Can some one please post how they managed to get the import to work!! (WILL PAY FOR HELP, IF NEED BE)

[Bleep]

In reading a few posts, I see that some people have managed to get the Prestashop import tool to work effortlessly. Can someone please post exactly how they managed to upload successfully! I'm talking about posting how you formatted your csv, if you deleted the sample products beforehand, etc. etc. I get the successful message when I import products but it never puts them in the categories I specified, only on the homepage. Moreover, the products never have any images no matter how hard I have tried to upload them. I have put them in just about every Prestashop folder, other places on my server, and even tried to pull them from a former website. I have tried full urls and every combination. I have tried the import tool from a newly installed default theme, and even there I just can't get it to work. The thought of having to manually upload 2000 products is not practical. I'm desperate, I will even pay someone to help me out. I can't afford much, but I could pay something. Help would really be appreciated. Thank you.


Update: I have heard you have use the id field with something called autocount. I have no idea what that is, where to get it? Is it some sort of software? I have looked for it in Excel, Access, I have no idea what I am looking for.

[cor3ys]

Rory

You first coloume in you CSV use ID field then each line/product increase the number this will then make your images show.. upload the images to your server and use the full URL in your CSV file....
Id field
1
2
3
4
5
6

For the catagories i used there ID number seemed to work ok...

[jhnstcks]

Hi Rory

The products all going into the home category sounds like it isnt picking up your categories from your csv. Make sure you are using the category id's and not their names. The id is listed next to the category in your catalog.

If you attach you file here we can look through and try and spot any problems.

I had help from Corey with a file which only had 500ish products on it, and the server timed out during the upload, so some products werent uploaded, it does depend on your server settings, but i would advise on creating 3-4 files or even 5 files, instead of 1, to stop the time outs.

[Bleep]

Rory

You first coloume in you CSV use ID field then each line/product increase the number this will then make your images show.. upload the images to your server and use the full URL in your CSV file....
Id field
1
2
3
4
5
6

For the catagories i used there ID number seemed to work ok...

Thank you so much for replying. I probably sound like a whiny pain in the ass by now but it's almost 4am where I live and I've been working on this since early yesterday morning. LOL. Do the images have to be uploaded to a certain folder/directory that prestashop is installed on, or does it just have to have the name of the site in the url? Thank you.

[Bleep]

Hi Rory

The products all going into the home category sounds like it isnt picking up your categories from your csv. Make sure you are using the category id's and not their names. The id is listed next to the category in your catalog.

If you attach you file here we can look through and try and spot any problems.

I had help from Corey with a file which only had 500ish products on it, and the server timed out during the upload, so some products werent uploaded, it does depend on your server settings, but i would advise on creating 3-4 files or even 5 files, instead of 1, to stop the time outs.

Thank you for responding. Yeah, I was just using the category numbers. I will try again, then post my csv here. LOL. Like I said before, I probably sound whiny, but I've been working on this now for almost 24hours! (well, i did other things too, lol) And i'm just about at my wits end.

[jhnstcks]

You can just add the image url and it will go and fetch them from the site.

The autocount function you mentioned is in excel, all you need to do is type 1 into your first product id cell, then highlight the column all the way to the last product, go to edit>fill>series don't change any options just click ok and that should add your id's

[Bleep]

You can just add the image url and it will go and fetch them from the site.

The autocount function you mentioned is in excel, all you need to do is type 1 into your first product id cell, then highlight the column all the way to the last product, go to edit>fill>series don't change any options just click ok and that should add your id's

Thank you, that was a big help. I was doing it in Access then importing it over to Excel. Now I can just use Excel, well, Open Office version, lol. Where would we be with Open Source? LOL. Thank you again.

[Bleep]

Sigh, now I can't even get the .csv's to go through successfully. I'm trying to do the categories one, with just one test one. I can't believe I still can't get this to work after 24 hours of messing around! Here is the CSV if anyone can see what I'm doing wrong. BTW, I skip the first line.

categories-list.csv

[Bleep]

OMG! Why is this so difficult!!!!!!!!! Why!!!!!! Now I'm getting error messages: Hack attempt (Category->link_rewrite is empty for default language). I feel like I'm in a nightmare!!!

[jhnstcks]

Use one column for each heading and dont include any :;"', all you need to change is the column separator in your admin area to a ,

I have done a test csv for you that is attached

Just noticed i didnt add anything in the url rewrite column so might want to add something in there or you can just select not to use that column when you selecting which column is which.

testCSV.csv

[Bleep]

okay, will try, lol thank you

[Bleep]

Use one column for each heading and dont include any :;"', all you need to change is the column separator in your admin area to a ,

I have done a test csv for you that is attached

Just noticed i didnt add anything in the url rewrite column so might want to add something in there or you can just select not to use that column when you selecting which column is which.

The test one you provided is all messed up in the placement. Do I choose "," for both the field and column separator, or one? Each combination doesn't work. LOL

[Bleep]

I just can't understand why I'm having so much difficulty with this.

[jhnstcks]

Both the field and column separator should be a comma, I have just tried that file on one of my sites and it works fine, its version 1.1.0.4.

Which version are you using, as I did have a version couple of weeks back that just wouldnt work no matter what I did.

[Bleep]

that's a good question, i'm not sure how to find out, i will look

[Bleep]

Just found it: Version 1.1.0.5 . LOL. Let me guess, that's the version that doesn't work right? LOL

[jhnstcks]

As far as i am aware that version is the 1.1final version, and the csv import works with that.

If you want you can pm or email some login details and admin url and I can take a look later, when I have a moment.

[Bleep]

When I upload the file you gave me I get this under the Id column:
VP01;1;"Stowe Poster";"Posters";"Stowe Poster Description";"Stowe Poster Title";"Stowe poster keywords";"Stowe Poster Meta Description";"stowe-poster";"http://www.artistictrailmaps.com/images/Stowe-Po
VP02;1;"Mansfield Poster";"Posters";"Mansfield Poster Description";"Mansfield Poster Title";"Mansfield poster keywords";"Mansfield Poster Meta Description";"mansfield-poster";"http://www.artistictrail

[Bleep]

Sure, cause it's just not working for me: the pictures, the categories. I've actually digressed, now it won't even successfully import. And thank you for your assistance so far.

[jhnstcks]

I have no idea where those column titles are coming from, I dont think thats my file you are using

Mine says

id    active    name    parent category    description    meta title    meta keywords    meta description    url rewrited    Image Url
1    1    test    test    this is a test    This is a test import    test, import    This is a test import        http://www.palsocks.com/img/tmp/magnets.jpg

[Bleep]

I sent you the log info. Thanks again

[Bleep]

I have no idea where those column titles are coming from, I dont think thats my file you are using

Mine says

id    active    name    parent category    description    meta title    meta keywords    meta description    url rewrited    Image Url
1    1    test    test    this is a test    This is a test import    test, import    This is a test import        http://www.palsocks.com/img/tmp/magnets.jpg

LOL. You're right, I used the wrong file. I just made sure I downloaded yours, and it did that thing where it takes for ever to process, than goes to a blank white screen.

[jhnstcks]

Sent you a pm Rory

[cor3ys]

Stuck at work in meetings all day not been able to get web access :-(

Just had a read through this thread and it seems you have had your work cut out for you on this one John.

Looks like some weired stuff going on with Rory cart, did he tell the cart not to include the first line of the CSV if it's got headings in it...

[jhnstcks]

Where Rory has been trying to upload the categories csv i think he assigned one of them id 1, which is actually used by home, so the categories are totally messed up.

I did manage to upload a category and a product through the csv files.

I have advised him to do a clean install and I will help him upload the files.

[TropischBruin]

Please let us know how and waht you did because there are more of us out there having BIG troubles on getting the import-tool to work.

Thanks!

[Bleep]

Stuck at work in meetings all day not been able to get web access :-(

Just had a read through this thread and it seems you have had your work cut out for you on this one John.

Looks like some weired stuff going on with Rory cart, did he tell the cart not to include the first line of the CSV if it's got headings in it...

Yeah, been ignoring the first line with the headings, have even been trying them without the heading.

[Bleep]

Where Rory has been trying to upload the categories csv i think he assigned one of them id 1, which is actually used by home, so the categories are totally messed up.

I did manage to upload a category and a product through the csv files.

I have advised him to do a clean install and I will help him upload the files.

Thanks again for your help. I have a back up of my website before i ever imported anything. Apparently, in my sleep deprived and psychotic state, I had a moment of clarity and decided I should back up my website before importing, LOL. I was wondering if you could provide the two CSV's that used: categories & products. So, if I am understanding this right when i use the autocount feature in excel I should start at 2 on the categories CSV and 1 for the products CSV? And, I should use commas for both the column and row separators? Thanks again, so much for your help. Oh, and I am willing to have you do it as well, if you want, and if you have time. I'm going to switch to the back up momentarily.

Update: I decided to do a clean install instead. I have a clean install on: socksnovelty.com. I'm afraid to do the import until I have good advice. LOL

[jhnstcks]

Try importing these 2 files theres one for categories and one for items.

Need to use comma for both the field and column separators and skip the first line.

I have tested this csv file on my site and it works fine.

If you want to add supplier or manufacturers you will need to create them first then add their id to the file.

As far importing category id's, then you will need to make sure that you start at id 2, as the home category (feature products) is classed as id 1.

I will have some free time on Friday when I can help you and anyone else that needs help importing their csv's.

Rory please can you send me your completed csv files to jhnstcks @ AOL.com and i will have a look through them and test them on my site before importing them onto yours. I can set up a new installation on the server and test it on there.

One thing about skipping the first line of headings, I forgot to do that on one import file and all it does is add a product or category with those details in, I just went through and deleted the rogue item.

test_category_CSV.csv

test_item_csv.csv

[Bleep]

Thank you John, for all the help you have given me. I feel like I have taken advantage of your time, and this is not something I take lightly. If there is anything I can do to assist you, I will be willing to help, although clearly, I'm no master at Prestashop. I usually give donations to people who help me, for example, AMSDesign, as a way of expressing my gratitude, but this week I just can't even spare a nickel. My job and finances are going right down the tube right now. However, in the future I will certain donate some money if you so choose, but in the meantime all I can offer is my time. I was thinking that we should make a post, explaining in great detail how to import products. It seems that much information is left out of the wiki article. This could save a lot of people headaches, especially for people like me who obviously can't do it on my own. This at least would help me give something back to the community, as I can't seem to shake a sense of guilt for using a program for free and getting such great assistance like, you John. I will work on the files, and post them before I import them, and if you have time, like you said, you could test them. I really appreciate all the help. And although I get frustrated with my skill at using Prestashop, I remain dedicated to using, helping solve bugs, and providing a donation when I can. - Rory

P.S. I finally got some sleep after working nearly 24 hours trying to figure out the import. I don't know if dedicating that amount of time is tenacious or embarrassing at my lack of intelligence since I couldn't and still can't it to work? LOL

Try importing these 2 files theres one for categories and one for items.

Need to use comma for both the field and column separators and skip the first line.

I have tested this csv file on my site and it works fine.

If you want to add supplier or manufacturers you will need to create them first then add their id to the file.

As far importing category id's, then you will need to make sure that you start at id 2, as the home category (feature products) is classed as id 1.

I will have some free time on Friday when I can help you and anyone else that needs help importing their csv's.

Rory please can you send me your completed csv files to jhnstcks @ AOL.com and i will have a look through them and test them on my site before importing them onto yours. I can set up a new installation on the server and test it on there.

One thing about skipping the first line of headings, I forgot to do that on one import file and all it does is add a product or category with those details in, I just went through and deleted the rogue item.

[jhnstcks]

I don't expect any donations for helping people, the more people we all help, next time that question is asked someone else should be able to answer it.

And as for working for 24 hours, thats not a good idea, i usually find that if I get stuck with something and start getting frustrated I walk away and take a break from it.

[Bleep]

Thanks again for your help. I managed to get the categories CSV you gave me to work nicely. In fact, I was able to get it working with quotes and the semi-colon and to import the pictures from an unrelated website. Now, I tackle the products CSV and dare I say the Attributes CSV. Thanks again, John

I don't expect any donations for helping people, the more people we all help, next time that question is asked someone else should be able to answer it.

And as for working for 24 hours, thats not a good idea, i usually find that if I get stuck with something and start getting frustrated I walk away and take a break from it.

[Bleep]

Whooooooooooo hoooooooooooooo!!!!!! I finally got the product import working with images and correct category placement! I can only get the products to load using commas! I'm so happy. Thanks for the help John. Oh btw, I read somewhere on here, that you can upload HTML for the long product description. Any ideas on how I do that? Thanks for your help John!!!!!! :)

Update: I can add html in the import for html on product pages! Horray. Now to tackle attributes!

[jhnstcks]

You just need to add the html into the description before you import the products and it will include it automatically.

[Bleep]

Yes thank you. I figured out that the cell had to be formatted with numbers and also that there could be no returns, and then it seemed to work. Thanks again, and enjoy the weeekend!

You just need to add the html into the description before you import the products and it will include it automatically.

[Bleep]

I guess my biggest problem was John, that I had written over the category 1 and that was causing me problems thereafter. Also, it seems that any row and column separators will work for the categories, but only commas work for the actual products. So that was messing me up to. Thanks again, John, for your assistance.

[heretic]

I have been messing around with it for a few hours. Here is what I have found.

1) it is best to FTP your csv file to the prestashop/admin/import/ folder.

The column separator is whatever you would normally identify as a field separator when dealing with a csv file. Coma is not advisable, as it could conflict with data in your item description, i.e., "comes in red, blue and green".

III) The field separator is for multiple entries in the column such as multiple categories. I used a semicolon;;;;, as this is only used by English majors trying to show off.

4) If you try to input the wrong data into the wrong field (column), you will get a "hack attempt" error.

There are a few other quirks. I cannot get images to upload via url. My server, godaddy.com, times out and I get a server error after about 45 items uploading. I may have to chop a 2500 item list into 100 separate files and upload the images manually to get this thing to work.

Argh.

Good luck. You may need it.

[Bleep]

I use godaddy also has my web hosting and domain registrar. I am able to upload the images in the CSV file. I know commas can conflict with keywords and other cells, however there is a way to use them so that you can still use commas in the description and keywords for example. I have discovered that you can use any separators for the categories CSV but commas seem to be the only separator that works for the product CSV so that all the cells upload the right information. For example, using commas for the product CSV is the only way I have been able to upload images. A lot of people have started to manually upload them, but it is possible, as John helped me to figure it out. I think what is really driving people nuts is that they can use any separator for the categories so the assumption thereafter is that any separator will also work for the products. But, as me and a few other people have discovered, that doesn't appear to be the case. I'm not sure if this is a bug, but take a look at the product CSV that was posted by John, and I bet that will work for you.

I have been messing around with it for a few hours. Here is what I have found.

1) it is best to FTP your csv file to the prestashop/admin/import/ folder.

The column separator is whatever you would normally identify as a field separator when dealing with a csv file. Coma is not advisable, as it could conflict with data in your item description, i.e., "comes in red, blue and green".

III) The field separator is for multiple entries in the column such as multiple categories. I used a semicolon;;;;, as this is only used by English majors trying to show off.

4) If you try to input the wrong data into the wrong field (column), you will get a "hack attempt" error.

There are a few other quirks. I cannot get images to upload via url. My server, godaddy.com, times out and I get a server error after about 45 items uploading. I may have to chop a 2500 item list into 100 separate files and upload the images manually to get this thing to work.

Argh.

Good luck. You may need it.

[Bleep]

John, does your images get larger in file size when you upload them? I just can't figure it out, no matter type or size, pretashop makes the image larger. Does this happen to anyone else?

[folkraceshop]

I have just installed a new version of Prestoshop and tries to import all my products. I tried your file "test_item_csv.csv" and "test_category_CSV.csv" and I just get the category to work. I have Swedish as my default language (if that matters...) I just get "test item (ID 2) cannot be saved" I have tried MANY different ways with comma, semicomma and blanks.

[Bleep]

Also, is it possible to include accessories in the product CVS file?

[Bleep]

I was only able to get the product CSV to work when I used commas. I don't know if the language has anything to do with it as I have only used English on mine. Have you tried doing it in English, just to see if the language matters? Post your CSV, and I'll see if I or anyone else can spot any problems. Also, did you try just importing the sample test CSV that is in this discussion board? I would try importing that exactly as it is. Don't even open it, or edit a single thing, just upload it and remember to skip the first line.

I have just installed a new version of Prestoshop and tries to import all my products. I tried your file "test_item_csv.csv" and "test_category_CSV.csv" and I just get the category to work. I have Swedish as my default language (if that matters...) I just get "test item (ID 2) cannot be saved" I have tried MANY different ways with comma, semicomma and blanks.

[jhnstcks]

John, does your images get larger in file size when you upload them? I just can't figure it out, no matter type or size, pretashop makes the image larger. Does this happen to anyone else?

There is another post about this somewhere, its to do with the way prestashop imports the images and then saves them. It happens with normal product creation so I have been told, never really looked into it, as it hasnt affected my site much.

Also, is it possible to include accessories in the product CVS file?

The only things you can import are the headings that are listed in the admin import page, on the right hand side.

I have just installed a new version of Prestoshop and tries to import all my products. I tried your file “test_item_csv.csv” and “test_category_CSV.csv” and I just get the category to work. I have Swedish as my default language (if that matters…) I just get “test item (ID 2) cannot be saved” I have tried MANY different ways with comma, semicomma and blanks.

If you already have a product that has been given id2 then it might fail, try using the delete products options, unless you have products you dont want to loose, otherwise open the test file and change the id's to whatever you want.

Languages shouldnt be a problem as it will just add the descriptions etc into the default language.

If anyone else needs help with their csv importing feel free to email me, through my profile page or drop me a pm.

[folkraceshop]

There where probably something that was missing in the configuration. I recreated the whole database, and now it works!

[jhnstcks]

If you want to import multipule images add all the image urls into the same cell and separate them with a comma. It works as I have just tested it.

[Bleep]

Has anyone got the attribute CSV file to work?

[Bleep]

Just wondering again if anyone has got the attribute CSV file to work? I can't get the attributes to be created, and even when I create them manually in the back office, I still can't get them to show up on the product pages. Has anyone else had any success with this? If so, can you please post a sample attribute CSV? Thanks

[ChristianS]

attribute import works good for me :
for example, a simple csv ( product id (existing) , options , ref ) :

14;Product1_color:red;REF0001
14;Product1_color:blue;REF002
14;Product1_color:green;REF003

the product with id 14 will have attribut "Product1_color" with option "red","blue" and "green".


BUT, there is something strange with the import, i'm working with french language by default ,if i disable english language in admin (tools>language) the import doesn't work anymore. ( message : product1 cannot be saved ).
So you have to keep english language enable. :roll:

[Bleep]

Thank you. I will try it again.

attribute import works good for me :
for example, a simple csv ( product id (existing) , options , ref ) :

14;Product1_color:red;REF0001
14;Product1_color:blue;REF002
14;Product1_color:green;REF003

the product with id 14 will have attribut "Product1_color" with option "red","blue" and "green".


BUT, there is something strange with the import, i'm working with french language by default ,if i disable english language in admin (tools>language) the import doesn't work anymore. ( message : product1 cannot be saved ).
So you have to keep english language enable. :roll:

[Bleep]

I still can't get the attributes to work, even using that simple file. I have English enabled as well. Sigh.

[Guest]

Send me you actual export/stock ( https://my.ichidesk.com/contact.php ), I will do a try and update you...

[Bleep]

Thank you. Here is my sample attribute CSV and what happens after I upload the CSV as shown on the product creation/options page after the attribute import. All of the fields in the CSV upload to the product creation/options page, for example: quantity, price, reference, and weight except for the options fields. See attached picture. Moreover, the attributes and groups do not get created in the backoffice. Therefore, nothing shows up on the storefront product page. Even when I create the attributes and groups beforehand in the back office, then upload the attributes CSV, the options column does load and I have the same problem as mentioned earlier. However, if I manually create the attributes and groups in the backoffice, they appear on the backoffice products/options page and i can apply them to the page. Then, the options show up on the page in the front office.

Is there also away to assign images to the attributes with the import feature, or can this only be done manually on each page?

Thank you.

Send me you actual export/stock ( https://my.ichidesk.com/contact.php ), I will do a try and update you...

test.csv

[kamaltin]

I would like to come back to import products with HTML tags.
For instance, I used following HTML code for description (this is part only in Russian):

Название и автор картины:
Village Street in Marlotte. 
Автор Сисли Альфред.
Размеры репродукций:
Размер Р1: 57x41 см.
Размер Р2: 87x62 см.
Варианты оформления: 
 

As you can see there are a lot of semicolons because they are used for style definitions. I changed field separator to *? and even to `. But only first six field from ID to Tax shown in the import tab into the table. All other fields ware unavailable (buttion "next" (>>) was not appiared, buttion "back" (<<) was present but not worked).

When I used simple HTML codes w/o semicolons and with default field separator everything is work fine, even include image import :coolsmile:

What is the problem? Is it bug? How to solve it?

[sperio]

"space" could be a problem

i was uploading a list of URLs it failed the first time because i had some space before the next item

e.g

http://eyz.com/abc.jpg, http://eyz.com/efg.jpg, http://eyz.com/hij.jpg

the first image loaded ok... the rest failed

then i tried this

http://eyz.com/abc.jpg,http://eyz.com/efg.jpg,http://eyz.com/hij.jpg

works like a charm... be careful of spaces

[rka81]

Hi,

On the back of this - please ntoe that i have managed to uploda products using the import function with pictures - i was wondering if anyone knows how to amend the prestahop code to allow me to bulk upload, downloadable products. The downloadable products does not seem to be one of the "allowed" fileds to import so was wondering if this would be possible by manually editing the upload/import code....

Any help /pointers will be grateful..... or even a solution!!!! Ha ha!

thanks in advance...

[malcek]

First of all I would like to thank you for helping me with CVS and I learn a lot , but I stuck with problem of special charaters in my language ŠČŽ. When I left them in CVS file at the end of import proces it give me "Hack attempt" :grrrr . Is it a solution for that?

[emcyze]

Hello all,

I just went through the whole thread and found way enough information to have the import working. So thanks for your help.

Now i'm trying to figure out how to import multi language information as my store is in French and English.

Do I have to edit manually all products for the translation or does the import allow to manage several languages ?
Any experience is welcome.

[presta-dyr]

I wrote a module that can import CSV or XML files with support for multiple languages and multiple images. It can import thousands of product in a few seconds.

Send me a private message if you want to know more.

/Kjeld

[hotseon]

It is a very problem I think...

[Skarlet]

Could you fix your problem ? Could you import products ?

Let me know. maybe I can halp you

Regards,

[Ricky_v]

I have solve my issue

changing FastCGI to APACHE on host server

well done

I can now import external images in a CSV with everything else

I'm on a script now to write a CVS file from some urls or reference products based.

[Skarlet]

Great !!!

[custommadefigurines]

The products all going into the home category sounds like it isnt picking up your categories from your csv