Converting large XML file to CSV to be imported

[Dwayne]

Hello,

Here is some background on my situation: Our website has around 2,000 events which have been entered as a custom post type in a theme forrest theme. I have been able to export an XML file of all these events (it is around 6MB).

My goal is to take this XML file and convert it to a CSV file that I can import into Events Calendar (on a fresh theme install). The hangup I am running into is converting to CSV.. The file size is nearly 9MB when this is done, and the file can’t even be opened in Excel. I get this error: The file contains more than 1,048,576 rows or 16,384 columns.

So my questions:
A) Can I somehow take the XML and import directly to Events Calendar, or does it have to be CSV?
B) Should I be able to use the 9MB CSV to do an import, or is that too large?
C) Any recommendations or best practices that I can follow.

If it helps, I can link the XML or CSV file – just let me know and I will do so.

Thanks!

[George]

Hey Dwayne,

Thanks for reaching out!

Is the XML file one that was exported from another WordPress site? Or was the XML file generated in some other way?

As for the sheer size of the CSV file, if that notice that Excel gives you is accurate and there are “more than 1,048,576 rows or 16,384 columns”, then this is an immense amount of data. It is not likely that our CSV importer (or just your server itself!) would be able to handle that.

However, please let me know about the generation of this XML file. If it is a typical “WordPress export” XML file, then you should be able to use the methods described in this article to import that XML file into your other WordPress site ? https://theeventscalendar.com/knowledgebase/using-wordpress-export-tools-to-migrate-events-content/

— George

[Dwayne]

Thanks for that info.

Yes, this XML file is from a WordPress site. It is not an XML export from Events Calendar.. Instead there is a custom post-type in my theme called ‘Events’. I’ve exported content from only this post type.

The link you sent talks about exporting typical Events Calendar info, so not helpful in this case.

What other options do I have to break this massive XML file down into manageable chunks? Can I send the file to someone to look at?

[George]

Hey @Dwayne,

Thank you for clarifying the nature of the XML file here. This information is indeed important, and you are correct that it means that the tutorial I linked to does not much apply:

It is not an XML export from Events Calendar.. Instead there is a custom post-type in my theme called ‘Events’.

The best option would honestly be to do a manual database dump. You can read online how to do this…there are many ways.

Breaking down the XML file is indeed possible, too, though it is unfortunately not something we are able to help with. 🙁

Also, there are plugins that might help with the migration process. Check out this plugin, for example: https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-migrate-db/

☝️ I hope this information helps!

George

[Support Droid]

This topic has not been active for quite some time and will now be closed.

If you still need assistance please simply open a new topic (linking to this one if necessary)
and one of the team will be only too happy to help.

[Author]

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