Uploading Pages Database Is Not Working? Tips?

[tricianeill]

I am trying to find an efficient way to add new pages to my all of my websites pages (over 100). This seems like it should work, but it is not. Am I doing something wrong?

I have added two new pages to my store - GIFT CERTIFICATES / Jewelry: Rings in the back office.

Then, I go to download the PAGES database using only fields: Name / Links To Page

In Excel (using tab delimited) or as an XML (I've tried both). I add my new page names in the order that I want to the Links To Page fields for all of the pages that I want to add them to. (The weird thing about this is - the downloaded file does not match what is currently online. It is an old version of the links that used to be on the pages). I reupload, and hit publish. (Getting just a an error with name of page Jewelry: Watches, Belts & More is uploading as Jewelry: Watches; Belts & More causing mismatch - not really sure why.)

When I go to the pages, nothing has changed. When I redownload the database, nothing has changed. Many of my pages have the & in their name - didn't know if this would be causing the problem??

Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Tricia

[Jim]

I would avoid using the & in a page or product name for a couple of reasons. 1. It is a reserved character for html and xml and can cause problems in ShopSite, Google data feeds, javascript and occasionally in general web page display. 2. If you are dealing with international customers the "&" character probably does not mean "and" to them like it does in US English (not sure if that is the case in UK or Australian English or not.)

If you are using the ShopSite Gift Certificate feature you do not need to create a page for the gift certificates as there is a separate template that creates the entire page for you. (Configure it on Merchandising > Gift Certificates.) If you are not using the ShopSite Gift Certificate feature there is no way to redeem another type gift certificate in your ShopSite store. So unless you are selling gift certificates to be redeemed at some other location it doesn't make much sense to sell them in your ShopSite store.

When uploading pages or products and assigning them to other pages or products the name must match exactly in every detail. If you have an extra space at the beginning, end, or somewhere in the middle of one of them it will not match the other.

[tricianeill]

Ok, I've removed all & from any page names within my site, and replaced them with dashes. Published.

I now go to download the Pages database, and it still does not list the pages as they are currently assigned (although it did update the page names within the database that downloaded).

Any thoughts on why it would not pull a current snapshot of what pages are assigned where? I would think that a download of the database would show the same thing that is online. Am I wrong about how I am trying to use this feature? (To get a list of pages that are assigned to each page within my store, and then update it and upload.) I always copy/paste the exact names from the database, so I know that they are the same as currently listed, but I can't even get that far, as the initial download is incorrect.

(PS> The gift certificates page is not for a SS gift certificate, it is to sell gift certificates for our brick and morter store - we assign product to it).

Thanks so much,

Tricia

[Jim]

it still does not list the pages as they are currently assigned

What does this mean? Are you referring to 1. links that are on html pages the the shopper sees in your store or 2. page names that are in the list when you select a page in the backoffice and click the Assign Items > Pages

If you are referring to 1. above, do the page file names match on your store pages and what is assigned to the page in Pages > Edit Page Content > Advanced Info File name:. Sometimes if you change the filename of a page in the backoffice the old filename still exists on the web and you also get a page with the new filename. In that case you may be looking at the old file and not the new one.

[tricianeill]

I am referring to #2.

In the back office - when I go to a page and click Assign Items, then Page, there is a list at the top called "Page Links Assigned". This is the list of pages that I am expecting to see in the database under "Page Links" for each page - but they are not matching.

Thanks again for all of your help.

Tricia