Xpath 2.0?

Hi @monkeydude50

No matter what try regarding server php settings, the import takes forever and usually fails around 50%.

Please try optimizing your import by following this guide: https://www.wpallimport.com/documentation/troubleshooting/slow-imports/. Also, if you’re importing images, you should disable image optimization plugins during the import.

If it still terminates after that, please see: https://www.wpallimport.com/documentation/troubleshooting/terminated-imports/.

There is a last “modified column” in my file and I’m trying to filter that for today’s date with xpath. However it seems as though getting today’s date is only available in xpath 2.0. Does Wp All Import support that?

Unfortunately, we currently only support XPath 1.0. However, you could use the wp_all_import_is_post_to_update/create hooks to only import posts that meet your criteria: https://www.wpallimport.com/documentation/developers/code-snippets/#filter-posts-by-date.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 8 months ago by WP All Import.

Hi There,

Thanks for letting me know. I have tried everything with regards to changing my php settings on the server etc and no luck the import still takes a very long time and times out a lot of the time. I’m using a dedicated server too so the hosting is powerful. Any ideas?

I have another question regarding importing attributes for woocommerce – my csv file passes product attribute names and values in the rows as opposed to fixed header titles – due to the amount of products and large variations in type. I managed to successfully import these by selecting “don’t update attributes only create new ones” – this stops the attributes from being overwritten and instead appends them. However if an attribute changes in my file for example there is mistake and it’s corrected with an update this wouldn’t then update that data would it?

Kind Regards,

Hi @monkeydude50

I have tried everything with regards to changing my php settings on the server etc and no luck the import still takes a very long time and times out a lot of the time. I’m using a dedicated server too so the hosting is powerful. Any ideas?

For the speed, try this guide: https://gist.github.com/trey8611/72fec5969651d5272fcb85f99b09b8bb.

For the terminations, what did your web host find in the error logs on the server? We’ll need the relevant entries to advise on that.

However if an attribute changes in my file for example there is mistake and it’s corrected with an update this wouldn’t then update that data would it?

Unfortunately, you’re right, when using the “Don’t touch existing Attributes, add new Attributes” option it won’t delete the attribute term that was created on a previous run of the import. The only way to do that would be to update all attributes, or update the attribute terms directly.

Hi Again,

I’ve swtiched to a new dedicated server (more powerful) to try it out. This time the import was taking so long that I just cancelled it. This file is 4mb and contains only attributes for the products (no images) and has 60,000 rows. It took 5 hours to reach 10% (6000) updated. Is this a normal expected speed for this type of import? Is there potentially a better way, for example importing attributes as custom fields or something. I simply want to show the attributes on the product screen and filter using them.

Again anything you could recommend regarding updating the attributes considering both the attribute label and value are passed in my file?

Kind Regards,

Just an update on this,

I’m now thinking filtering using php is the best way to go and I’ll see how quick it is with much less records being imported. Is it possible using php to only import records that are newer than a date in my products? My files have a last modified date and if I import that to the product or to a custom field in the product could I only import records that compare to that date and if it doesn’t exist or the date is older then import?

Also using php is it possible for me to script it so my attributes file will work the way I need? So it appends all the attributes in the file firstly when creating and then if updating will update the attributes without keep existing values?

Kind Regards,

Hi @monkeydude50

This file is 4mb and contains only attributes for the products (no images) and has 60,000 rows. It took 5 hours to reach 10% (6000) updated. Is this a normal expected speed for this type of import?

No, that doesn’t seem normal, it seems quite slow. Did you see any improvement when you tried the steps in the second guide I sent you?

Is there potentially a better way, for example importing attributes as custom fields or something. I simply want to show the attributes on the product screen and filter using them.

Importing them as custom fields should be much faster, but you’d need a plugin like FacetWP to be able to filter using them.

That said, if the problem is a conflicting plugin/theme, the import could still be slow. I’d strongly suggest setting up a staging copy of your site so that you can test everything in the slow import guide I sent you.

Is it possible using php to only import records that are newer than a date in my products? My files have a last modified date and if I import that to the product or to a custom field in the product could I only import records that compare to that date and if it doesn’t exist or the date is older then import?

Yes, you can modify the example snippet I sent you previously to do that: https://www.wpallimport.com/documentation/developers/code-snippets/#filter-posts-by-date.

Also using php is it possible for me to script it so my attributes file will work the way I need? So it appends all the attributes in the file firstly when creating and then if updating will update the attributes without keep existing values?

It would probably be possible to write a custom solution for that using our API, but I’m afraid I do not have an example snippet for this specific use case.

Is it possible for you to include all of the attributes in your file? That way you could just use “Update all attributes” and it will add/remove attributes as needed.

Great thank you,

Modifying that code snippet should be an ideal solution for me then to filter the records. I had a go at trying to modify the code, I changed the column number to the correct one and instead of the target date I put a reference to a custom field where my date is stored but this didn’t seem to work. I’m just about to purchase the Premium plugin with acf add ons. Would you give support on how to do this?

I’m going to install the premium version and then try the speed improvement guide, specifically the post id matching instead of sku matching as I think that together with my filtered records should mean a smaller quicker import.

Regarding the attributes, sorry I’m not sure I’ve been clear on what I mean or how they are passed in the file. I’ve uploaded some images to imagebb to show what I mean. This is how attributes are passed in my file – https://ibb.co/syT4zwB – the attribute_label column contains the names of the attributes and attribute_value contains the values – https://ibb.co/7kV3Sb0. If I select update all attributes as normal then this happens – https://ibb.co/gv17hQf – it overwrites each attribute with the next, only ever keeping one. If I select “Don’t touch existing Attributes, add new Attributes” then I get the desired result and the attributes append and store all of them – https://ibb.co/7gM6PDM

The only problem with that option is if there’s an issue with an attribute it won’t update it. I hope that makes sense? What would you recommend to get that functionality?

Kind Regards,

Hi @monkeydude50

I changed the column number to the correct one and instead of the target date I put a reference to a custom field where my date is stored but this didn’t seem to work. Would you give support on how to do this?

Unfortunately writing/troubleshooting custom code for your project is beyond the scope of our support. You’ll have to work with a developer to get the code working with your data.

The only problem with that option is if there’s an issue with an attribute it won’t update it. I hope that makes sense? What would you recommend to get that functionality?

Thanks for the images. Unfortunately, we don’t have built-in options to do what you’re wanting in this scenario, because WP All Import isn’t going to touch the existing attributes.

If you’re not able to come up with a custom code solution, you’ll have to export the products when an attribute needs removed/changed, update the attributes in the file, then import the changes using the “Import with WP All Import” feature: https://d.pr/i/fWEWU2.