Why won't the Import plugin accept this JSON string?

Question

Importing data.csv using Bob Olde Hampsink's Import plugin. Given that data.csv has a 'table' item string thusly:

"Alcohol and Drug Treatment:RX-8450.3300,Counseling:RP-1400.8000-145,Mental Health Services:RR-5150.1500,Support Groups:PNPH-8100.4500-050"

(two columns, four rows. dead simple)

Lindsay tells us here that:

a table field contains a simple JSON string

So we are writing a plugin using Import's modifyImportRow hook and here's what we have in the hook loop:

...
// Arrange your content in a way that makes sense for your plugin
foreach ($fields as $handle => $value) {

    if ($handle=="myTableHandle"){

      $rows = explode(',', $value);

      $tabledata = array();

      foreach ($rows as $row) {
        $rowarray = explode(':',$row);

        $rowdata['col1'] = $rowarray[0];
        $rowdata['col2'] = $rowarray[1];

        $tabledata[] = $rowdata;
      }

      $value = json_encode($tabledata);

   }

   $content[$handle] = $value;

}
...

The import works, but the table field data (myTableHandle) remains NULL.

What else can we do to that string of table data to get the Import plugin to accept?

Answer 1

You're close!

The method that Lindsey recommends should work with the following method of adding content to a field:

$entry->getContent()->setAttributes(array(
    'tableFieldHandle' => json_encode($tableData)
));

However, the modifyImportRow documentation uses the (arguably better) method:

// Set modified content
$element->setContentFromPost($content);

Using this method, you should add an array to a table field, rather than a JSON strong, since setContentFromPost() will call the relevant methods to format the field data appropriately for the database, so you don't need to worry about it.

So if you use:

$content[$handle] = $tabledata;

then add it to the element using:

// Set modified content
$element->setContentFromPost($content);

it should work.

---

The full code for the modifyImportRow function in your plugin should now look like this:

/**
 * Modify data just before importing
 *
 * @param BaseElementModel $element  The current element receiving import data.
 * @param array            $map      Mapping of data between CSV -> Craft fields.
 * @param array            $data     Raw data provided for this row.
 */
public function modifyImportRow($element, $map, $data)
{
    // Map data to fields
    $fields = array_combine($map, $data);

    // Initialize content array
    $content = array();

    // Arrange your content in a way that makes sense for your plugin
    foreach ($fields as $handle => $value) {

        if ($handle=="myTableHandle"){

            $rows = explode(',', $value);

            $tabledata = array();

            foreach ($rows as $row) {
                $rowarray = explode(':',$row);

                $rowdata['col1'] = $rowarray[0];
                $rowdata['col2'] = $rowarray[1];

                $tabledata[] = $rowdata;
            }

        }

        $content[$handle] = $tabledata;

    }

    // Set modified content
    $element->setContentFromPost($content);
}