Troubleshooting

Always consider the possibility of changes you have made and may have forgotten about, when you see a lot of errors. Also consider colleagues making changes. I’m specifically talking about CSV file headers being renamed, new columns in the CSV file, database table names changing, database tables being deleted or their columns changing. When you save settings, the settings store these things mentioned above and can cause a lot of failure. During data import or post creation we can easily get a lot list of repeated errors because the plugin expects to find something that no longer exists. There is only so far we can go with protection in a plugin this advanced. We do add protection but in a lot of cases it would effect performance so we avoid doing so.

This problem is caused by CSV files with spaces in their names. Please remove all spaces from your files name if you are seeing interface issues for a single file. I wrote a longer post with example screenshot here.

Wordpress seems to keep categories hidden when created by CSV 2 POST. This also happens with other import plugins. I have tried various approaches to creating categories so that the Categories seen will show them.

If we manually create then delete a category, it makes hidden ones appear. It leads me to believe it is some type of cache and we need to update that cache when we create categories.

Posts are assigned to the proper categories and categories show normal on the Edit Post screen. So we can clearly see that categories are created properly. We will look into this issue and find a fix. This was written while the plugin was on version 6.6.7. We will update this text to indicate what version the fix is in.

You are possibly using PHP 5.2 on your server. The function that calculates the files age uses a PHP 5.3 function and everyone is recommended to use 5.3.

Adding quotes around all values will usually solve problems where the plugin does not read all column headers. Checking the number of column replacement tokens, database table columns and the headers stored in Data Import Job array will allow you to determine if this is the case. It usually only happens with TAB separated files for some reason. As always I recommend generating your file with comma separation where possible.

I’m also adding a second method of reading files so that when an issue like this is encountered, the user can switch methods and hopefully get better results. The other method is using “fgetcsv”, a standard PHP function. That function, despite being part of the PHP package, also stumbles with some files. This is why we need a flexible and advanced tool like WordPress CSV Importer.

The WordPress CSV Importer interface is very dynamic and becoming more dynamic with ever update. Ensure you have not overwritten your full edition package files with the free edition, easily done when downloading the plugin from WordPress.org. I plan to add code that allows full edition use when the free edition folder and files are detected. That way premium users can use WordPress.org to perform updates.

If you are sure you are using the full edition package files. The cause may be a simple case of settings. There is a Question and Answers system which will hide or display already hidden features based on your answers. Reset the answer for that system if you think it could be the cause. The “Help” button which you can find on every panel, also offers the ability to hide individual panels manually. These features are all about allowing users to reduce the complexity of the interface for ease of use or to restrict clients from doing things a developer does not want them to be allowed to do. Much of these systems are still new. If you experience problems, please contact us.

There are multiple steps in the process of updating posts. First the new CSV file needs to be imported. This will be done based on any settings you have saved in the Data Import Job using the file. The plugin then requires you to setup the Post Creation Project for things like drip-feeding and public updating. Visit the Updating tab on the Your Projects page and begin there. You should also visit the Your Creations page and setup your schedule settings so that all hours and days are permitted This is the easiest way to begin updating, then you can possibly change the settings to suit your needs better once you see something happening.

Wordpress CSV Importer will run what we call “Post Creation Events” when your blog gets a visitor. During the loading of WordPress, specifically the header, our plugin will also be loaded. A quick check is done to see if the schedule allows events to run at the current time, it checks if targets have been met for the hour and if there is actually any projects setup for Drip-Feeding.

It may be that your blog has not had visitors every hour, usually only the cause if it is a new blog. This is common with this plugin as users install it on new blogs and use this plugin to build them.

Ensure your project has unused records and is setup for drip-feeding on the Your Creation page. Also make sure your targets are not too low i.e. if your target is 5 posts per hour, but 10 posts per day. Then your 10 posts per day may be created within the first 2 hours of the day and so no post creation events will run on other permitted hours.

Some themes use a lot of action hooks. These are like triggers which intercept specific scripts. For example CSV 2 POST might create a post and a theme will have a hook that triggers a function to run when that post is created. If CSV 2 POST creates 1000 posts, then the theme takes extra action with one or more functions, 1000 times. The function might do any number of things. The point is that the theme is creating more work for WordPress and the server. This is fine unless a theme uses a lot of hooks and takes action for a lot of post creation or post update related processes.

Here is a list of known themes that use a heavy amount of hooks or other functions that cause slow down in an unusual way…

• www.pagelines.com (framework)

A JavaScript conflict is causing CSV 2 POST interface to mess up a lot. I’m guessing that the nature of this plugin requires script to be loaded at all times. This issue was discovered 25th January 2013 and is being investigated.

The cause is scripts being loaded in the wordfenceClass.php file near lines 1353 to 1355, version 3.5.2 of the plugin. They are loaded by default when not on a Wordfence Security plugin page. So they must apply to all pages but CSV 2 POST conflicts.

Plugins author Mark Maunder has been contacted for advise. The cause may be CSV 2 POST however the conflict is in the loading of wp-point, the new tooltip feature. CSV 2 POST does not load or use it.

After some research I narrowed down the cause of the conflict and put a workaround in place. As of CSV 2 POST version 6.7.4 we should be able to use both plugins however the Google Map plugins interface will now be broken instead of CSV 2 POST. Each tabbed screen will not be displayed on a single page and tabs no longer work. This is the fault that the conflict was causing to happen in CSV 2 POST. The good thing is that the Google Map plugins interface is not as full of features as CSV 2 POST which has many screens. See my post regarding the specific cause. 

On 16th August 2012 I established that “Tweet My Post” plugin is conflicting with CSV 2 POST. It causes problems with jQuery UI dialogue. It is specifically line 40 of the Tweet My Post plugin that registers http://code.jquery.com/jquery-latest.min.js, a .js file not used in CSV 2 POST so I’m not sure why the conflict is happening. Debugging this issue is a priority

If you experience the installation screen or any other screen displaying an overlay without a dialogue. It may be the same cause on another plugin. Please report the issue.

This conflict does not seem to be caused by CSV 2 POST. If you believe otherwise please comment below.

On 16th August 2012 I established that “Tweet My Post” plugin is conflicting with CSV 2 POST. It causes problems with jQuery UI dialogue on CSV 2 POST. It is specifically line 40 of the Tweet My Post plugin that registers http://code.jquery.com/jquery-latest.min.js, a .js file not used in CSV 2 POST so I’m not sure why the conflict is happening. Debugging this issue is a priority

Many posts on WordPress.org shows there has been known issues with Tweet My Post plugin breaking many JavaScript related elements of WordPress so make sure you have the latest version of it. This is not blame. I have not yet determined what plugin has the bug.

• http://wordpress.org/support/topic/plugin-tweet-my-post-plugin-blocks-media-upload
• http://wordpress.org/support/topic/plugin-tweet-my-post-cant-add-my-pictures

If you experience the installation screen or any other screen displaying an overlay without a dialogue. It may be the same cause on another plugin. Please report the issue.

Updated 26th August 2012. We are offering £20.00 reward to anyone who finds a suitable solution to this glitch. It does not effect the plugins performance however it does appear that it may be JavaScript related so we would like a fix soon.

The overlay on Your Projects page is darker than it should be, as if being applied twice and it has a lighter bar across the middle. This problem goes away when the_editor() functions is removed so I have narrowed it down that far. It must be JS or CSS conflicting.

Here is a link to post explaining what I typed above. There is an image showing the problem. Please post comments there for discussing this issue…

http://www.csv2post.com/development/overlay-glitch-conflict-with-wysiwyg-editor

UPDATE: After re-testing with version 3.1.2 I found no problems. jQuery Tabs work fine.

This conflict does not seem to be caused by CSV 2 POST. If you believe otherwise please comment below.A user showed me an issue where all panels on a page are in one large list instead of being on separate tab screens. This is a JavaScript/jQuery UI issue. Problem was found on 15th August 2012 and the cause is not determined but being investigated.

WordPress users have reported JavaScript issues caused by the HTTPS plugin and the author of the plugin responded so please ensure you have the latest version of the WordPress HTTPS plugin.

• http://wordpress.org/support/topic/plugin-wordpress-https-ssl-conflicts-with-slideshow-gallery-after-update
• http://wordpress.org/support/topic/plugin-wordpress-https-ssl-conflict-with-wp-crm-plugin