[RYC]

Hi Steve, my CSV Import license expires this month but before I renew I need to ask a couple of questions to know if I’ll have a need for this add-on in the future.

I manage a directory for a small boat club (120 members) and each year we have some turnover of owners and renters. I’d like to be able to export all the data, revise it, and then re-import it using CSV Import. Is this a good idea?

I see there is no “Department” field available for export. I use that field for each members boat details so it would be critical to have the data exported and re-imported in sync.

I’ll look forward to your reply.

Thanks,
Walt

[Steven Zahm]

@ Walt

re: I’d like to be able to export all the data, revise it, and then re-import it using CSV Import. Is this a good idea?

Sure, other do it. There no way to remove entries though. You would have to manually delete them in Connections. I’d suggest doing that before you do the export.

re: I see there is no “Department” field available for export.

Which export tool are you using? It definitely should be included in the “All” export tool.

[RYC]

@Steve,

If I go here:

http://connections-pro.com/documentation/tools/#Export

… and search for “department” nothing comes up.

Also I’m concerned about, “The fields that are exported really depends on the data entered in your database. The list of fields below assumes all entries in your database have been entered with all fields including one work address, one work phone number, one work email, one Skype messenger ID, one social media Facebook URL, one blog link and one birthdate.” Does that mean that every field must contain an entry for every member in order for that field to be exported?

Final question, is the “Import” tab under tools separate from the CSV Import utility? I wasn’t aware that Exporting was possible until I read about it in a topic below.

Thanks,
Walt

[Steven Zahm]

@ Walt

re: search for “department” nothing comes up.

The department field is not explicitly state but it is included in the “All” export tool. The fields listed are actually just an example. I guess I can make that more clear in the text. If you click the export button and open the resulting file, the department field will be included.

re: Does that mean that every field must contain an entry for every member in order for that field to be exported?

No, it does not. If a field is not entered for an entry, it’ll be blank in the export.

re: Final question, is the “Import” tab under tools separate from the CSV Import utility?

Yes, it is separate, for now. Thee CSV Import will eventually be relocated under that tab since it make more sense to be in this location rather that a top level item. It will still be a paid extension, just the location of the tool itself will change.

Hope that fully answers your questions.

[RYC]

Almost …

Sorry, I still don’t understand, if the Import tab’s functionality is separate from CSV Import, why is the CSV Import add-on necessary? What’s the difference between the two?

Thanks, Walt

[Steven Zahm]

@ Walt

The Import tab is just a “place”. It does not do anything other than provide a space for tools to be added to Connections.

On the Import tab (place) you will find an import tool. This import tool is used to bulk import categories (categories are assigned to entries).

Currently, the CSV Import extension’s “place” is in the admin menu. The CSV Import extension, which bulk import entries (entries are the listing in your directory), will be moved to the Import tools tab. The actual functionality will not change.

The are two different tools that will be placed in the same space.

From a different perspective, look at the Export tab. on that tab you will find several export tools. each tool, although very similar, they do different functions/tasks.

Hope I’ve cleared that up for you and not made it more confusing.

[RYC]

Got that part … thanks for your patience.

My concept of categories is that they are simply filters that will display entries that are checked as belonging to that category. So I assume that if I export a category I’m exporting only the category itself (the filtering mechanism) and NOT the entries that belong to that category.

If I’ve got that part right then I think I understand how this all works.

Thanks again for your help!
Walt

[Steven Zahm]

@ Walt

re: So I assume that if I export a category I’m exporting only the category itself (the filtering mechanism) and NOT the entries that belong to that category.

yes, that is correct :)

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