CSV Importer – Events not importing

[Francoise Sullivan]

I was able to successfully import Venues and Organizers but have not been able to import any Events. When I click on Import I am directed to a blank page. I have altered text, formatting, skipped columns and it does not make a difference. I have tested importing a single event vs. multiple events and I get the same result. I have been using the CSV importer weekly to import events and it has been working fine. I am about to tear my hair out. Please advise.

I have attached a copy of the single event CSV file I am trying to import.

I am running
WordPress 4.5.2
The Events Calendar PRO 4.2

[Francoise Sullivan]

I just attempted to upload the test csv file provided on your website and had the same issue.

[Francoise Sullivan]

I also just tried to do an import where I didn’t map any of the fields and got a blank page – in the past I got an error telling me required fields were missing.

[Andras]

Hi flaws72,

I’m sorry you are having this problem with the importer. While I start testing it could you please share your system information with me in a private reply?

Which version of the iCal importer are you using?

Can you also share a screenshot of your Events > Import > Import settings?

Thanks,
Andras

[Francoise Sullivan]

This reply is private.

[Francoise Sullivan]

iCal importer version Version 4.2.0.1 is installed. I disabled it thinking that might help – it did not.

Import settings screen cap attached. I tried importing with default encoding on and off and got the same result.

[Andras]

Hello again,

I might have found the issue. The .csv file is a Comma Separated Value file, meaning that the field values are separated with a comma. That’s how the importer knows where a field starts and ends.

I did some testing and found 2 issues in the file.

• There are fields which contain text that also has comma in it. That comma can mess things up. So first I reco to either to remove the commas in the fields, or to exchange them to a special character (e.g. #) which then you can change back later manually.
• It’s not visible in Excel, but when you open the file in notepad (or a simple editor) you will see some quotation marks in a field or two. That is also stopping things, so just remove those and it should work.

(The error when importing files like this is not really the fault of our importer, but rather the limitations / restrictions of the CSV format.)

So this is the process I did with your sample file and then the import worked like a charm:

1. Open the file in Excel or a spreadsheet software where you see the different values in columns, but you don’t see the cell separating commas
2. Do a search & replace for the comma character (I replaced it with the hash (#) )
3. Save the file in .CSV format (in Excel it is the Comma Delimited one)
4. Close Excel
5. Open the file with notepad or a simple text editor
6. Do a search & replace for the quotations marks (“), replace them with nothing
7. Save the file and you are ready to import.

Try this and let me know how it works out.

Cheers,
Andras

[Francoise Sullivan]

I just tried with your suggestions with a new file of events and still had the same problem. I am able to upload Organizers and Venues but not events. Attached is the file I tried to upload. I saved the file in Excel as a CSV. Opened with Notepad, searched and deleted any ” marks and resaved the file.

[Andras]

Hey flaws,

I managed to import the file without any problem.

This is the steps I took:

1. Go to Events > Import
2. Settings for CSV import are: Published | Encode contents (just did a test with Pending and Do not encode, it also worked.)
3. Go to CSV tab, select Import type: Events, select the file from the PC, click Import button
4. I matched up the fields as you see on this screenshot: https://cloudup.com/cREPAGMs4BP
5. Click Perform import
6. Process finishes with success, 4 events imported.

Did you do the same steps or was there anything different?

How did you match up the columns? Was there anything different there? Can you make a screenshot?

Do you maybe have some custom fields set up? Can you make a screenshot of this as well?

And your sysinfo got cut somehow. If you could re-post it again I would appreciate it .

Thanks and cheers,
Andras

[Andras]

Also, I would like to ask you to run a test for plugin and theme conflicts. Some plugin you are using might be causing a hiccup.

Here’s a guide on how to do the test.

Waiting for the results!

Cheers,
Andras

[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]

Posts