[Steven Zahm]

@ Kathleen

RE: Tried code snippets…not entirely happy with results; have not worked through right to the part about editing the template

I recommend following the tutorial on editing the template to show your custom text field.

RE: Odd thing with this method. when I deactivate my snippet…the resulting field and data appear on the contact screen the customer sees. When I activate the snippet – the opposite happens… the field and data disappear. So – I tried adding a custom field in the data entry screen. Simple. Works – and displays the field and data in the contact screen my customers see, but the words “Custom field” display as a heading and my custom field name and resulting data appear in a bulleted list.

Apologies for the confusion! It stems from core WordPress terminology. The “custom field” you added is different from the “Custom Fields” metabox (with the drop down). I’ll try to explain…

Take a look at your add WordPress Page/Post, you will also find the “Custom Fields” metabox… and, very likely, you’ll have custom fields added by the theme and other plugins. The custom field you added following the tutorial adds new custom field like the theme and plugins added fields to the WordPress page/post admin page.

So…

The custom field you added by following the tutorial will display as its own metabox as its own input just as they do when the theme or plugin adds a custom field to the WordPress page/post page.

Just like WordPress, Connections stores the data from the “Custom Fields” metabox in the same place as custom fields. So yes, you can have data show up in the “Custom Fields” metabox when the snippet is deactivated and have it disappear when it is active. This is to ensure the custom data is not lost when editing when the custom field is not activate. The exact same will happen if you change WordPress themes or deactivate plugins which add custom fields to the WordPress post/page admin pages. Unless the theme/plugin registered the custom field as “private” but that is a whole other topic best left shelved for now.

I hope this makes sense!

RE: How can I make this look better?

Well, my suggestion would be to follow through with the tutorial and edit the template. That way you can add you own header text and label (if you want). And then you can also control exact where you want it to be displayed by putting the code in that spot in the template.

RE: Will your instructions for importing into a custom field work with fields created in this manner?

The tutorial does cover how to make the custom field available to import and export with a CSV file.

This is pretty advanced if you have little experience with PHP. I do offer custom development services if you need it. Contact me using the link at the very bottom of the page.

Hope this helps!

[Steven Zahm]

@ Kathleen

RE: I tried to go to the Slim Plus plugin and click on “View Details” and I receive the error: An unexpected error occurred.

What happens when you click the View Details button for other plugins? I suspect you will receive the same error as that is a WordPress error. If you do not, perhaps outbound requests to our server is being blocked by the web host. If that is the case, you might have to contact the web host to have them unblock the outbound connections.

RE: I just created the custom field using code snippets, so I’m not sure if this has created the problem.

Installing the CSV Import and adding a code snippet are very unlikely to be related to the error.

RE: I noticed that the field I created shows up when I want to enter a new contact, but it does not show up in the slim template when a user views my contact page.

Are you following the instructions in this tutorial on how to add a custom text field?

If you are, then you need to follow thru with the instructions on how to display the field by editing the template.

Hope this helps! Let me know what you learn about the View Details link for other plugins and if outbound request are being blocked or not.

[Steven Zahm]

@ Tatiana

PLease make sure the CSV file meets the requirements.

• CSV File Requirements

After you’ve done that, that a moment to read the tips. If the requirements and tips are followed there should not be an issue importing the file.

Also, please refer to the second paragraph in this FAQ as I think it is the reason you are not seeing items being imported:

• Why is nothing being imported?

One last suggestion if none of this works… If you have not upgraded Connections to version 8.11, please do so now. After the upgrade is complete navigate to the Connections : Settings tab and click the Betas tab. Opt into the CSV Import beta. Then navigate to the WordPress Updates admin page and click the Check Again button. Update to the beta version of CSV Import. It provides faster importing of large CSV files and more importantly more feedback during the import process. If CSV rows are skipped or failed it let you know and provide download links to CSV file which contain the skipped and failed rows.

Hope this helps! Let me know.

[Steven Zahm]

@ Steven

You need to give the View Admin Menu capability too. The items underneath can not be displayed if the top level item is not shown. Hope that makes sense.

I do not think you want to do this though.. giving everyone with the Customer role these capabilities as it will give them all access to the admin page with the ability to edit any entry within the database. If you are looking to have your users have the ability to maintain their own directory entry, yout need the Link extension. You would then give the Customer role only the Add/Edit Moderated capabilities.

Hope this helps!

[Steven Zahm]

@ Paul

Sure… I would import each contact with the phone, email and address as an individual and the company as an organization. That has far more to do with the CSV file you will import vs the abilities of Connections. For example, the AECOM would by 9 individual rows in the CSV file.

You would need this addon for Connections:
https://github.com/Connections-Business-Directory/Entry-Organization

And you would need a custom template in order to create a pseudo link between the organization and the individuals. I;ve done a few projects like this already so based on the little I’ve seen, yes, this would be doable.

Not sure if the answer helps, but I hope it does.

[Steven Zahm]

@ Steven

You as as admin would not see any changes, you will always have all capabilities. Also… Connections Roles Capabilities has nothing to do with the admin bar.

[Steven Zahm]

@ Paul

Connections runs as a plugin for WordPress which is written in PHP which is served with nginx or Apache with MySQL or MariaDB used as the database… not quote sure how Coldfusion would fit into that. It certainly is not required by WordPress or Connections so if Coldfusion is being used it is not very like for WP or Connections.

Not sure if that helps or not, but I hope it does.

[Steven Zahm]

@ Mary Lou

Since it is managed host… they might need to “unlock” the folder so it is readable. Which host?

[Steven Zahm]

@ Mary Lou

Oh, I did not know you had images uploaded already. So, no, do not delete the folder.

So, this was working correctly, yes? If it was, what has changed? Which plugin have been installed or updated when it stopped working? Any security plugins? Did the web host do any upgrades on your account? Did you make any changes to your .htaccess file? If you did, what were they?

[Steven Zahm]

@ Mary Lou

Try this… login into the site with FTP and delete the connections-images folder. Create it again and then set the permissions. Does that correct the issue? If not, you might have to contact the web host to ask them why the folder is not readable.

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