EasyPopulate 4.0 Support Thread

[mc12345678]

Okay...So I added a zip file to a product in the store, downloaded the detailed csv file, added a couple of more products with the same format that was on the spreadsheet, saved it, uploaded it into the Easy Populate and clicked the Import link and got this for an errors:

Located at the top of the page:
File Import Completed with issues.

Located at the bottom of the page:
SKIPPED! - Attribute Entry on Model: 2 - Not Found!
SKIPPED! - Attribute Entry on Model: 3 - Not Found!

It's telling me there were 2 errors detected but generated no TXT file with them...

I do appreciate your thorough explanation of how this works and I understand what you are saying. I appreciate it because if I can get this figured out this will be a very useful tool moving forward for future installs. :)

Did you do a basic attribute add to the two new products before downloading the detailed attributes? (Or within ZC add the attributes to the product without assigning all of the detail at the bottom).

Here is how I see the process generally running though I haven't gone back to confirm this exact sequence (and I think I provided something similar several pages back).
add a basic product, add a basic attribute to the product, add detailed product data, add detailed attributes for the product.

Basically, saying that basic data should be added before detailed data. Once a product is fully loaded in, changes can be made using the detailed data.

From the description above, I don't see that the attributes were captured to the product fully. The detailed attributes file includes specific data that is in the database after a basic attribute upload. (the id number). While it could have been programmed with less steps (looking up the attribute_id based on the name of the attribute), the overall flow is upload a basic file, download the detailed, make a change, upload the detailed. If want more options/data tied to the product, upload a new basic, download detailed, mod detailed, upload detailed...

The lack of the error file means that the code ran fine, but the data it looked for was not present... The error file is created on an actual error in the programming/SQL statement.

Make sense?

[mc12345678]

Also, interestingly, when I click the edit button for one of these new items and simply click Save (without changing any of the fields at all), then the new image suddenly shows perfectly for that product. What does that mean?

This appears to be more of an indication that it is not specifically EP4 that is causing a problem as an interaction with something else or a template issue. There are a number of things that could be going on. The product type may be wrong in the uploaded file invoking the wrong template type to show the product (though still not sure how the image was affected because no link has been provided to your problem area or where something shows correctly), and that by editing and saving (without changes) may rectify something. The file that you are uploading may be missing something that is needed (again no specific data provided), you may have some sort of old/incorrectly uploaded files (state that running 1.5.1; however, was there an upgrade? Are there files that remain that possibly shouldn't do any of the replaced files end with .php instead of .old or some other extension...) Etc... I can't say that I have seen anyone else express this problem, so there is something about your store/use of EP4 that is causing this, unfortunately.

On another note, if you were to upload a new EP4 product, then do the edit/save that you described then download the same detailed EP4 file and compare the row of data associated with the new product, what differences are there if any?

[amandavz]

Okay...so I added 2 products to the Basic with the basic info and then added the same 2 products to the detailed and it gave me the zip file on my 2nd product added. It told me this: SKIPPED! - Attribute Entry on Model: 2 - Not Found! but I think maybe if I try another zip file name it might work.

I'll get back to you with details. :)

[amandavz]

Nope...I added the basic and that worked really well....then I tried to add the detailed with new zip file names and it's giving me this again:

SKIPPED! - Attribute Entry on Model: 1 - Not Found!
SKIPPED! - Attribute Entry on Model: 2 - Not Found!
SKIPPED! - Attribute Entry on Model: 3 - Not Found!

I'm wondering if I should try to leave off the v_products_options_name, v_products_options_type and v_products_options_values_name off of the detailed? It seems a little redundant.

[mc12345678]

Okay...so I added 2 products to the Basic with the basic info and then added the same 2 products to the detailed and it gave me the zip file on my 2nd product added. It told me this: SKIPPED! - Attribute Entry on Model: 2 - Not Found! but I think maybe if I try another zip file name it might work.

I'll get back to you with details. :)

And to be clear, after the two products were added using the basic attributes file, that you downloaded a new detailed attributes file to enter/change the zip file information... Also remember to keep the model_number unique (Ie, if you download and have two rows with the same model number, upload will have a somewhat interesting affect depending on which download/upload you're working with.) I know that you identified that you used model number 1 for one product, and then 2 and 3 for additional products, but and again it depends on which file you are working with, a duplicate model number may cause some "issues". For now keep it simple and should be okay/make sense as you go along. :)

[amandavz]

Okay...so here I am again. I did get model 1 and 3 to show up, for some reason it is not giving me model 2. I had to change the v_products_attributes_id #'s. So this might have something to do with why Model 2 isn't showing.

I am going to work on this for a bit and see now that I have the answer...if I can't maybe get my equation correct. LOL.

Thank you so much for all your help and information...you have truly been a blessing. :)

[mc12345678]

Nope...I added the basic and that worked really well....then I tried to add the detailed with new zip file names and it's giving me this again:

SKIPPED! - Attribute Entry on Model: 1 - Not Found!
SKIPPED! - Attribute Entry on Model: 2 - Not Found!
SKIPPED! - Attribute Entry on Model: 3 - Not Found!

I'm wondering if I should try to leave off the v_products_options_name, v_products_options_type and v_products_options_values_name off of the detailed? It seems a little redundant.

So the only reason to receive this message, is that there is no result from the following query:
SELECT * FROM zhs_products_attributes
WHERE (
products_attributes_id = v_products_attributes_id AND
products_id = v_products_id AND
options_id = v_options_id AND
options_values_id = v_options_values_id ) LIMIT 1;
(which means that if the value associated with the v_variable on the right is not present in your CSV file (check that using a basic text editor) then the error message appears. You should see that in each of the four columns (v_products_attributes_id, v_products_id, v_optinos_id, and v_options_values_id) that there is some data associated with each of those and that data is other than "0", "", or NULL.

If the query results in a find, then it will/should process the data successfully.

[mc12345678]

Nope...I added the basic and that worked really well....then I tried to add the detailed with new zip file names and it's giving me this again:

SKIPPED! - Attribute Entry on Model: 1 - Not Found!
SKIPPED! - Attribute Entry on Model: 2 - Not Found!
SKIPPED! - Attribute Entry on Model: 3 - Not Found!

I'm wondering if I should try to leave off the v_products_options_name, v_products_options_type and v_products_options_values_name off of the detailed? It seems a little redundant.

If I remember correctly, those three fields are simply human readable versions of the fields (instead of a number that corresponds to something). Before I personally could suggest leaving them off, I would have to look at where they are used (if for any import information) and then assess who is using the file because it may make sense now in the "battle" with learning how to use it that it may be redundant, but it may also be worth having in the future to reference back. But as the original programmer has said, some things were added for human convenience, others for necessity. It is still in Beta, so it is always possible that it could end up being revised, or even those that use it can always effect how it works on their own installation.

Best of luck, it really is a powerful tool. I will say that if you plan on using it for your own store or others that you consider the affect of the need for unique model numbers. Generally speaking it is a minor impact on business, and I think having looked briefly at your site it will have no impact other than don't lose track of what your most recent "number" is. :)

If you follow the process of uploading a basic, then downloading a detailed, touch up the things that are specific to the detailed, then upload that, you should not run into any problems generally speaking.

[amandavz]

Hi mc...so I went through an entire process and it seems to all work just fine. Now that I understand the formula. I deleted all of the existing product from the site and started fresh with new products, by adding them via the Full-EP, then I added the basic attributes and then the detailed attributes, went through the checkout and was redirected to the site for my downloads. Worked like a charm. Thanks so much again for all your help.

I do have another question for you...if I want to add "new" products to the Full-EP list (I have like 7,000 on another site) should I delete the existing information loaded onto the spreadsheet and start with my new products or do I leave them all and then add my new products to the bottom? I am scared I might screw something up if they are on the list. Also, the same with the Basic & Detailed csv files? Delete and upload or just add and upload?

Thanks again. :)

[mc12345678]

Hi mc...so I went through an entire process and it seems to all work just fine. Now that I understand the formula. I deleted all of the existing product from the site and started fresh with new products, by adding them via the Full-EP, then I added the basic attributes and then the detailed attributes, went through the checkout and was redirected to the site for my downloads. Worked like a charm. Thanks so much again for all your help.

I do have another question for you...if I want to add "new" products to the Full-EP list (I have like 7,000 on another site) should I delete the existing information loaded onto the spreadsheet and start with my new products or do I leave them all and then add my new products to the bottom? I am scared I might screw something up if they are on the list. Also, the same with the Basic & Detailed csv files? Delete and upload or just add and upload?

Thanks again. :)

So, I would say that is a bit of a personal choice, which may be swayed based on a number of factors. First and foremost, you should always make a backup of your database before making changes such as what this plugin does. So, regardless of what is in the datafile, you should be able to come back to what you had. Now, other things about which way to go could include, as you said the possibility of making a mistake by changing something that is "older" and should not have been changed, if a single filename is used and "backups" are not maintained, a mistake in the future may not be noticed until it is way too late, storing the same information again and again on the server in the same file type will use ever more and more space, having a single file that contains all of the recent information will/could help in the future, splitting the files up and including some sort of date/time info can help make sense of it all.

Personally though, I would take the safest quickest route. I would remove all of the "old" data from the one spreadsheet, incorporate the new (though if you download the info from the other site, there really is no "new"/"old" to worry about. But, I would temporarily merge the two files or perform some other verification to ensure that the model numbers were different between the two sets of data, make necessary changes to the new data, and then upload the whole new thing.

After that, well, have to perform a sort of risk assessment. Just remember, you're probably doing this to make some sort of money, so whatever keeps you in business, minimizes time away from that, and minimizes duplicattion of effort.

Btw, glad that you got it sorted out. It really does work well. :)