Step One

The Test Posts tool is provided to help during the process of editing and updating existing posts. So the first step is to create posts using CSV 2 POST.

Step Two

Open C2P Content in the menu and click Edit on the template you wish to change then apply to posts using that template.

Step Three

Enter one or more post ID separated by comma. The posts must be using the template you plan to edit. They may have used the template originally or you have changed to that template. Either way CSV 2 POST will still only apply the template linked to the posts through the standard project settings or the custom field named “csv2post_template”. The Test Posts tool simply tells CSV 2 POST which posts we want updated right now, despite any other settings.

Step Four

Ensure your posts are private or draft, unless you are working on a test blog then it does not matter. The idea is to hide changes. Confident users may enter post ID for public posts, that is fine. We’re still reducing any potential damage if our template changes are not correct or turn out different from what we expected.

Step Five

Click Update and check your posts. Continue the process if required.

The post Content Template Test Posts Meta Box appeared first on CSV 2 POST Data Engine.

No category settings have been saved for your current project. You must save some category settings to make categories as the plugin does not know what columns your category data is in or the order of categories

Explanation

You have not visited and submitted forms for category settings. CSV 2 POST does not assume or detect category data.

Solution

• Go to the Your Projects page
• Click on the Categories tab
• Configure one or more of the forms and submit

The post No Category Settings Saved For Testing appeared first on CSV 2 POST Data Engine.

Beta Tester 50% Discount – May Only

We are offering all of our packages half-price during May, with a limit on the number of times our voucher code can be used. The voucher code is “WP3.6“, that is without the quotes. You can enter it during checkout, before arriving at Paypal.

The code can be used 10 times. The idea is to have just enough beta testers to help us ensure the plugin is ready but not so much that we cannot work with each buyer individually. We are confident our own testing shows things will go smoothly when WP 3.6 is released but further feedback from new users is essential as always and benefits our existing users. Users of the discount code accept that they will be using our latest build of CSV 2 POST which is version 6.9.6. It is designed to work with WordPress 3.6 only to enforce beta testing. That is only fair to recent buyers or anyone purchasing the plugin to use straight away on the current WP version.

Why New Users?

I just wanted to mention our need for new users rather than simply working with the feedback we are getting from current users who beta test for us.

New users make mistakes for one. They don’t have habits with the plugin that existing users may have. Some habits may lead to the avoidance of using certain features or using features in a certain way. A new user is likely to try a bit of everything. This also helps to ensure people are installing CSV 2 POST for the first time. This is important and we cannot know for sure if existing users are always installing the plugin on a fresh blog every-time we release a version.

The nature of the changes in CSV 2 POST 6.9.6 an the fact they come in-line with a new WordPress version brings more urgency to our testing than normal. In honest we hope to get 2-3 good best testers from this offer and enough feedback to deliver a much improved plugin by end of May.

Existing Testers Free Hosting Offer

Existing feedback from current testers has been great and without it we would be very stuck. Testing on a plugin of this size and complexity takes a lot of time, it is always appreciated. That is why we are offering free hosting to anyone providing feedback and reporting bugs. The length of the hosting will depend on the time spent working with us but will always start at 1 year. This sort of offer and approach will be in use a lot as we release more plugins in future so keep it in mind if you want to skip paying for hosting bills.

Future Offers

An offer like this will not happen again until end of December so be assured that it is value for money and is being controlled so that recent buyers are treated fairly.

The post WordPress 3.6 Discount Offer – Save 50% Off CSV 2 POST appeared first on CSV 2 POST Data Engine.

Next

Right now I’m considering making the free edition far more simple and focusing on Quick Start. I’ve been thinking about it for sometime now and just trying to decide exactly what will be removed.

Today I considered the idea of removing the option to switch between jQuery and WordPress styling. The free edition would be WordPress styling only and all the extra support provided through the Support Buttons i.e. Info and Video. Would become a premium feature. The help content is still online so the paid advantage is having it at hand. There is a lot to come for the jQuery interface including a lot of Ajax. It requires a hell of a lot more work in a plugin of this size. I’m 80% decided on this idea and hoping I get feedback on it.

The post WordPress 3.6 jQuery Issue Fixed appeared first on CSV 2 POST Data Engine.

Nonces

The security changes are regarding nonces. A nonce is created for every form and checked for every submission. However there may still be a couple of forms that work differently and if I miss them. It may trigger “Are you sure you want to do this?” to be displayed. I’m posting this to help remind us of these recent changes.

Function csv2post_include_form_processing_php() calls check_admin_referer(). Start here if the vague WordPress message is ever displayed while using CSV 2 POST. The function is in wtgcore_wp_config.php.

The post Are you sure you want to do this? appeared first on CSV 2 POST Data Engine.

If you have been following our “CSV2POST” Tweets you’ll already know what this version provides. We are also making greater use of the Changelog page by updating it during development. Each update will indicate a new feature or a key change. So I will not be posting the information here.

The post Version 6.9.5 appeared first on CSV 2 POST Data Engine.

Update 19th April: Consider how we do a comparison of a possible post based on data we import, against a post that may already exist. That is the problem I need to solve. I need to offer the ability to apply a strict comparison i.e. multiple parts of a post. The problem with doing that in the ultimate csv importer plugin is that a draft post is created before all content is complete. Meaning even if there is going to be a match, we still make a draft. So I’ve decided we’ll continue that approach rather than building content, titles and custom field values then comparing them to all existing posts. It is a hard one but what CSV 2 POST will do is finish the draft post, do all comparisons demanded by the user, adopt an existing post if one exists then delete the draft. In terms of code it is far more simplier than doing multiple checks before the draft is completed then adopting a post when all requirements are met in terms of matches. That still requires a lot of processing and would require a fancy function that does all types of comparison. Then even if it finds a comparison, we would need to jump to the end of the post creation script which in itself is not easy because it would need to be possible at numerous lines. So as I said a full draft post will be complete, we will arrive near the end of the post creation function, do comparisons against existing posts. Then adopt a match and delete the draft or publish the draft if no match found.

The plugin has post adoption abilities to some extent but they were very hidden and basic. I’m currently working on new interface options and a better procedure. I’m posting this as early food for anyone who Googles for information about the feature. Post adoption has the potential to ruin a blog if not used with some care and the database backed up.

Please be aware that some of the features described won’t be added straight away. We are simply planning them.

Warnings

Many approaches can be put to work when adopting posts. Tests should always be carried out to ensure you know how to reach the desired outcome.

• The adoption process can adopt a post and do nothing to the existing post.
• It can adopt a post and update the content, add new custom fields plus more.
• It can adopt a post, add new custom fields and do nothing else.

With the functionality being so new it is important to carry out proper tests and check every element of posts.

Methods

We can adopt posts using the following parts of a post on their own individually or enforce strictness by demanding a match to all…

• A selected custom field and its value
• Title
• Slug

We can upgrade further to allow the following to be included in the match…

• Content (100% match)
• Part of content
• Post ID

Purpose

Adoption allows CSV 2 POST to adopt posts created manually or even posts created by other data importers. This is important if your not happy with your current data import plugin but still created a lot of public posts with it.

We can also adopt posts with a new CSV 2 POST project if we delete an old project that we used to create posts.

The post Post Adoption Features In Progress appeared first on CSV 2 POST Data Engine.

The following are columns you will now find in data import job tables. They will appear in menus on the plugin interface when category splitter settings are saved. After which we can select these and make use of them in other forms.

• splitcat1
• splitcat2
• splitcat3
• splitcat4
• splitcat5

We have taking a different approach than usual. We are splitting the category data the same, but we are storing the category names in pre-made columns before creating categories. We can perform this action manually, before post creation. This allows us to do more with the data than we would previously including using all other existing category related forms in CSV 2 POST. Naturally the forms need to be designed to assume categories are in multiple columns and by preparing our data so that becomes true. It makes life a bit easier.

A key advantage is the fact that we can use all of the same category functions in PHP rather than code a bunch of new ones which only require more testing and complicate future upgrades.

The post splitcat1 splitcat2 splitcat3 splitcat4 splitcat5 appeared first on CSV 2 POST Data Engine.

That plugin was CSV 2 POST, the plugin you can now download for free again from the WordPress.org website. After some WordPress education my respect for the WP community soon grew. I could see why it has to work the way it does, I could see the reason why we done a “Computer Ethics” module and I could see many authors/developers bending every rule or ethic to its limits. We see it everywhere, but lets stick to WordPress and this plugin for now shall we!

I came to feel that most CSV importer plugins restrict just enough to make them useless if someone wants to create post that make use of WordPress standard features. Lets face it, that is most WordPress users who have a clue about such functionality, agree?! Are authors suggesting that users create 100 posts in a few seconds then manually add featured images to them all? Yes, I suppose they are and I’m not saying they are breaking rules or unethical. It is natural to charge a fee for a time saving solution, in any industry. But when the free solution doesn’t meet the requirement of even the most basic side to its purpose, is that not just a demo?

Continue to read more of my opinion on this…

Limited or Unlimited Free Support?

There is a limit to the number of features plugin authors can provide free, especially when the plugin works with data and saves hours of time. The easier a plugin is, the easier support is and it would be easy to say free support is unlimited. We can’t do that with a plugin like CSV 2 POST, Easy CSV Importer or WordPress CSV Importer etc. They demand more than the average levels of support.

More features equal more complexity in data importers. A plugin like CSV 2 POST has already saved many large business days worth of time by offering advanced abilities. We need to cash in on that and our customers/clients do not mind. But many users are very happy to keep using the free importers out there and the support demand for them all is high. Some plugin authors ignore the support requests because it is a never ending, profitless task. I refuse to ignore a request for help and I refuse to provide very restrictive plugin, which is what this post is about. Plugins which are restrictive, some of which come with no or little free support and there are even some which still don’t come with much support on purchasing the premium edition.

To stay on the sunnier side in the land of reputation, I’m going to spend more time encouraging donations and make clear improvements in the free edition in response. Below is an image showing the new notice box on the free edition Install page, Install Actions screen…

Featured Images A Featured Feature?

Are featured images a featured feature in every CSV importer plugin for WordPress? The answer is no and this is the best example of what I mean when I say “minimum requirements per post”. Many are going to argue that such a minimum requirement doesn’t exist but I strongly disagree. I think we would struggle to find a theme considered as Web 3.0 or CSS3 or WordPress 3.6 ready…that does not require featured images to truly fulfill its design.

Why is the featured image functionality not supported by all auto-blogging plugins? The answer I think is because the authors of these plugins feel it is both a key ability and an advanced ability.

The advanced…lets say ‘appearance’, of an ability such as featured image attachment allows plugin authors to make out as if it is an ability that can really only be provided at a price, like it requires a professional with a degree to get it working in auto-blogging fashion or something! The approach is fine, I do it with some features such as applying custom permalink. However the featured image ability is very different from other parts of WordPress Edit Post screen. The featured image ability allowed post editors to move a posts main image from within the posts content to an attachment which can be presented in a better way by themes. Even free themes use this ability, hell they require it. We can’t just add the image to post content and see our premium themes come to life in the way they were shown in the demo. So doesn’t that mean featured images aren’t really optional and so if a plugin that creates posts does not add the images. Does it not mean the plugin does not work or is a demo?

Data Related Plugins Require Much Support

I agree that it is not easy to provide a plugin that deals with data. A plugin of this nature demands higher support than most plugins, so authors will reduce functionality in their free editions. They must and they should. Even if a plugin is not super advanced it still generates support and each author will accept their own level of demand. That will often determine how much the are willing to give away free. It is the way it must be and an author may be making a living from this. The sales and profit encouraging them to continue providing more plugins or themes. I simply as that what they provide as their contribution to the WP community does not restrict the most standard features required in order to say a job is done.

CSV 2 POST free edition provides certain features other data importers do not so that users can say “Job done!”. Even if a user created 10 posts with the plugin, I want the level of standard in those posts to reach minimum requires for the themes that come with WordPress itself i.e. Twenty Thirteen, the theme in development as I type this. That not only requires featured images for posts to look as they are meant to but it requires Post Formats which will make full use of the theme.

Post Formats Free In CSV 2 POST

WordPress 3.6 is delivering a cool featured called Post Formats. I’ve already added the support for this to CSV 2 POST free and premium edition. As always the premium edition got just a little more option. That is how I work. I do no restrict a key feature for a theme to work at its full, including custom fields, then display a link in place of where that feature would be. Suggesting the user buys a premium edition. Instead I simply put more time into the premium side of things and offer more.

That is what makes CSV 2 POST the best data importer, the best WordPress auto-blogger and the fairest product of its type.

The post Many Free WordPress Data Import Plugins Are Demos appeared first on CSV 2 POST Data Engine.

We have time to investigate this and it may be a temporary issue but I investigated anyway and this is what I found…

JQMIGRATE: jQuery is not compatible with Quirks Mode

Cause: A browser runs in “quirks mode” when the HTML document does not have a <!doctype ...> as its first non-blank line, or when the doctype in the file is invalid. This mode causes the browser to emulate 1990s-era (HTML3) behavior. In Internet Explorer, it also causes many high-performance APIs to be hidden in order to better emulate ancient browsers. jQuery has never been compatible with, or tested in, quirks mode.

Solution: Put a valid doctype in the document and ensure that the document is rendering in standards mode. The simplest valid doctype is the HTML5 one, which we highly recommend: <!doctype html> . The jQuery Migrate plugin does not attempt to fix issues related to quirks mode.

I found this after opening the script console which shows…

JQMIGRATE: jQuery is not compatible with Quirks Mode

This message is a first for me but it seems that it indicates the WordPress admin does not have a valid doctype. Why not?

I’ll put a couple of days work into our CSS only GUI, it is the intended option when jQuery goes wrong or someone wants to customize the interface for a client. The CSS only approach is ready but a little rough around the edges, some forms needed tidied up and the menu behaves a little strange. Still a great option for a script bug emergency.

The post Beta Testing WordPress 3.6 jQuery Problem appeared first on CSV 2 POST Data Engine.