Importing products

Hi,

I've been looking at the various options for importing products into my store, and getting more confused / disheartened by the minute. :(

I have hundreds of products, so entering them one by one just isn't an option.

I've read a number of pages on the tutorial about updating products by Excel, but that tutorial was closed in 2006 - is the info there still current / valid? That tutorial begins with the instruction "Capture information from needed tables using phpMyAdmin..." - and I'm already stuck. How / where do I run phhpMyAdmin from? How do I connect to the ZenCart db?

I've looked at EasyPopulate, but not sure where to upload the files to - I've browsed to my htdocs folder on the server where the admin folder exists - is that where I should upload to? There are a few files in EasyPopulate that have the same filename as files that already exist in htdocs, so am I looking at uploading to the wrong place??

Or is there some more recent alternative that I haven't come across yet? Surely importing products is one of the most basic requirements of anyone who's setting up a store - I can't believe there isn't a standard easy-to-use tool available to do it. Please tel me there and I just haven't found it yet!

Thanks,
J.

Easy Populate is currently the most efficient way of mass-uploading product data to your webshop.

But you appear not to understand that this is not a matter of "uploading a spreadsheet file" to some folder on your server, but a mechanism to write data into the database.

Product data is not housed in FILES on your server.

It is housed in DATABASE TABLES AND FIELDS, in a MySQL database that is ASSOCIATED with your zencart files.

Easy Populate is a piece of software that READS the data in a "spreadsheet file". Then takes each bit of that data and appropriately writes it to the database fields and tables, conforming to the database schema that was designed for zencart.

In order for Easy Populate to work on your site, the Easy Populate software has to be resident on your server, within the zencart file installation.

... so the first step is to INSTALL the module into your webshop.

Once the module is correctly installed, it can then be used (via your webshop Admin Panel) to take data out of the "spreadsheet file" and write it into your database.

Have you seen my WIKI on this subject?

http://www.zen-cart.com/wiki/index.php/Easy_Populate

PS:...

I routinely use Easy Populate to manage product data on scores of my clients' websites.

Some of these stores have over 10,000 products.

Easy Populate can add/update this number of products in a few seconds...

Thanks Schoolboy, you've made me feel like there's light at the end of the tunnel. :smile:

I do understand that EasyPopulate just reads the contents of the spreadsheet file, and then writes it to the db - I've done this kind of thing before, but can't see how to get started with this one...

When I said about uploading files to the server, what I mean is that I've downloaded EP to my own machine and unzipped it. So I now have all these files and folders but don't know what to do with them next.

One of the steps on the EP website says "Upload all files as they are to the root directory of your store." - but I don't know where that is (Sorry, I know that's probably really dumb! :unsure: ) My store URL is storename/zencart but when I run my FTP program and browse through the folders on the server, there is no zencart folder...

My file structure on the server is:
\webapps
--- \SiteApp10124
------ \htdocs
------ \images
------ \scripts
------ APP-META.xml

Within the htdocs folder, there are a whole lot of folders, including an admin folder (and an includes folder, which is the only one I've really worked with to date) - so I'm trying to figure out if that's where I should ftp these EP files to?

ETA - the first instruction in the EP guide is to "1) Change the name of the "admin" directory in this package to suit your zencart installation" - what does that mean??

Thanks for any help,
J.

WhitePhantom:

Within the htdocs folder, there are a whole lot of folders, including an admin folder (and an includes folder, which is the only one I've really worked with to date) - so I'm trying to figure out if that's where I should ftp these EP files to?

ETA - the first instruction in the EP guide is to "1) Change the name of the "admin" directory in this package to suit your zencart installation" - what does that mean??

Yes, the htdocs is your "server root", and the folders you see in there (admin, cache, email, includes....) are the zencart folders.

It looks like you have not re-named your admin folder, so the reference in Easy Populate readme dow not apply to you.

All you do in your ftp program is open both FTP frames (left for local machine, right for remote server), and thn make sure you are at the same directory LEVEL to ensure that the easy Populate module is sent to the correct location.

So, in the LEFT FRAME (your computer), open the unzipped Easy Populate module until you see the admin and temp folders.

*(Do not worry about any of the loose **files *you see under the admin and temp folders. They do not get ftp'd. Ignore them for now...

In the RIGHT FRAME (remote server) open the htdocs folder so you can see admin, email, cache. includes...

Then, in the LEFT FRAME, use your mouse click to HIGLIGHT the admin and temp folders.

Then, click the right-pointing arrow in your ftp program to send them up to your server.

Don't worry, this will NOT overwrite any folders / files on the server. It will just add the Easy Populate files to the server.

(Other modulues may overwrite, byt EP does not.)

The folders / files will take about 30 seconds to get to your server.

When the FTP is finished. Open your webshop Admin Panel and go to the TOOLS menu.

At the bottom of the dropdpwn list you will see Easy Populate.

Click on it

At the top of the screen you will see a link to INSTALL the module.,

Click it

Then read my WIKI

Done - thanks a mil!

I quailed at the message about a folder with the same name as an existing one, and files with the same name being overwritten and all that, but I took a deep breath and trusted you and clicked Yes To All.

And then I went and installed it and everything is looking good! :clap:

So now I'm off to read your wiki.

You have no idea how much I appreciate your help!! :yes:

During FTP, FOLDERS do not overwrite.

During FTP, only FILES inside folders can be overwritten.

The process you just applied (for ftp of Easy Populate) is typical for all modules you may later want to feature in your shop.

If the author of the module has followed the "rules", then uploading his/her module is usually quite straight forward.

And it is just a case of making sure that the directory LEVEL you are at in your local machine corresponds to the directory LEVEL on the remote server.

By highlighting the FOLDERS on your local machine, and then clicking the ftp arrow, you are ensuring that the CONTENTS of the folder are being sent to the server's folder of the SAME NAME.

NB: Always read the readme or instruction files that accompany a module. In many cases, modules do overwrite core files. Always make backups of files that are to be over-written.

Also... keep hand-written notes of what you do... I STILL make stupid mistakes, and having notes often helps identify such errors and facilitates quick corrections.

Thanks SB.

I'm going through the wiki now, and starting to play around with EP and I've a couple of questions...

I noticed when I go to Catalog -> Categories/Products that there is no 'model' set up for any of my categories. I've edited the properties for each category, but can't see how to set this up, and don't know if it affects EP.

I just want to check about the upload directory in Config -> EP; it's set to temp/ , but when I go do to an upload I click the Browse button and it allows me to select a file on my local machine - so what does the upload directory in Config refer to?

I've downloaded the 4 different txt files through Tools - EP to see how the categories / products I have in my system at the moment appear in a txt file, and tried adding a few new products (I added 4 extra lines in each file, copying the format already there, but setting v_product_model, _image and _name to unique values), but when I uploaded these 4 text files the products didn't appear in the system (I got the Upload Complete message after each upload, and Debug is switched on in Config - EP). I'm going through the notes again to see if I missed something, but I'm just wondering if it's something to do with that upload directory in Config?

Thanks,
J.

"Model" is assigned to individual products - not categories.

"Model" is just the label for the unique product code, often called SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) in the retail trade.

Easy Populate use the product's "Model Number" (SKU, Product Code) as the definitive identifier for product information, as the assumption is (correctly) that each product in a shop is unique, and therefore needs a unique code to identify it.

If you do not give each of your products a unique product code ("model number") then Easy Populate will not work.

In the wiki, I give some pointers as to how to set up your own SKU system, but remember that there are ISO systems for product numbering that include UPC and EAN. Depending on what you are selling, you may want to consider using UPC or EAN formats... if you do, and later decide to use services like GoogleBase, then your life will be easier here... GoogleBase requires the use of EAN/UPC/

GO HERE for more advice on product coding.

You can either do the upload by browsing for the TXT file on your local drive... then clicking upload...

... or you can FTP the file to the temp folder, and then instruct EP to go grab the TXT file from there.

The two options are offered chiefly because you will find that sending the TXT file (via FTP) to the designated temp folder is much more reliable. The upload is done within the confines of the server - rather that over the WWW which can break data packets during transfer.

If you are adding/updating product info for a handful of products, then using "browse - upload" should be OK.

When the EP txt file is big, always send it via FTP to the temp folder, and then run EP that way.

If you are running EP and you are not getting the desired result, then the problem is usually a misconfiguration - either in the EP software, or your TXT file.

My WIKI suggests a cautious, experimental approach to start with.

PS: I use EP 1.2.5.4 on well over 100 zencart 1.3.8a stores - and it works... So the problem (if there is a problem) is not EP or ZC... it has to be the "input clerk".

Thanks SB, I understand that model has to be unique - I've set v_product_model to a unique value in each record. I've left the category the same, because my new products belong to the same category that the existing products belong to, also left other fields the same but only where it's ok to do so - tax code, products weight, date added, that kind of thing.

I've read your notes about SKU - I've followed the rules, but not the format you used - I've applied SKU codes that are more understandable to me. The category is 'Own Designs', and my existing product models are OwnDesign01 and OwnDesign02 - my 4 new products are OwnDesign03, OwnDesign04, OwnDesign05, OwnDesign06. All unique, no spaces or special characters.

I've read over the wiki a few times, and just can't see where I'm going wrong. Also can't understand why I'm getting the Upload Complete message when the upload hasn't worked.

Sorry to ######## into this. I haven't used the free EP in years but I believe all versions of EP come with an option to download a template. If you download the template you can just follow the same pattern used.

I would also suggest using the template file to play around with all the EP option to help you understand what each line affect in the store front. This will be hugely appreciated if you ever plan on adding more columns to your EP import/export options.

schoolboy:

PS:...

I routinely use Easy Populate to manage product data on scores of my clients' websites.

Some of these stores have over 10,000 products.

Easy Populate can add/update this number of products in a few seconds...

A few seconds???? I have 30,000 items I update price and quantity daily Only fields are model, price and quantity Takes 3-5 minutes Running 5.4 on 3.8 Upload to temp and update from there

Nick

libertyguy:

A few seconds???? I have 30,000 items I update price and quantity daily Only fields are model, price and quantity Takes 3-5 minutes Running 5.4 on 3.8 Upload to temp and update from there

Nick

OK... so I exaggerate slightly :D

Yes you are quite right... a LARGE file does take time to parse.

I do this routinely as well - sometimes with very large lists - and it does seem like "just a few seconds" - though I don't run a stopwatch on it.

While we are on this subject of large files, it is safer to split large files into several smaller ones when using EP. (Some servers experience time-out issues.)

I have the templates that came with EP alright, so just want to check a couple of things before I start playing around with them...

• If I delete all but one line from each template file, will the upload create any new category (and sub-category if applicable) in the text file, or do I need to create categories through admin before I can upload products to them?

• Does the order in which I upload the files matter?

And back to my previous attempts to upload files... I just now did a 'Download Complete tab-delimited .txt file to edit', changed the Product Name of one of the products, saved the file, and did Upload EP file, picked up the file I had just modified, and got the result shown here:

Upload Results

File uploaded.
Temporary filename: C:\WINDOWS\Temp\php51F1.tmp
User filename: Full-EP2010Feb17-2109.txt
Size: 895

Upload Complete

But... when I went into Catalog -> Categories/Products, the name was still exactly the same, so obviously upload didn't happen. This is cracking me up - I feel like I'm so close but then just keep hitting a brick wall :frusty:

Please please can anyone shed any light on why this is happening?

I am also interested in the answer this very last question. I really would like to update the quantity on all 6,000 of my products quickly, but I am afraid of re-uploading the edited file for fear that it will just make new entries for each model number. This has happened to me before and it is a mess to clean up, starting with emptying the store inventory completely. But I just read below that you should upload to the temp file? I am not sure how this works, so I am anxiously awaiting the responses to this thread in general. I'll bet a lot of people wonder about this exact situation.

There is little point duplicating the advice I give in the WIKI, so my suggestion is that you read through that quite diligently. I go into some detail about the need to be aware of category naming, and the potential to duplicate product data if you are not careful here.

Remember: My wiki talks about EP 1.2.5.4 . I have tried some of the later versions, but have felt that these are not reliable. I do not know if the advice I give in the WIKI is therefore applicable to versions other than 1.2.5.4.

If you are using a version other than 1.2.5.4 then tread carefully... The CSV version of EP is particularly shaky and I do not advocate its use at all.

I also know that later versions of MS Excel (particularly Office 2007) do not save the TXT file particularly well. I have often found it stripping in double quote marks in the description field - even though I have configured it NOT to do this.

So I tend to use OpenOffice these days and keep well away from MS.

You need to bear in mind that ALL STEPS of the EP process need to be faultless. It is very fussy and intolerant of errors - whether these are in the TXT file, or whether there is a glitch in your program files. (Very often, when people have asked me to look into their EP problems I find that they have FTP'd the files to completely the wrong locations... If the basic installation of the software is faulty, it's no wonder it does not work).

But as I have said on so many occasions... I use EP 1.2.5.4 on a very large number of clients' sites and I have never had it fail on me. Occasionally a blip or two - which on further investigation have always pointed to "operator error".

A quick additional note, in regards to the above advice to be careful about what Excel might add to a file. I use a programmer's text editor (BBEdit, only for Mac) to look at Excel's output file before I load it up to the server. It will quickly show anything that Excel has put wrong, without any possibility that it will do the same thing itself. I can also "Zap Gremlins" with a command, which removes invisible codes that might mess things up. Can't hurt; might help. ;-)

Rob

Hi guys,

Just to let you know, I (with a little help!!) figured out what was happening here.

My temp directory on the server wasn't allowing the txt file to be copied, therefore wasn't finding any file to import.

This was because of my zencart being hosted on a Windows server, and of course I should have, as per the install.txt file, followed the instructions to get the permissions on that directory changed:

"** your temp folder must have owner permissions to read/write/execute (chmod 700) for EP to work.
EP now adjusts this for you (unless you have a windows server - ask your host to adjust permissions on this folder for the IIS web server)"

Note to self: RTF i.txt!! :oops:

Rgds,
J.

rstevenson:

A quick additional note, in regards to the above advice to be careful about what Excel might add to a file. I use a programmer's text editor (BBEdit, only for Mac) to look at Excel's output file before I load it up to the server. It will quickly show anything that Excel has put wrong, without any possibility that it will do the same thing itself. I can also "Zap Gremlins" with a command, which removes invisible codes that might mess things up. Can't hurt; might help. ;-)

Rob

I do the same - with Emerald Editor, and you'll be surprised what Excel leaves inside a file that should be unformatted plain tab-delimited text. It particularly likes to put in double quotes, extra commas and single quotes at times.