Running an import

Running an import

Once you have set the preferences for your particular import, the plugin will provider you with a unique URL. You can then visit this url in order to perform an import.

The URL is obfuscated (a geek term for “really complicated, a thing no-one will ever stumble on by mistake”) but note that anyone can visit it, so keep it secret to prevent unauthorised syncing.

CRON

You can visit the URL manually in order to trigger a sync, or you can set a CRON or other timed job to hit up the URL on a regular basis. How often you do this is up to you – but make sure that the data source is available and can cope with the regularity with which you’re querying it. When setting the sync timing, also bear in mind how often you’re changing source records.

Overwrite rules

CultureObject works like this:

  • If data exists in the source but not in WordPress, it will create a new record
  • If data exists in the source and also in WordPress, it will overwrite the record with the new data.
  • If record(s) exists in both places but extra fields have been created in WordPress on those records then CultureObject won’t overwrite the data provided the field names are different.

This last point is important, and potentially useful. It means you can create web-only fields (Web-friendly text for example) which exist against your object records on your site and which won’t be overwritten the next time you run an import.