Easy Populate 1.2.5.4 support

Hello JohnD,
No, it is not. EP does check to see if you have the images where you claim they are, and if it doesn't find the image then it uses a flag to tell itself to leave the image field blank, and then Zen Cart uses it's default of No Image image.

In my case I was trying to upload the file before I had the images in the proper directory, in my case, /images/wop/All, and so it wasn't seeing them. The race was on then to see if I could finish uploading all of the images before I finished feeding it the differant files.

I was able to execute a SQL command from the MySQL patch tool in the admin area to take the item name and create the entry for the image location. It was

'UPDATE zen_products SET products_image=CONCAT('wop/All/', products_image, '.jpg') WHERE products_image='noimage.gif'

This saved me a lot of time from the manual entry (only because it was taking too long - I did start out doing it that way). And please note I left out the '/store location/image/' part, as Zen Cart always expects to find images there for products, and so will supple the parent directories when retriving the images.

As to why your images did not appear I can only guess. The first thing is that windoze is not case sensitive, while *nixes are. Next would be the extention, gif, jpg, pnp, tif, etc. Gif is not the same as jpg, and yet in my case I have both image types for the item. If I had the hard disk space on my host's systems then I would use the gif for the small image and jpg for regular and large, yet that may prove to be a problem in that the extentions are differant. The final thing is you could of tried to refresh the page, or clear the browser's cache.

On some sites where I post auction listings, and use a bulk upload tool, it takes a while for them to create thumb nails from my images to display next to the listing, in the general area, yet if someone clicks on the listing they see the actual picture I uploaded. Zen Cart should be better, yet that may be happening as well. And once the thumb nail (or small image if you will) is created Zen Cart can cache them for the most popular listings.

Hope I shed some insight onto the matter for you, and maybe helped you figure out what may of been happening.

awev:

Hope I shed some insight onto the matter for you, and maybe helped you figure out what may of been happening.

Thanks Awev -- perhaps it is the timing that you mentioned. I'll check that on my next upload.

johnd:

Thanks Awev -- perhaps it is the timing that you mentioned. I'll check that on my next upload.

Awev

My next upload worked perfectly. All of the images were displayed as I had hoped they would be. Thanks for your support.

Hi,

I need urgent support for Easy Populate Standard. I am currently setting up a shop front for a Printing company using Zen Cart. The company have four main print sizes.
I need to find a way of creating bulk quantity discount for each of these print sizes.

The first print size retails at $7.50 for the first print and 50 cents for each additional prints. An easy calculation of $7.50 + (Quantity * 0.5).

The second print size $10 for the first print and $2 for each additional prints.
The third print size $12.50 for the first print and $4 for each additional prints.
The fourth print size $12.50 for the first print and $5 for each additional prints.

I have investigated how I could configure categories with specific quantity discount but this has not worked. I am hoping to get advice about how I can modify PHP codes if necessary or use Easy Populate to achieve this.

Thank you in advance
Jules

The first print size retails at $7.50 for the first print and 50 cents for each additional prints. An easy calculation of $7.50 + (Quantity * 0.5).

The second print size $10 for the first print and $2 for each additional prints.
The third print size $12.50 for the first print and $4 for each additional prints.
The fourth print size $12.50 for the first print and $5 for each additional prints.
Do this with attributes

Hi all, I have written a tutorial explaining the steps and processes involved with importing Attributes using easy populate - I hope it helps.

If there are miss understanding on my part leading to errors please forgive me, correct me then sue me ;)

• on that not I would like to say, BACKUP! then BACKUP AGAIN! any loss of data remains your loss NOT mine - I accept no liability whatsoever for any damage, harm or act of god resulting from you following this tutorial (Phew - close one)....
• ...Also, for a pretty version with tabular examples CLICK HERE

HOW TO: prepare and import an Attribute file using easy populate...

Login in to the backend of your website.

You should ensure that all options and attributes that may be used by any of the products you wish to import, have been created and are correct.

Select from the top menu: tools > Easy Populate

From the right column under Data Files, select Attributes - this will export the current attribute data from your site.

Select Save from the newly created attributes row within the table to save the attributes file to your computer.

You now have a popup window asking you to open/save the file… Save this file to a location on your computer then import this file into Excel (or equivalent) as a tab delimited file.

Reading and understanding the file format, row & columns….

Note: Within the new excel worksheet you will now see a set of headers on the first row (these should never be altered). Each subsequent row is the attribute details of a single product.

For each row, the columns read as follows…

PRODUCTS….

v_products_id = The products ID number... e.g: 375
v_products_model = The products Model number... e.g: 123987

The first two **columns v_products_id **& v_products_model identify the product you wish to add the attributes to. These columns are the products ID and the products model number.
The product ID is required, the model number is not – however it is a safeguard and should be included where possible.

The following columns may be described as a horizontal list of options and their attributes. An option may have many attributes just like a Size option may have ‘small’, ‘medium’ and ‘large’ attributes.

There are three basics you will need to understand regarding the rest of the columns to understand this tutorial… ‘Option types’, ‘Attributes’ and ‘Option-Attribute Sets’

‘Option types’ are Size, Colour or Weight etc.
‘Attributes’ are the values available for each ‘Option-type’ such as ‘Red’, ’Green’, ’Blue’ or ‘100kg’, ‘500kg’, ‘1 Tonne’ etc.
‘Option-Attribute Sets’ are ALL columns that relate to a single Option + Attribute and share a common suffixed ID within the column name.
With that cleared up, let’s move on….

The column headers are variable and as such I can not give column ID’s from here on but rather detail the requirements for each ‘column type’ and its purpose so read carefully…
NOTE: For every ‘option type’ there must be at least one attribute and for every set of attributes there must be an option type given.

OPTIONS….

The ‘v_attribute_options_id_1’ and ‘v_attribute_options_name_1_en’ columns identify the type of option you wish to add to a product such as Size, or Colour etc. These should have already been created within the backend of your store and are case sensitive.
*NOTE: Should you require a NEW option name for your import you will need to first ADD the name in the backend via the top menu > catalog > ‘option name manager’ then use the new name and newly assigned ID

NOTE: the suffixed number is an identifier for the ‘Option-Attribute set’. An ‘Option-Attribute set’ is an ‘Option type’ + all the Attributes for that Option. A row may have as many Option-Attribute sets as desired and may occupy any amount of columns but ALL must follow the rule noted above.*

So what do these Options columns mean?

v_attribute_options_id_1 = The ID of the option type... e.g: 1
v_attribute_options_name_1_en = The name of the Option type... e.g: Size

ATTRIBUTES….

The following three columns are required for EVERY Attribute. These three columns are repeated along the row for each attribute product requires.. e.g. one set of three for each colour of a particular product you have… Three columns for Red, three for Green, three for Blue and three for Yellow etc.

Product 1 : Attribute 1 (colour RED) =
v_attribute_values_id_1_1
v_attribute_values_price_1_1
v_attribute_values_name_1_1_en

Product 1: Attribute 2 (Colour BLUE) =
v_attribute_values_id_1_2
v_attribute_values_price_1_2
v_attribute_values_name_1_2_en
… etc

The repetition of ‘Option Type’ followed its ‘Attributes’ as ‘Option-Attribute Sets’ should be maintained until the final ‘Option-Attribute Set’ required has been included.

The final column of any row must be EOREOR this tells the program that it is the ‘End Of Row’ and that the new product will listed next.

So what do these attribute columns mean?

v_attribute_values_id_1_1 = This is the ID of the attribute... e.g: 5

v_attribute_values_price_1_1 = This is the Price of the attribute... e.g: 9.99

v_attribute_options_name_1_en = This is the Name of the attribute... e.g: 1kg

*NOTE: The price value is excluding tax and defaults to a + value. i.e. the product price PLUS this attribute price.
*

VALUES…

The values required for these columns can be found in a number of places and a small amount of backend preparation will save to time in creating your file.

Where do I find the values required for all my rows?...

v_products_id (database table: products.products_id)
• This number is found as the ID (first) column when listing the product in the backend
• By hovering over the image or title/name of the product within the frontend
• By exporting the store from easy populate and reading the number given in the v_products_id column of the row for your chosen product
v_products_model products.products_model • This number is found as the ‘Model’ (third) column when listing the product in the backend
• By reading the Product/Model Code: xxxx within the frontend
• By exporting the store from easy populate and reading the number given in the v_products_model column of the row for your chosen product

v_attribute_options_id_1 (database table: products_attributes.options_id)
• This number is found as the ID (first) column when viewing the ‘option name manager’ in the backend. (top menu > catalog > option name manager)

v_attribute_options_name_1_en (database table: products_options_values. products_options_values_name)
• This number is found as the ‘Option Name’ (second) column when viewing the ‘option name manager’ in the backend. (top menu > catalog > option name manager)

v_attribute_values_id_1_1 (database table: products_options_values.products_options_values_id)
• This number is found as the ID (first) column when viewing the ‘option value manager’ in the backend. (top menu > catalog > option value manager)

v_attribute_values_price_1_1 (database table: products_attributes.options_values_price )
• This number is found as the fourth column when viewing the selected product within the ‘Attributes controller’ in the backend. (top menu > catalog > Attributes Controller.. Select category… select product… click [Display] button)

v_attribute_values_name_1_1_en (database table: products_options_values.products_options_values_name)

• This number is found as the Option Value (third) column when viewing the ‘option value manager’ in the backend. (top menu > catalog > option value manager)

Now save the file as a TAB DELIMITED FILE from Excel (or equivalent) ready for importing.

The import process is almost the same as export as you are required to log in to the backend then via: Top menu > Tools > Easy populate you should select the [Browse] button > search for the file you have just saved then click the Import and wait for the success or failure message on completion of the file processing – it will appear just below the top menu.

If all is well, go check your products with there new shiny attributes. If all is NOT well read the accompanying error messages and figure out where these instructions are deficient then let me know where I went wrong 

Hope it helps - and if there are mistakes please post them so I may make the corrections (and understand it better :dontgetit )
Jayenne

Hi everybody above - Repete Post...
I have been using EP 1.2.5.4 now for two weeks and can only get the Full Download/Full upload to work.

The Download of the following returns a notice in Excel of "Incomplete Download". Thus these portions do not work for me.

Model/Price/Quanity
Model/Category
Model/Attributes

Those three downloads have incorrect data. Example: The Attributes when downloaded show up as every item has the same attribute as the very first item I added. Therefore I cannot upload any attributes this way. With 6300+ products it's taking a LONG time to put in these attributes. Some products have up to 60 attributes.

I reinstalled the EP and same result.

Help would be appreciated...
Thanks

elkbow:

Example: The Attributes when downloaded show up as every item has the same attribute as the very first item I added. Therefore I cannot upload any attributes this way. With 6300+ products it's taking a LONG time to put in these attributes. Some products have up to 60 attributes.

I reinstalled the EP and same result.

Help would be appreciated...
Thanks

All attributes showing on all downloaded products happened to us, I suspect that's just the way it is. Actually, we cannot download all of our attributes as the spreadsheet "times out" at column IV.

SPH & elkbow - I had a problem but that I could not download my attribute file at all it just hung.
Have you tried to save to temp file and then download via FTP. Mine was a hosting problem!

How to do include the legend for my product attributes. For example, I want to enable "required" for all my size options and enable "display" for my select option. I setup 5 products with this option, then exported the .txt file to excel, but the changes did not show in the spreadsheet.

How can I resolve?

Your help is appreciated! Thanks!

james739 - Sorry I don't really understand what you are asking for ?

I see you have shoes sizes are you asking to show all the sizes available ? in the attributes upload file.
If so you need to put a '0' or '+1.00' etc in the attribute column you require for it show in the product.

Scrat:

SPH & elkbow - I had a problem but that I could not download my attribute file at all it just hung.
Have you tried to save to temp file and then download via FTP. Mine was a hosting problem!

We can download okay from EP. It's just that Xcel and Open Office spreadsheets apparently don't go beyond column IV. We have so many attributes and every attribute seems to appear on each product downloaded.

Haven't tried FTP, but should still have same problem with limits of spreadsheet column number.

SPH - Your problem is that you have too many attributes for OO and Excel the download is fine its the programs you are trying to use to open the file.

You need to use CSVd and uniCSVd
These two programs you can open larger csv files with.

Scrat:

SPH - Your problem is that you have too many attributes for OO and Excel the download is fine its the programs you are trying to use to open the file.

You need to use CSVd and uniCSVd
These two programs you can open larger csv files with.

Thanks! We'll give them a look.

Scrat:

james739 - Sorry I don't really understand what you are asking for ?

I see you have shoes sizes are you asking to show all the sizes available ? in the attributes upload file.
If so you need to put a '0' or '+1.00' etc in the attribute column you require for it show in the product.

What I mean is I want to set a "required" flag for all my attributes. How can I do this with EZ populate. I modified one of the items in my admin to reflect what i mean, here is the link. When you "add to chart" without selecting a size, the flag is activated telling the customer to select a size.

http://trendsdepot.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_41_42&products_id=119

Please tell me if there is a fix for this, doing it one item at a time is too time consuming!

THanks again!

Can easy Populate work somehow with the pricing by attributes mod???

Hello Milo,

milobloom:

Can easy Populate work somehow with the pricing by attributes mod???

If it is a mod that you added then have a look at http://www.zen-cart.com/forum/showpost.php?p=413798&postcount=879 and it should be of some help. Granted, it says MAP, yet it applies to any mod that you have added, and want EP to insert info for. A couple replies later another person did an article on attributes, as comes standard with Zen Cart and EP.

Just setting up zencart, way over my head with php, only static html experience, cannot read most posts. So need very basic info.

Have downloaded Easy Populate. Where do I upload the files (i.e., relative to admin folder) so that Easy Populate will appear somewhere in the control panel? Does one upload the .txt files, too?

Step by step instructions aimed at a complete novice would NOT be unwelcome.

Thanks!

I have been looking at Easy Populate as suggested. It looks pretty darn confusing to me. Some people are having problems. Perhaps they are trying to do some fancy stuff.

What happened to me is that I had an inventory management company upload and entire inventory of products to my web site.

One category called Miscellaneous has over 1,000 products. They need to be moved into a category where someone might actually discover them and buy them.

Many products do not have a picture. These I want to inactivate these until I can upload the photos. So for now, I want to move them into a category that will be disabled until I can get to it.

Will Easy Populate help me to see what the photo is, if there is one? I cannot always tell by model number or name what category it would best be in. Also it might be best to be in more than one category. Will it let me link it to other categories?

Will Easy populate help me with those chores? And is it really “Easy”?

This thread has gotten so long, I appologise if my question has already been answered.

After uploading my products, the categories are all there, product images show up in the New Products box, but, when you click on a category, or even an image of a "New Product", I get the "Sorry, product not found" message. If I go to admin-catalog-categories/products, I see all of the cats there, showing how many active products there are supposed to be in each, but, go to the cat and there is nothing.

I've looked in my database via phpMySql, and see where everything is there as it should be, I'm just not able to get the products to show up in my catalog.

Am I missing a switch somewhere?