Additional Import Data field headers

Posted by cici in Our Add Ons, Professional

If you have the Power add-on  for the Self managed WPSLP or if you have the Professional Level MySLP SaaS plan, you will have the ability to import data fields via a properly formatted csv file.  All columns MUST have a header row with  the correct  field name.   All fields are short text fields, up to 255 characters, unless otherwise noted.  The header text is NOT case sensitive.

If you are using the category  functionality of Power you may want to import and assign a category slug on the fly.  The header field name is:

category (or plural categories).

If you wish to import and assign more than one category  per location , you will need to use a comma-separated list for the data field  (category).  Example: My location has more than one category associated with it, I want to indicate it is a hotel,restaurant, and has music.  Category  for that location would show under the column with the header row “category”…. hotel,restaurant,music

Alternatively, to define parent/child relationships , i.e.  hierarchical categories , use a double colon as the separator Example the Parent is Facility, the child is showroom.

Facility::Showroom.

Tables and Category Data System

Posted by cici in Our Add Ons, Professional

Table

There are components of the Power Add-on that use the built-in WordPress category system involving several tables.   When moving sites over or combining sites, whether it be from a staging site, or  an older site  to a live site , getting the data in wp_slp_tagalong to match up with a pre-existing site that has pre-existing category data (taxonomies) will be a chore.

For example,

Under a Current site , there may have been an assigned Category “A” ID # 3 at the time the category was created in the taxonomy table but  Live may already be using that ID, therefore when you create a  Category “A” it may be assigned ID #19.

In order to “just move tagalong /categories over” you would need to edit every entry in the “wp_slp_tagalong” table and change ID # 3 to ID #19. To do so, you need to first let WordPress create all of the categories (you could do this with a category-only import) second look up all the ID numbers of the assigned categories, third edit the wp_slp_tagalong exported data from Current to change all of the ID numbers from the “old” WordPress site to be the ID# assigned on the “new (Live)” WordPress site. If you only have 2 or 3 categories it may not be a chore but it can get out-of-hand very quickly. If you make any editing mistakes you will have various issues.

WordPress table descriptions can be found under the WordPress Codex page Database Descriptions

The two tables that would be employed by WordPress when creating or maintaining a category:

wp_terms = the category information itself

wp_term_taxonomy = the metadata that tells WordPress about different category groupings, in other words “this category is for posts”, “this category is for Store Locator Plus locations”, “this category is for videos”, etc. You will not need to export/import this but you WILL need to know what the old (Current) system assigned as the SLP Locations taxonomy ID and what it is on the new WP system. When you export wp_terms from the old system you will need to edit that export and change the taxonomy ID from what it was on Current to what it is on Live.

Tags and/or Categories

Posted by cici in Professional, Settings

With the Power add-on or the SLP SaaS professional level plan or higher, there are options to tag a location or assign a category to a location or do both.

Tagging Locations

“Tagging” locations can be done one of two ways.  The informal method is to use free-form tags that are setup via the Word Press Store Locator Plus Plug-in with the  Power add on. Or the (My)SLP SaaS Professional level plan or higher  The structured method is to use the Store Category Manager under the Categories tab (not available with the basic plug-in or Advance level plan)

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Q: Can a store or location have more than one category assigned to it?

Posted by cici in FAQ

Can the stores be categorized by more than one taxonomy? Not multiple tags in a single taxonomy, but multiple tags from multiple taxonomies?

A: Stores only have one categorization class – the store page taxonomy.
However, WordPress Taxonomies are hierarchical. Therefore, you are able to assign all the attributes you need to your locations and use the parents of the branches to drive the user experience. The Power add-on has several UX components such as “drill down” menus that allow users to select a specific category by selecting a parent first then a child.

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Store and Category Manager

Posted by cici in Enterprise, Our Add Ons, Power Add On, Professional

Store and Category Manager interface is available if you have the  Power  Add-on installed (for WPSLP users) or have the MYSLP Professional level or higher. You will see a tab “Categories” in your Store Locator Plus User Interface.

Under side menu MYSLP/StoreLocatorPlus menu

Once you open the Category Tab  you can begin to add categories and slugs or edit existing.  Set Markers and Icons per category (optional) if you want those to appear in place of map markers.  A Bulk action drop down to delete some or all categories is  at the top of the category box.

Settings/Search

You can choose to show the categories that you have created in a drop down menu as part of the search form.  There are additional category selector options available for WPSLP premier subscribers  or MYSLP Enterprise subscribers (example see Checkbox selector). You can add text as a label that will display  at the top of the categories drop down menu, or you can leave blank.  You can also add text for the category select box that will appear in front of the category drop down on the user interface.

Hide Empty Categories Setting

For WPSLP Power add-on users . Do NOT turn this on unless you have   Pages enabled.

Settings/Results

If you want the category icons to appear in results list check off Category Icons

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Categories

Posted by cici in Data, Our Add Ons, Professional

The ability to categorize your locations using the WordPress category (taxonomy) system.  The Categories Manager (Formerly known as Tagalong) is part of the Power Add-on   for  WPSLP self managed customers, and available for the MYSLP Professional or higher plans)  It builds on the Store Locator Plus store_page taxonomy that is also used with the Pages portion of the Power Add-on (for WPSLP stand alone).  Build a “simple flat list” of categories or a hierarchical (parent/child) category structure. Once you’ve categorized locations you will find other added benefits on the user interface.

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