RO CSVI
Combine plugin
| RO CSVI
The combine plugin let's you combine multiple fields into a single field during import.
Source fields
The source fields are the fields that CSVI needs to combine. The names to fill in here come from the template fields page. The source fieldnames must be the names that are found in the Field name column on the template fields page. Unless the name in the Field name column is called combine. In that case you need to use the name found in the Your field column.
Target field
The result of the combination of the source fields will be put into this field. This must always be a name found in the Field name column.
Example
Combine with CSV import file
Say for example we have a CSV file with the following contents.
"product_sku";"product_name";"category_path";"subcategory1";"subcategory2"
"1001";"Product 1";""Shoes";"Women";"Flipflops"
"1002";"Product 2";""Shoes";"Men";"Runners"
"1003";"Product 3";""Shoes";"Kids";"Sneakers"
We need to combine sub categories into main category_path field then the below import explains on how to acheive this combine fields in import.
Here is a list of fields of a CSV file where we combine the fourth field. Since the combine is a special field it must have a name in the Your field column.
An example of complete import using a CSV file is shown below
Make sure that Use file for configuration setting in template settings on File tab is set to No so CSVI reads the template fields and not the column headers of the import file.
Combine with XML import file
We have a XML file to be imported with the below structure.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<products>
<product>
<code>1001</code>
<titlos>Product 1</titlos>
<category>Shoes</category>
<subcategory1>Women</subcategory1>
<subcategory2>Flipflops</subcategory2>
</product>
<product>
<code>1002</code>
<titlos>Product 2</titlos>
<category>Shoes</category>
<subcategory1>Men</subcategory1>
<subcategory2>Runners</subcategory2>
</product>
<product>
<code>1003</code>
<titlos>Product 3</titlos>
<category>Shoes</category>
<subcategory1>Kids</subcategory1>
<subcategory2>Sneakers</subcategory2>
</product>
</products>
Here is a list of fields of an XML file where we combine the fourth field. XML files require that the Your field is filled with the name in the XML file, all fields here have the Your field filled with the XML path.
An example for complete XML import using combine fields is explained below
In the combine plugin we set these fields up as shown in the image here:
Looking at the Source fields, the category_path is a regular field, so we specify it as category_path. The subcategory field here is the combine field in the template list, as you can have multiple combine fields, CSVI would not know which combine field to use. That is why the Your field must be filled for the combine field. In the Source fields we use the Your field name.
The Target field is in this case the category_path but could also be another field, as long as it is a regular field and the name appears in the Field name column.
Have a look at Combining fields on Import and Export documentation to know more on combine rule plugin.
Uninstall RO CSVI
| RO CSVI
When you uninstall RO CSVI via the Extension Manager only the files are removed but the database tables remain. The reason behind this is, if you want to update RO CSVI that you don't lose all your settings.
There may be circumstances where you need to delete the database tables as well. In that case there are 2 ways to do this:
- Manually remove all the tables in your database that start with csvi_
- Use the built-in option in RO CSVI to remove the tables.
Uninstall RO CSVI tables using Maintenance
The built-in option to remove the RO CSVI tables can be found in the Maintenance area.
- Go to Components -> RO CSVI
- Click on Maintenance
- In the first dropdown select RO CSVI
- In the second dropdown choose Remove CSVI tables
- Click on Continue
- All CSVI tables will now be removed and RO CSVI can be uninstalled via the Extension Manager
After RO CSVI has been uninstalled via the Extension Manager you will have a clean system and ready to install a fresh installation of RO CSVI.
Once the uninstallation is complete you can do an extra check to make sure the following folders are all removed:
- administrator/components/com_csvi
- components/com_csvi
- api/components/com_csvi
- plugins/csviaddon
- plugins/csviext
- plugins/csvirules
RO CSVI versions
| RO CSVI
This is a list with all the RO CSVI versions that have come out and which version of Joomla is supported. The list also shows the end-of-life of each major version and if support is available. All available versions can be downloaded from the Download section.
| RO CSVI Version | Joomla! Version | Available | Support | End of Life | Latest Release |
| 1 | 1.5 |  |
|
November 16, 2009 | 1.9.2 |
| 2 | 1.5 | |
|
February 19, 2011 | 2.3.18.1 |
| 3 | 1.5 |  |
|
February 6, 2012 | 3.8.4 |
| 4 | 2.5 | |
|
August 8, 2012 | 4.5.2 |
| 5 | 2.5 / 3.X | |
|
December 2015 | 5.21.2 |
| 6 | 3.X | |
|
December 2017 | 6.6.4 |
| 7 | 3.8+ | |
|
November 24, 2021 | 7.20.0 |
| Joomla! 3.10 as a minimum is required. | |||||
| 8 | 3.10+ / 4.x / 5.x | |
|
September, 2025 | 8.21.0 |
| Joomla! 5 as a minimum is required. | |||||
| 9 | 5.x / 6.x | |
9.13.0 | ||
Save a CSV file as UTF-8
| RO CSVI
Often it is almost impossible to know if your CSV file has been encoded as UTF-8. Programs cannot tell you for certain because there is no setting in the file that contains this information. The closest to come to determining a file's encoding is an educated guess or ask the person who created the file. Usually the person creating the file doesn't know either. All is lost then? Not really, you can create your own file and save it with a known encoding.
The choice of spreadsheet in this case is OpenOffice or LibreOffice. If you use Excel to do all your work in, you are out of luck as Excel has no option for enforcing an encoding when saving a file as CSV. This does not mean you can no longer use Excel but when saving the file for CSV open your Excel file with OpenOffice or LibreOffice.
Start OpenOffice/LibreOffice
In this example I will be using LibreOffice (the screens are the same for OpenOffice).
Open the file
Click on Open and select the file on your computer that you want to save as UTF-8 encoded file.
Save the file
We are not going to use CTRL-S to quickly save the file but we choose File -> Save As (CTRL-SHIFT-S) and then you get this screen:
There are a few things that are important:
- Give your file a name
- Save as type must be set to Text CSV (.csv)
- You must enable the Edit filter settings
After that is done click on Save.
Setting the filter settings
After you have clicked on Save, LibreOffice will ask you what settings you want to use for the file.
The character set must be set to Unicode (UTF-8) as this is what we want to achieve, a UTF-8 encoded file.
The field and text delimiter you can set as you wish or leave it as it is, all other settings can be left unchanged.
After that is done, click on OK.
You now have a UTF-8 encoded file.
CSVI Field Mapper
| RO CSVI
The CSVI Field Mapper helps you to map your fields against CSVI fields. One of the most daunting tasks you have to deal with when setting up a new import is to match your own fields with the CSVI fields. To give you a hand, the CSVI Field Mapper has been created.
What is the Field Mapper?
CSVI Field Mapper is a tool to help you create your template with the correct CSVI fields.
Finding the field Field Mapper
The field mapper is located under Templates.
How does the Field Mapper work?
In short, you upload a small sample of the actual file you want to import and CSVI will read the column headers from this file. CSVI will then present these column headers in a table with a dropdown beside it where you can choose the CSVI field you want to link it to. Once you are done, it can look like this:
When you are done with the mapping of the fields, you can create a template of this by clicking on the Create Template link.
Creating a field map
To create a field map we start by going to Components -> CSVI Pro -> Templates -> Field mapper and you get the field mapper list:
Now click on the New button to create a new field map and you get the new screen:
Now the form needs to be filled out:
Name
Give your field map a name
File
Select the file on your computer that you want to map. Take these points into consideration:
- The first line of the field must contain the field names
- The file cannot have Mac line-endings
- Don't upload your full file if it is a large file. We are only using the first line of the file.
Autodetect delimiters
CSVI will try to detect the delimiters used in your CSV file. In case this doesn't work correctly, you can set this to No and specify your own delimiters.
Field delimiter
The field delimiter is the character that separates the fields in your CSV file.
Text enclosure
The text enclosure is the character that surrounds each field.
Action
Select whether you want to do an import or export.
Component
Select for which component you want to do the import/export.
Operation
Select what kind of operation you want to perform.
After these fields are filled out, click on Save. This will create the field map and process your file.
Mapping the fields
After the field map has been saved you can see a table like the screenshot. On the left you see the field names from your file and on the right the available field names of CSVI. CSVI does not match the fields automatically, you will have to choose which fields it belongs to. In the screenshot you can see that the field sku has been linked to the product_sku field, the field picture has been linked to file_url and so on.
Do the same for your fields and click on Save & Close, this brings you back to the field map list.
Create a template
With your field map ready, you can now create a template by clicking on the Create template link in the Template column.
This will create a new template based on your field map settings that you can then use for import.
Final steps
- Go to Templates -> Templates
- Click on the name of the template to edit the template
- On the File tab set the option Use file for configuration to No
- Save the template
You can now use this template for an import.