provided the "master category id" column with the 83 code and left out the "category name" column after moving the categories it inserted for these items over to the one main category to become sub categories? would that then update the products?

[mc12345678]

As provided and as previously identified as configured, the v_master_categories in the import will have no effect. It is provided on the export for information. In fact any field desired for say "internal" processing could be included in the import file and it will be ignored IF the field doesn't align with one basically expected by Zen Cart.

As to omission of v_categories_name_1 from an import file, product that exist will be updated for all things included except the product will not be assigned to any other category as part of the import. This also means that new product will be ignored as part of the upload because they will not have a category assigned.

So, yes, if all of the existing product are linked or moved to a desired sub-category, they will get updated on import, but new product (not previously in the database) will be skipped.

In attempt to upload a file that includes existing product and uses the vendor provided v_categories_name_1 field will cause the product to be linked to whatever category name/path that the vendor has provided. If that means that the previous categories get recreated, then that will happen again... Provided the v_status is not set to 7, then the product will remain in the master category it was in and will also be "placed" in the category identified. Note, a v_status value of 9 will cause the product to be deleted from the database, so that too is a value to avoid unless specifically desired to delete that/those product.

[flappingfish]

a v_status value of 9 will cause the product to be deleted from the database, so that too is a value to avoid unless specifically desired to delete that/those product.

following your advice to the best of my ability we are slowly getting closer. i've done as advised and moved the categories to where i wanted them, re running the feed did indeed recreate those categories so i disabled them. products in the moved categories didnt need updating as it was the same file. i then took the latest feed file to get everything to tally up with the suppliers site. When I ran the new feed i found that these items had been updated in the subcategories.

upon checking it seems i need to now concentrate on this product status set to 7

i'm currently using v_status of 1, is it simply a case of changing that to become 7?



took me about 15 minutes too sort out moving the categories that had different figures for the items in there which wasnt too bad but its time spent on something that can be sorted with what you quoted above.

just the image issue now. apologies for the delay in response also. my computer was in the wrong place for me to use it as often as i wanted so spent a day moving it and tidying up and only just realised you replied as i missed the email notification it seems

[flappingfish]

To change the master_category_id for a product to be the category of the current row set the status to 7.

Just to clarify from the read me it sounds like perhaps maybe you put v_status instead of v_master_categories_id ?
If thats the case I can have this sorted in seconds :)

[flappingfish]

Just realised my products that have imported have the word "NAN" in the qty box had a look and added v_products_quantity_order_min and reran the fresh feed file. seems all the items in the deactivated categories are fine but in the live categories it says "NAN" still using a master category id of 7 so i don't think ive read the readme right on that part maybe it is v_products_status of 7 i'm missing?

[flappingfish]

Just realised my products that have imported have the word "NAN" in the qty box had a look and added v_products_quantity_order_min and reran the fresh feed file. seems all the items in the deactivated categories are fine but in the live categories it says "NAN" still using a master category id of 7 so i don't think ive read the readme right on that part maybe it is v_products_status of 7 i'm missing?

product status of 7 hides all items?