Database I/O Manager (DbIo) Plugin [Support Thread]

[mcqueeneycoins]

I just ran a quick Products update (using demo data) with the following CSV

v_products_id,v_products_model,v_products_quantity,v_dbio_command
1,MG200MMS-updated,28,

The model for product-id 1 was MG200MMS prior to that import; after the import it was MG200MMS-updated.

I must have made an error somewhere--I just tried to do the same with a different product and lo and behold it updated. But, if I change the categories, it still creates a linked product rather than moving the product altogether. I guess as long as I keep the replacement products within the same category it should work for what I'm trying to do.

Appreciate the help from everyone involved. If there is a way to move the product without linking it, please let me know.

[chadlly2003]

Zencart 2.1
dbio-2.0.1

I just started using this today. I have two questions.

First is how do we add an item if its not in the system. For example I dont have a v_products_id until i add it to the website. Like it did on ep4

Also from testing when i export my products my special price goes under v_products_price_sorter. When i try and change the price nothing happens on the front end.
How could i add the special pricing into the original product upload

[lat9]

There's additional documentation on the plugin's GitHub repository: https://github.com/lat9/dbio/wiki

The docs for the ProductsHandler identify how to manipulate a product (like adding or removing).

DbIo's readme includes information regarding the various I/O handlers provided (see the Customization :: I/O Handlers section). There's a specific handler for Specials; it's not present in the base Products handler.

[chadlly2003]

Okay i managed to get the hang of this thing. The only issue I have is Special pricing.

Is this the best way to update special pricing when adding a new item

- create product (using products handler)
- then I have to export again to get the new product ids from the product i created.
- then i have to add it to the(special handler template) (there is no id created in special field when adding a product so i have to match it up with what's on the product handler


Is there a way i can add the special price to the product handler so i dont have to do all these steps. Seems like a lot of work compared to ep4 unless I am misunderstanding.

[chadlly2003]

I had some time to explore and experiment with DBIO as you can tell from all my post. The biggest challenge was adapting to the differences compared to EP4, but overall, I found DBIO to be a solid program.

One suggestion I have for improvement is to include a note in the documentation about adding new products. Specifically, mention that you need to set v_products_id to 0 when adding a new product. This detail was a bit confusing until I came across it in a forum thread.

That said, the documentation was well-written and made the learning process much easier—great job on that!

During my testing, I noticed a potential issue: when a template is created, it cannot be deleted. Attempting to do so simply refreshes the page without removing the template.

[lat9]

Okay i managed to get the hang of this thing. The only issue I have is Special pricing.

Is this the best way to update special pricing when adding a new item

- create product (using products handler)
- then I have to export again to get the new product ids from the product i created.
- then i have to add it to the(special handler template) (there is no id created in special field when adding a product so i have to match it up with what's on the product handler


Is there a way i can add the special price to the product handler so i dont have to do all these steps. Seems like a lot of work compared to ep4 unless I am misunderstanding.

Unfortunately, due to the complexity of Specials, adding that to the Product handler isn't possible.

[lat9]

I had some time to explore and experiment with DBIO as you can tell from all my post. The biggest challenge was adapting to the differences compared to EP4, but overall, I found DBIO to be a solid program.

One suggestion I have for improvement is to include a note in the documentation about adding new products. Specifically, mention that you need to set v_products_id to 0 when adding a new product. This detail was a bit confusing until I came across it in a forum thread.

That said, the documentation was well-written and made the learning process much easier—great job on that!

During my testing, I noticed a potential issue: when a template is created, it cannot be deleted. Attempting to do so simply refreshes the page without removing the template.

Thanks for the report that a template, once created, cannot be removed. I've created this GitHub issue for tracking: https://github.com/lat9/dbio/issues/222

[mcqueeneycoins]

Quick question regarding the date added column--I have tried updating the date using DBIO and have tried a couple different date formats, but nothing seems to work. Most formats give me an error message on upload about the invalid date format, default value being used, but the format that doesn't give me an error message doesn't actually change the date. Is there a special way I can get the date added to change? Using excel the only format DBIO import seems to allow is 12/24/2024 5:47:00 AM, but again doesn't actually update the field. I've got 4,000+ products I'm trying to "reset" date added for...don't want to manually update each one in phpmyadmin. Thanks!

[lat9]

Quick question regarding the date added column--I have tried updating the date using DBIO and have tried a couple different date formats, but nothing seems to work. Most formats give me an error message on upload about the invalid date format, default value being used, but the format that doesn't give me an error message doesn't actually change the date. Is there a special way I can get the date added to change? Using excel the only format DBIO import seems to allow is 12/24/2024 5:47:00 AM, but again doesn't actually update the field. I've got 4,000+ products I'm trying to "reset" date added for...don't want to manually update each one in phpmyadmin. Thanks!

A product's date-added is not changeable on an update; it's only set (to the current date/time) when a product is added.

[mcqueeneycoins]

A product's date-added is not changeable on an update; it's only set (to the current date/time) when a product is added.

Ah, bummer! Is it something I could update via sql command (and, if so, what would that command look like)? I basically want to reset the date added on all products to match the launch date of the site, when it's ready. Thanks!