8 Export and import

Export and import take content out of camindo CMS and bring it back in. This lets you edit, translate and back up large amounts of data outside the CMS, and transfer them between areas or installations.

You reach both functions from the record list via the menu more_vert → “Export” or “Import”.

The three formats

Format	Purpose	Required group permissions
CSV	Tables for Excel & Co.: edit content, analyze it, take it over from other systems	additional permission “CSV export” or “CSV import”
DOCX	Word file for translators	additional permission “DOCX export (translation)” or “DOCX import (translation)”
XML	complete backup of an area with all fields, languages and files	superusers only

Exporting

At the top of the export form, you choose the scope – as with batch processing, either the last search result or all records of the area. Below that, you choose the format and settings. “Export” starts the export.

The result is always a zip file. It contains the export file and, if requested, the uploaded files of the records in the folder media. The download link is valid for one download only: the zip file is deleted from the server once downloaded, and at the latest after 24 hours.

Large exports (from 1000 records) run in the background. The download link then arrives as an internal message.

CSV

One row per record, one column per field.

Setting	Meaning
“First row contains field names”	header row with the field names – keep it for the re-import
“Write UTF-8 BOM (Excel)”	makes sure Excel recognizes umlauts and special characters correctly
“Separator”, “Enclosure”, “Line break”	default ;, " and Windows line break – suitable for Excel in German-speaking regions
“Languages”	for multilingual websites: which language versions are exported. Multilingual fields get one column per language, such as titel.de_DE and titel.en_US
“Fields”	which fields are exported – shown as a table with name, label and type. “all” selects all visible fields or – if all are already selected – clears them again; collapsed subfields (“More”) are not affected
“Include uploaded files”	uploaded files are added to the zip file. The column then contains the relative path to the file

Via “More” next to a field, further columns are available: for relations, next to the number (autor.record_id) also fields of the linked records (autor.name); for files, their properties such as file name, size or dimensions. Several linked records appear in one cell, separated by |.
warning Columns from the “More” area cannot be re-imported. They serve for information only in the export file.

Embedded content (such as the images of a product that you edit directly in the input form of the product) belongs to the record. Via “More”, all of its fields are available – including files and preview images, which then also go into the zip file. Each embedded content has one value in the cell, separated by |, in the order of the input form (bilder.titel = Front | Side). Export bilder.record_id as well – on re-import, camindo CMS uses these values to match the existing content, in the order given.

Please note: encrypted fields appear in the CSV file in plain text. Times are in the file as they are stored (UTC).

DOCX and XML

See Translating with Word (DOCX) and Backup in XML format.

Editing content in Excel

The CSV export with a subsequent re-import is the tool of choice when many records are to receive different new values – new prices, corrected addresses, added item numbers, translated short texts.

1. Narrow the selection. In the record list, find the records you want to edit.
2. Export. In the export, choose the scope “from the last search result”, the format CSV and the fields you want to edit. Make sure to keep the meta field record_id ticked – it assigns the rows to the records on re-import.
3. Edit. Unzip the zip file and open the CSV file in Excel. Change the values, but not the header row and not the column record_id. You may delete columns you do not want to change.
4. Save. Save in the format “CSV UTF-8 (comma delimited)”.
5. Import. In the record list, choose “Import”, upload the file and select the mode UPDATE (“overwrite the fields of the import file, keep all others; skip missing records”). camindo CMS assigns the columns to the fields automatically based on the header row.
6. Analyze and import. Check in the analysis what will happen, then start the import. The log shows the result for each record.

Notes:

• “Values in database format”: if the import recognizes a camindo header row, this option is preselected: the values are read the way the export wrote them – times in UTC, currency amounts in cents. Turn it off if you enter values the way you would type them in the input form (19,90 instead of 1990).
• Excel changes some values. Leading zeros (postal codes, item numbers) and long numbers are lost when Excel interprets them as numbers. Format such columns as text before editing.
• New records: rows without record_id are created as new records by the mode UPDATE_OR_INSERT. This is how you take over data from other systems, such as an address list.
• Relations: the numbers (record IDs) of the target records follow one another, separated by |. The column is called {field}.record_id, such as autor.record_id; if no such column exists, camindo CMS also assigns a column with the bare field name (autor) to the relation field.
• Each record goes through the input validation on import – invalid values are not accepted but reported in the log.

Translating with Word (DOCX)

The DOCX export prepares the content of an area for translation – a translator or translation agency needs no access to the CMS for this.

1. Export. In the export, choose the tab “DOCX”, the source language (“Translate from”), the target language (“Translate to”) and the multilingual fields to be translated. Under “Files”, decide whether “All records in one file” or “One record per file” – for example to distribute the work among several translators. The individual files are named after the record ID and the designation of the record (4367-sofa-natur.docx) and are all contained in the zip file.
2. Translate. The Word file contains one table per record. The gray rows contain the mapping for the re-import and must not be changed. The white rows contain the text of the source language; the translator overwrites it with the translation. Fields that are already translated are marked “already translated”.
3. Import. Import the translated file into the same content area – with “One record per file”, each file separately. The import overwrites only the fields of the target language; all other fields and languages remain unchanged.

Embedded content is translated along with the record: its multilingual fields appear in the field selection as “field › field of the content” and in the table below the fields of the record, numbered per content item. Fields that are not multilingual in the area of the embedded content do not appear. If a field embeds content from several areas, the area of each content item decides.

For East Asian target languages, the import can convert punctuation and spaces into their ideographic forms. Passages in Arabic or Hebrew script within a text can be marked for correct display (right to left).

Backup in XML format

The XML format (superusers only) is the backup format of camindo CMS: it contains the content area with all field settings and the records with all fields in all languages, exactly as they are stored – encrypted content stays encrypted, passwords are kept only as a check value. On request, the uploaded files are included in the zip file. Preview images and other thumbnails are not exported; they are generated anew on import.

An XML file can be imported back into the same area – for example to restore an earlier state – into a different area, or into a different camindo installation. For how to transfer whole structures with folders, areas and templates, see the manual for administrators.

Import

The import reaches its goal in several steps. Nothing is changed until the last step.

1. Choose file. Upload a zip file from an export or a single XML, CSV or DOCX file. Large files can also be uploaded by FTP into the upload directory and then selected with the folder symbol folder_open to the right of the file field.
2. Settings. Depending on the format: mode, assignment of the columns, number of rows to import and to skip, insert position of new records.
3. Analysis. camindo CMS shows what the import would do with these settings: how many records would be added, changed, replaced or skipped. The extended analysis lists each record individually. “Back” returns to the settings.
4. Import. The log lists each record in color with its result: added, changed, replaced, skipped or failed – with the reason.

The input validation of the individual fields only runs during the import. Therefore, only the log shows how many records are actually accepted.

Mode

Mode	Effect
INSERT	Content from the file is always created as new records.
UPDATE	Fields given in the import file are overwritten. Fields not given remain as they are. Records that do not exist are not created.
UPDATE_OR_INSERT	As UPDATE, but records that do not exist are created.
REPLACE	All fields overwrite existing content. Fields not named in the file are emptied. Records that do not exist are not changed.
REPLACE_OR_INSERT	As REPLACE, but records that do not exist are created.

When a new record is created, camindo CMS tries to use the record_id named in the file. If it is already taken, a new one is assigned. If records in the file are linked to one another, this is taken into account during the import: the relations are adjusted to the new record IDs accordingly. This works only within a single import. Later, the record has no knowledge of its former record_id.

For editing individual fields, UPDATE is almost always right. REPLACE is suitable for resetting a record completely to the state of the file.

Further options

Option	Effect
“Insert position of new records”	In areas with a sort order or tree structure: after which record, or under which parent record, new records are inserted
“Force writing”	also overwrites records that someone is currently editing. Those changes are then lost
“Run as background process”	the log arrives as an internal message. From 200 records (default setting) the import always runs in the background – the option cannot be unticked then

Embedded content on import

CSV and DOCX imports treat a record together with its embedded content as one unit: both are saved together. If one content item fails (for example because of a missing required field), the record is not changed either.

• CSV: the values of a cell determine the embedded content. Existing content is matched via …record_id (without this column: via its order) and changed; additional values create new content (record_id = 0); missing content is removed; the order is adopted. Files come from the zip file, preview images are generated anew. If the file names no column for a field, the content remains unchanged – in mode REPLACE it is removed.
• DOCX: the translated fields of the embedded content are adopted. Nothing is created or removed.

If a text itself contains the character sequence | for several content items, or the number of values does not match, the record is skipped with a message.

Media import

With the media import, you turn a collection of files into many records in a single step – for example from a folder of product photos. You find it in the menu more_vert above the record list as the item perm_media “Media import”. Requirements: the area has an upload field, and your user group has the permission to import media.

1. Choose zip file. Upload a zip file or choose one from the upload directory of the server.
2. Settings. camindo CMS shows the files contained, grouped by file type. Select the types to be imported, the upload field that takes the file, and optionally a field that receives the file name as text (without extension). Minus signs and underscores become spaces (Filiale-Graz_2024.jpg → “Filiale Graz 2024”). The first upload field and the main field of the area are preselected.
3. Import. Each file creates a new record. The import log lists the result for each file.

Not importable and grayed out are executable files, active content (HTML, SVG, XML, JavaScript), empty files and files whose content does not match their extension. Hidden files (name begins with a dot) and system files such as Thumbs.db, desktop.ini or the folder __MACOSX are ignored. Types that the chosen upload field does not accept cannot be selected.