Few Tips for Smooth Zen Cart Product Import - By: Martin Wann

Product Import is one of the most complex procedures in Zen Cart. It demand some technical skills and knowledge. In this piece of writing we will discuss possible ways of Product Import in Zen Cart. There are a number of ways to have it done: do it by hand or use some script, module, add-on. However all of these methods are unsafe as they do not ensure data safety and there's a chance of information damage, duplicate data entry and other errors.

A while ago I bumped into a solution which, to my mind, solves this problem better than all the rest. It's called Store Manager for Zen Cart. Let's take a closer look. Import/Export wizard of Store Manager for Zen Cart admits you to import your information from any .csv file into Store Manager. Import is quite complex procedure and it might be destructive if executed inappropriately. Hence, you have to make database backup before products import, specially if that's the first time you do it.

Before you initiate Import/Export Wizard first thing you have to do is to prepare .csv file for import. You have to make sure it includes all the necessary fields and all information you are about to import is listed in tables. Once your csv file is ready pick Import from the options offered in Import/Expord wizard. Then, indicate the .csv file path and name or make use of browse button to pick one. You can also load import settings to prevent configuring it each time you plan to import products from a .csv file.

If all is correct you can go on to Source file preview which shows a piece of .csv file selected for import. At this point you should pay exceptional notice to delimiters and enclosure. It's enough to look through the first line of the file to notice whether some words are enclosed in quotes (") and are separated by comma (,) symbol.

Choose fields delimiter and quote character. Delimiter character is used to separate one column from another. If wrong delimiter is specified, file will not be parsed properly and products will not be imported. Quote string values delimiter will be used to separate strings in .csv file. If none are used, it can be disabled. Category delimiter character is used to separate category names and specify full category tree path for given category.

Associate columns from .csv file to suitable database fields. Tick the check box if the first row of your .csv file includes not values but field names. Choose the suitable Products Identification Method. If the products is found it will be modified, if not - new product will be added. Please be aware of it is suggested to use Product Name + Model to identify your products. Here are two panels: "Database fields" and ".csv File Columns". "Database Fields" pane displays the list of fields in your database that can receive import information. It is required to assign .csv columns to key fields. In order to do that you should choose a field at the left pane and afterwards click a column at the right pane. You can set correspondence automatically for all fields making use of "Auto set..." option. But this option will work only if .csv column name is the same as database field name.

Next step - Base Formats and Separators. This step admits to convert text values from .csv file to numerical and date values. You can simply set default values using the related button. Import Preview enables you to look at how .csv file was processed using import settings, which you specified at previous steps. Columns which were not assigned will not be imported due to the fact that empty values will overwrite existing.

Import Options settings can impact import results if not selected accurately. It enables you to: select import method, save import settings for future reference, etc. Once you've got all set and ready - press Import to start. When import process is over you can see database details and errors which took place throughout product import (if there were any).

About the Author

So, Zen Cart Product Import can be easy. No need to bother with manual information import and addons, or to bother about data safety and precise import. In my opinion, Store Manager for Zen Cart resolves the problem of product import in the best way. If all the directions are followed precisely product import will be a success and give no head-ache to the online retailer.

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