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The Export/Import tool is one of the most commonly used OpenCart extensions. It can usually be installed without any problems - provided the user carefully follows the installation instructions, either from the embedded 'readme.txt' file, or from the description on the OpenCart marketplace.
If you experience any problems during the installation process, or during an Export or Import, then consider some of the following frequently asked questions:
One of the installation steps includes the setting of the access and modify rights for the Export/Import tool. Otherwise, it can't be used in the OpenCart admin backend. This usually involves going to the System > Users > User Groups, and then, for the administrator, finding the new entry 'tool/export_import' (for OpenCart 2.x and 1.5.x) or 'extension/export_import' (for OpenCart 3.x).
If you can't find these entries then it's a sign that the files of the Export/Import tool were uploaded to the wrong folder during the installation. You can verify this by checking the existence of the file 'admin/controller/tool/export_import.php' (OpenCart 2.x or 1.5.x) or 'admin/controller/extension/export_import.php' (OpenCart 3.x) on your remote server. You can do this via FTP (e.g. FileZilla), or via your server's control panel's file manager.
On OpenCart 2.x, the most common reason for installing the files to a wrong folder is because of wrongly configured FTP settings at System > Settings > edit > tab FTP. See this OpenCart extension installer instructions for more details on how to correctly configure your OpenCart 2.x FTP settings. Alternatively, again for OpenCart 2.x, you may try this OpenCart Extension Installer fix which bypasses the need for FTP during the installation of an extension.
After a successful installation you should find a new menu entry in the OpenCart admin backend at:
System > Export/Import (OpenCart 1.5.x)
System > Tools > Export/Import (OpenCart 2.x)
System > Maintenance > Export/Import (OpenCart 3.x)
If this new menu entry doesn't show up then it's usually a sign that something went wrong with the installation, e.g. you skipped some installation steps. Try this in the admin backend:
System > Users > User Groups > edit Adminstrator: set access and modify rights for 'tool/export_import' or 'extension/export_import', depending on the OpenCart version
Extensions > Modifications: hit Refresh button (OpenCart 2.x or 3.x)
There could be a number for reasons for this. Quite often this could be because your server doesn't have enough memory. Or it the Import or Export might have timed out. The only way to find out what exactly went wrong is by looking into the server's error log. Ask your web host for the relevant server's error log entries, for the exact time when the Internal Server Error occured.
It's also worth a try to repeat the Export or Import in smaller batches, to avoid potential memory or timeout issues. Usually no more than 1000 or 2000 products can be handled in one transfer. The Export/Import Tool uses the 3rd party PHPExcel library which can be quite resource hungry.
If after an Import you get various entries in your OpenCart error log like 'Missing Product_ids in worksheet' then there could be 2 reasons for this:
1) Your worksheet column 'Product ID' has indeed some missing product IDs. These are required to identify the products.
2) If your worksheet has all the required product IDs in column 'Product ID', yet you still get these errors, then it could be that there are some trailing blank lines in your worksheet. This could be a bug in MS Excel. Try to re-save the spreadsheet file with LibreOffice Calc which doesn't have this problem. Then do the Import again.
If you get this error message, it will also tell you that no server data has been updated, so no harm done! In your OpenCart admin backend, go to:
System > Error Logs (for OpenCart 1.5.x)
System > Tools > Error Logs (for OpenCart 2.x)
System > Maintenance > Error Logs (for OpenCart 3.x)
There will be log entries with more details as to why the Import validation came up with this error.
Yes, you can! However, the formats of the old and new spreadsheet's worksheets will be slightly different, so it won't be a simple Export off the old server plus Import to the new server. Instead, follow these steps:
For OpenCart 2.x versions, proceed as follows:
For OpenCart 3.x versions, proceed as follows:
