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[Resolved] Having trouble with associations after importing relationships/post type/data…

This thread is resolved. Here is a description of the problem and solution.

Problem: I would like to export content from one site and import it in another site. The content includes multiple custom post types, their custom fields, taxonomies, and post relationships. When I import this content into another site, I see error messages in Toolset > Import > Associations tab stating that many of my post relationships cannot be imported. "Missing: Can't Find Intermediary Post with GUID" -and- "Missing: Can't Find Intermediary Post with Title" appears for these posts.

Solution: In this case the errors are all shown for M2M post relationships. These relationships are established using an intermediary custom post type. That post must be exported along with the two other custom posts in the post relationship. You may need to turn on the visibility of those intermediary post types to be able to export them. After exporting from the old site and importing those intermediary posts in the new site, the association process in Toolset > Import > Association tab should be able to find all the missing intermediary posts and migrate the post relationships successfully.

This support ticket is created 2 years, 10 months ago. There's a good chance that you are reading advice that it now obsolete.

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This topic contains 16 replies, has 2 voices.

Last updated by shawnW-3 2 years, 10 months ago.

Assisted by: Christian Cox.

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#2058671

Tell us what you are trying to do?

First, using Toolset Modules, I exported/imported my post types, intermediary post types, relationships (and everything else relating to this project built in Toolset).

Next, using WordPress > Tools > Import/Export, I exported post content from the original site, and imported on the target site.

I had over 400 associations. 155 apparently had no issues, but "269 Associations can't be imported".

"After fixing the problem (see the red error messages) reload this page. Broken associations will be removed from the import list when you start the import process."

"Missing: Can't Find Intermediary Post with GUID" -and- "Missing: Can't Find Intermediary Post with Title"

I don't know what the issue is. I double checked and the intermediary post types and relationships loaded in with the module and all the content to be connected loaded in with the core import/export tools.

Is there any documentation that you are following?
No. Most of the documentation I have found deals with third party CSV Import plugins and I don't see anything explicitly stating that third party plugins are necessary. I'd like to avoid that using them possible, but if they are required that needs to be made clear.

Is there a similar example that we can see?
No

What is the link to your site?
I will need the supporter's IP address to whitelist access to the site.

#2058851

Hello, 3rd-party plugins are definitely not necessary for exporting and importing Types structures and related post content between sites. Since you've already got export files (Types settings and WordPress post content) available, it might be easiest for me to try importing the same content into a clean site to see if the problems you experienced are replicable on my end. You can post the exported files to Drive or Dropbox, and include download links here in your next reply. All URLs shared here in the forum are hidden from public View by default, for your privacy. Once I have downloaded the files I will let you know and you can remove them from file sharing.

#2058873

Sounds good...

Toolset Modules and Content XML should be all you need to make sure the relationships are connected on the back end. The templates are built with Yootheme Pro's Template Builder instead of Toolset, so if you need to access front end layout we'll need to do something different.

Let us know if you have any trouble with the link. Thanks.

hidden link

#2060329

Okay I was able to download the modules and content and import them into a clean site. When I visit the Toolset > Import > Associations tab, I see similar error messages. It looks like the M2M relationship intermediary post types were not included in the exports, so that's why you're seeing these error messages. Are these intermediary post types visible in wp-admin?
- set-features
- model-features
- series-features
- product-lines
- product-type-series
- product-type-models
- product-series
You may need to set them to be visible in wp-admin so they are available for export, then export those intermediary posts for import into the new site. Once those intermediary posts are imported, the Associations import tool should be able to find them and import all the associations.

#2060427

They are visible in the menu of the origin site and they are included in the module. Default names are a bit different though, for ex: "Product Types Models Intermediary Posts".

Your assessment is interesting and might be on track though...

I made this support ticket following our second failed attempt at migration.

On the first attempt I did in fact forget to include all intermediary post types. I believed that was the cause for the failure, so prior to the second attempt, I added them to the module as mentioned above and re-downloaded that module (can confirm via modified date). This should be the same module you received.

On the second attempt we started with a restored database, completely undoing the first attempt. I again imported everything into the target site and I can confirm that those post types (such as Product Types Models Intermediary Posts) are showing up in the post types menu on the backend following the second attempt.

Do you not have any of those intermediary post types in your menu?
Considering the possibility that we're talking about two different things, I went ahead and exported the XML (via WP Tools > Export) the "Product Types Series Intermediary Posts" and imported them into the target site. I hadn't considered this for either attempt. Doing this however did not connect series or product types that are connected on the origin site.

#2061547

Sorry I wasn't exactly clear in my description, the intermediary post types are included in the Types module you provided, and the corresponding custom post types were imported successfully. They are currently not shown in the main wp-admin menu, though. I checked the Product Types Series Intermediary post type settings, and I can see that the post type option show_ui is false, so that's why this intermediary type does not appear in the main menu. If I check that option, the intermediary post type appears in the main menu as expected. So I don't foresee a problem there, I can activate any of these intermediaries in the main menu as needed on my end during testing.

On the other hand, none of the intermediary post exports were included in the content XML files. Those are definitely required for successfully importing the relationships. Can you upload content exports for all the intermediary post types as well?
- set-features
- model-features
- series-features
- product-lines
- product-type-series
- product-type-models
- product-series

I'll clear my local database setup and try again with the complete data set.

#2061581

That makes sense, but...

Considering the possibility that we're talking about two different things, I went ahead and exported the XML (via WP Tools > Export) the "Product Types Series Intermediary Posts" and imported them into the target site. I hadn't considered this for either attempt. Doing this however did not connect series or product types that are connected on the origin site.

I will clear the database on my end and try again, but I would think the architecture that's in place would support adding these XML data exports last. The post types all exist. The intermediary post types exist. The relationships are all set up. And the individual posts are in place. So having SeriesA and Product TypeZ are already on the site should only require the import the XML for their intermediary post types. But that didn't work. I tried it again with models and product types and got the same result. I'll go ahead and start from scratch. Fingers crossed that it works.

I've added the exported intermediary xml to same drive folder. They all end in "int".

#2061585

Actually, for this attempt I'll add the intermediary post XML before I add the individual post XML. That's different, and it might be that the connection needs to exist before the posts it will connect. Seems counterintuitive though.

#2061667

Regrettably, that did not work. Please let me know if you have better luck.

#2061767
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Actually, for this attempt I'll add the intermediary post XML before I add the individual post XML. That's different, and it might be that the connection needs to exist before the posts it will connect. Seems counterintuitive though.
The order in which content is imported should not matter here, because the connection process does not start until you visit the Associations import tab again. At that point, all the content should exist in the database after XML import, and the associations scan process will be triggered. But for what it's worth, I imported the Types Modules first, then imported the XML content files in alphabetical order by filename, as shown in the screenshot here.

Regrettably, that did not work. Please let me know if you have better luck.
Actually I did, it was all smooth after adding those intermediary post exports. Screenshots attached here. After importing the additional XML docs, I went back to Toolset > Import > Associations and reloaded the page. Eventually found 466 associations ready for import and no errors. Then I ran the import and saw the process complete successfully. Now I see Product Type Series Intermediary posts imported in wp-admin, and if I edit one of the Product Type posts I can see the related Series posts appear in the post relationship panel. I'm attaching screenshots here for you.

#2061819

Oh of course! I got in a hurry and completely forgot to visit the associations tab after importing the intermediary post types XML documents. My apologies.

And yes, after running that the associations are apparently working.

I'm going to finish up the rest of my migration to ensure everything shows properly on the frontend, but this is looking very good. Thank you.

#2061987

Perfect, sounds like you are on the ball. I will stand by for any updates.

#2061995

It's looking really good. I do have one major concern though.

When I added images on the staging site, I didn't see that the src in the origin site was a complete URL.

I did the export/import to the target site and it seems to have figured itself out on the frontend, showing "target.domainname.com", but the URL on the backend still shows "origin.domainname.com".

So it doesn't seem to be a problem, but is there something we can do before we make the actual migration that can fix this?

#2061999

That sounds like a somewhat separate issue from the missing post relationships associations, so I've created a separate thread to discuss the image URL discrepancy in more detail. Our policy is one topic per ticket, to help keep the forum organized and searchable for other Users experiencing similar problems.

Thanks for understanding! A supporter will follow up with you in the new ticket as soon as possible.

#2062075

Sounds fair. I have another thing I'm trying to solve. I'm wondering if I can request you specifically to help on it? Having someone close to my timezone is helpful.

This ticket is now closed. If you're a WPML client and need related help, please open a new support ticket.