Overview

Overview

WP All Import provides a number of options for sideloading images to the posts it creates. Watch the video below for an overview of a few different ways to import images.

When creating a new import, you can specify the settings for importing your images in Step 3. To add images to an existing import, go to Manage Imports -> Edit Import.

For each record in your file, WP All Import will create a post, import the images associated with that record to the post』s Media Gallery, and optionally set the Featured Image.

Importing Images From URLs

Importing Images From URLs

Choose the option Download image(s) hosted elsewhere to import images from a URL starting with http:// or https://.

Drag & drop the element or attributes containing your image URLs or filenames to the text box.

Image URL Elements

Use the Preview & Test button to see the final URLs that WP All Import will attempt to download your images from.

If your images are not importing as expected, the cause is almost always that the URLs you specified don』t actually point to valid images.

Make sure one complete image URL is present on each line, or that your complete image URLs are separated by the separator character you specify.

Example 1 – Constructing Image URLs from File Names

If your XML or CSV file only contains the image file name, not the complete URL to the file, you』ll have to construct the URL to your file by prepending the image file name with the URL to the folder containing it.

In your file: my-image-name.jpgImage URL: http://example.com/my-folder/my-image-name.jpg

Static Text Plus Elements

Example 2 – Importing From Attributes

If your images are in an attribute and not an element, make sure you click and drag the attribute, not the element. Attributes only exist in XML files.

What is an attribute?

If your image URLs are stored in attributes, not elements, click and drag `attribute` to the image URLs textbox, not `element`.

Example:

Drag `url` to the image URLs textbox, so the textbox contains {img[1]/@url}, not just {img[1]}.

Image Options

Image Options

The Images section in WP All Import provides multiple options to better control how and when your images are imported. The available options will vary based on which source you've chosen for your images.

Search through the Media Library for existing images before importing new images

Search through the Media Library for existing images before importing new images

This option attempts to match previously imported images by either URL or filename based on your selection. If no previously imported image is found the image is downloaded and passed to WordPress for processing. Then it's linked to the record.

Keep images currently in Media Library

Keep images currently in Media Library

When this option is unchecked WP All Import will first delete every image attached to the record being processed. Then it will proceed through the other options as usual. If your images change at the source without having their names or URLs updated in your file, you'll need to uncheck this box to ensure the latest versions are always downloaded. Note: If this option is unchecked the option to 'Skip posts if their data in your file has not changed' (Manage Imports > Import Settings) will be disabled.

Scan through post content and import images wrapped in tags 

<img width="1024" height="138" src="https://www.wpallimport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/scan-through-post-content-1024x138.png" alt="Scan through post content and import images wrapped in

This will search through whatever you've provided in the Content/Description field and import any images that are wrapped in tags. Once the images are imported the tags will be updated to point to the local image. Note: the image URLs must be absolute such as https://yoursite.com/yourimage.png and not /yourimage.png

Other Image Options

Run WordPress Import on a Schedule

Run WordPress Import on a Schedule

The Automatic Scheduling service allows you to set up imports with just a couple of clicks. Rather than setting up cron jobs on your server, you can set schedules directly within WP All Import. The Automatic Scheduling service will then contact your site at the scheduled time to run your imports, and check in to make sure they've completed correctly.

Automatic Scheduling vs Manual Scheduling

WP All Import offers two ways to schedule or automate imports. The first option is to manually create the cron jobs in the server. The second option is to use our paid Automatic Scheduling Service, which is integrated within WP All Import and doesn't require any setup.

This guide focuses on Automatic Scheduling.

Configure a Scheduled WordPress Import

To set up the Automatic Scheduling Service on an existing import, navigate to the Manage Imports page. Then, click on Scheduling Options › Automatic Scheduling:

The same Scheduling Options menu appears when creating a new import.

There you decide whether you'd like your import to run weekly or monthly. Then you select the days and times that you would like your import to run.

Sign Up for Automatic Scheduling

This service costs $9 USD per month, and allows for unlimited imports to run on an unlimited amount of sites. Subscribe to the Automatic Scheduling service.

Repeatable Groups

Repeatable Groups

Our Toolset Types Add-On provides multiple methods to import repeatable groups in an effort to accommodate as many file formats as possible.

Note: currently, we do not support appending repeater data from multiple import records into a single post. All of the repeating data for a single post needs to be in the same post record.

Fixed Repeater Mode

If you're using a CSV file with a fixed amount of columns for your repeating data, like this:

Toolset Types Fixed CSV Mode

Then you'd want to use "Fixed Repeater Mode" and add a row for each column that you plan on dragging in:

Toolset Types Add Row View

If it's possible that some of the columns won't have data for some records, you can enable the "Ignore blank fields" option to avoid adding empty rows.

Variable Repeater Mode (XML)

If you're importing an XML file and the repeating data is listed in sibling elements:

https://www.example.com/image1.jpg
https://www.example.com/image2.jpg
https://www.example.com/image3.jpg
https://www.example.com/image4.jpg
https://www.example.com/image5.jpg

Then you should use the Variable Repeater Mode (XML) option like this:

Toolset Types Variable Repeater Mode XML View

You'll notice that the syntax from the screenshot doesn't match what you'll see whenever you drag in the import elements. This is because you have to manually edit the XPath to make sure the loop is reaching the correct elements. You can learn more about this here in our Custom XPath and FOREACH Loops documentation pages.

Variable Repeater Mode (CSV)

If your repeating data is in a single CSV column with a delimiter, for example:

Toolset Types Variable Repeater Mode CSV View

Then you'll want to use the "Variable Repeater Mode (CSV)" option and make sure to choose the correct delimiter:

Toolset Types Variable Repeater Mode CSV Import View

Just like the "Fixed Repeater Mode", you can enable the "Ignore blank fields" option if some records have more or less repeating data.

Importing Images From Your Computer

Importing Images From Your Computer

If you have the images you wish to import on your computer/localhost, you』ll need to upload these images online first, before WP All Import can import them.

The easiest way to do this is create a folder on your website called 「images」, and then upload all the images to this folder – i.e. http://your-site.com/images/

Then follow the normal procedure for importing images from a URL.

If you have a .zip/.gz/.gzip file containing your XML and CSV file and all associated images, you can』t import this file directly – you need to first unzip it, get the images out, and upload them somewhere so that WP All Import can import them.

Export ACF Taxonomy Field to CSV or XML

Export ACF Taxonomy Field to CSV or XML

Taxonomy fields added in ACF are automatically detected by WP All Export and added to the ACF section in Available Data.

Exports the name of the taxonomy terms selected in the ACF field. Multiple values are separated by a pipe ( | ) character.

Export ACF Text Fields to CSV or XML

Export ACF Text Fields to CSV or XML

WP All Export automatically detects the ACF fields in the posts you've chosen to export. Drag and drop fields from the Available Data › ACF section into the export editor on the left.

The following ACF text fields are available to be exported: Text, Text Area, Number, Range, Email, URL, and Password. Here's more on each field:

Text: Exports a string or static text. Text Area: Exports a longer string or static text.Number: Exports a numerical value. Range: Exports a numerical value within a range. Email: Exports an email address. URL: Exports an URL. Password: Exports a password.

Filter Exported WordPress Data

Filter Exported WordPress Data

You can configure your filters in the Add Filtering Options section, available when creating and editing exports. If we wanted to export all of our WooCommerce products that cost less than $10, we would first Price as our element to filter by. Then for our rule we would select less than, with 10 for our value.

With these filters you can easily do things like export:

Every WooCommerce order over $100Users who have registered in the last weekAll of the green shirts in your WooCommerce storeEvery page created by a certain userAll of the posts written in 2014

Step 1: Select an Element

Select the element that you want to filter your exported records by. Available elements will change when you export different types of data. You can select any data associated with the records you are exporting, like:

DateTitlePriceOrder TotalAddressAuthorCategories and tagsCustom fieldsAny exportable data

Step 2: Add a Rule

Select which comparison rule you want to use with your filter. You can use any of the following rules, depending on what the selected element allows:

equalsdoesn't equalgreater thanequal to or greater thanless thanequal to or less thancontainsdoesn't containis emptyis not empty

Step 3: Enter a Value

Input the value to filter your data by. You should input values that follow the same format as the element selected in Step 1.

Some rules may not need a value, such as the is empty rule.

Once you're done, click Add Rule to apply your new filtering rule. You can add as many filtering rules as required. After that, only records matching your specified rules will be exported.

Adding Multiple Rules

You can add as many rules as you like. Use the AND or OR operators to specify how rules should interact with each other.

When your export runs again, WP All Export will rebuild your export file based on your filter rules.

WordPress Export Settings

WordPress Export Settings

To change the settings of an existing export, go to Manage Exports ›  Export Settings. You can change the filtering options, scheduling options, and settings related to the structure of the export file.

These settings can also be adjusted when creating a new export.

Filtering Options

Here you can change existing filters, or add new ones. Your export will apply the new filters when it runs again.

Read more about filtering options: https://www.wpallimport.com/documentation/export-data-filtering/

Scheduling Options

Export can be run automatically on a schedule in a few different ways.

Do Not Schedule: selected by default.Automatic Scheduling: select to use our Automatic Scheduling Service.Manual Scheduling: select to use cron jobs.

Advanced Options

The Advanced Options section contains various settings that control how files are exported and structured.

In each iteration, process X records: Exports are processed in batches. Each batch, or iteration, processes a certain number of records. If the iteration takes longer than your server's timeout setting, then the export will fail. Only export Posts once: Every time the export is run records that have been previously exported by this export will be ignored. Only new records will be exported.Only export Posts that have been modified since last export: Every time the export is run, records will only be included if they have been modified since the last time this export has been run.Include BOM in export file: The BOM, or byte order mark, is required by software like Excel in some cases when special non-English characters are included in the exported data. Create a new file each time export is run: When enabled, WP All Export will generate a new file every time that you re-run the export. The old files will not be removed, and the new file's name will include the time that the export was run.Split large exports into multiple files: Specify the maximum number of records to include in each file. Allow non-admins to run this export in Client Mode: Allow users with access to Client Mode to run this export and download the export file. Read more about Client Mode: https://www.wpallimport.com/documentation/how-to-let-clients-run-wordpress-exports/ Friendly Name: Rename the export, displaying a custom name on the Manage Exports page.