Creating an eshop and importing products from xls files

[ROUBOS]

Hi,
I want to create an eshop. Now I will install Elxis (the latest) and I want to use the .xls / .txt file I get from my suppliers to update the website with products and their availability.

Could someone please direct me the right way? What would be the right steps and howto?

An example of a script I could try out?

Will each product become an elxis article? (since ios shop does not work with the latest elxis?)

Any directions and information would be greatly appreciated.

I want to play around with this before I create a template for the site.

thanks a lot

[datahell]

These tools are custom and need a lot of programming. It is not simple.
If you use Mini Shop plugin, which is currently the only option for Elxis 4.x, then each row should become an entry in Mini Shop's products database table. The db table that stores products is elx_minishop and has the structure show below. Green columns are required, red are optional. If you set amount to 0.00 you must provide at least one price option (poption).

  pid int(10)
  sku varchar(20)
  cid int(10)
  category varchar(80)
  title varchar(160)
  description varchar(255)
  image varchar(160)
  amount decimal(9,2)
  poption_title varchar(160)
  pname1 varchar(160)
  pamount1 decimal(9,2)
  pname2 varchar(160)
  pamount2 decimal(9,2)
  pname3 varchar(160)
  pamount3 decimal(9,2)
  pname4 varchar(160)
  pamount4 decimal(9,2)
  pname5 varchar(160)
  pamount5 decimal(9,2)
  option_title varchar(160)
  oname1 varchar(160)
  oname2 varchar(160)
  oname3 varchar(160)
  oname4 varchar(160)
  oname5 varchar(160)
  optionb_title varchar(160)
  onameb1 varchar(160)
  onameb2 varchar(160)
  onameb3 varchar(160)
  onameb4 varchar(160)
  onameb5 varchar(160)
  maxquantity int(10)
  dlfile varchar(255)
  shipable tinyint(2)
  created datetime

[ROUBOS]

so now I need to examine the text and xls files, then write an SQL statement to load all the products into the table...

when another xls file comes along, with the same products but just information such as availability needing updates, how do I do that? I will have to keep track of the IDs in the databe entries?

[datahell]

Xls cannot be imported, you need to convert it to csv, utf8 encoded. For each product you need a unique identifier to check if the product already exists. This can be SKU. If exist execute Update, else Insert.

[ROUBOS]

I have to do some reading regarding sku, and how to use it.
Sku is another column that acts as an id of the csv file. Does this value get inserted?
What will the update process be?

So it is not something simple to update the products every second day. And i will have csv files from different providers.

Reading this now http://forum.lemonstand.com/topic/5986-how-to-mass-update-skus-without-causing-duplicates/

[ROUBOS]

Read the mini shop documentation and it mentions the sku. This is someithing i have to insert right? Not auto created.
I have an elxis installation, i need to start testing.

[datahell]

You dont have to use xls or csv if the provider gives an api, an xml one for example. In this case the script can be fully automatic without the need of human interfere. SKU most probably exist in provider as it is very common in most eshops.

[ROUBOS]

Does this mean that if they provide an api, I can just import it through phpMyAdmin or Elxis Mini Shop?

[datahell]

No. Whatever solution you pick you need to develop an integration php script.

[ROUBOS]

That is where it gets tricky, as I have never done such a thing.
And I will run that same script everytime I want to update the items.

[ROUBOS]

Has anyone written such a script? Some guid I could follow?

[datahell]

There is no guide in such custom scripts, you either know how to do it and do it, or hire a developer to do it for you. If you need a generic guide I can tell you how but you will need to write a mid-to-advanced level script of 500-1000 lines size. If you can't write such a script forget the guidance...

[ROUBOS]

seems like too much work and time (wich I don't have)
the problem is that there are several providers with different exported files. Which means different scripts...