User List Import

[jacobi]

Greetings all, and happy New Year!

I have been lurking here for a little while, and have found I am not alone in my problem: I would like to import an existing membership database for my organization (in text-delimited format) as a starting point for my forum. (Then I can e-mail all of my members on how to get started).

After trying a number of search strings, I found several posts where people asked about this, but they kind of disintegrated into thin air.

On another Web site I manage, we use Discus, where the administrator may or may not choose to use MySQL as a backend, but it has an import facility/utility that allows the admin to paste delimited text, which it parses into the database.

Any/all suggestions are most appreciated! :)

[Xenon]

well shouldn't be too hard to do :)

just a little script is required, which reads out from that file,and filles in the information into the user and userfield tables...

i'd say it would be a job of 5 perhaps 10 minutes for any hacker out here.
just the thing to manege the db at first a bit, to include all the fields can take a bit more (wether explaining or doing it self per admin rights)

[jacobi]

Anybody out there? :)

I would like to go "live" with my forum soon, but one of the features I touted to our organization was the ability to browse a list of our members. If we have to wait for everyone to register, that feature won't be a reality for months, unfortunately.

I tried to upload a CSV tab delimited file in a MySQL management program, matching the relevant fields (including the appropriate group id number), and it showed up in my admin group list, but did not show up in the user list. The admin CP showed that number of members, but I could not manage the data. There seems to be something I'm missing.

Thanks again,
Adam

[Logician]

After trying a number of search strings, I found several posts where people asked about this, but they kind of disintegrated into thin air.
Actually why this does not exist is highly related to the fact that there can not be a "magical script" that can work for all.

The conversion script must be a custom one depending on the user details of the site applied for everyone. So for example your memberinfo might be including membername, email, location, age, while some other site owner's list has membername, profession, interests, birthday.

Therefore you can code a script that will work for your site but you can not easily turn it to a "full release vb hack" which will work for other users as well who are trying to achieve the same goal..

[Xenon]

Originally posted by jacobi
I tried to upload a CSV tab delimited file in a MySQL management program, matching the relevant fields (including the appropriate group id number), and it showed up in my admin group list, but did not show up in the user list. The admin CP showed that number of members, but I could not manage the data. There seems to be something I'm missing.

Whenever you import a member into the user table, you have to create a row in the userfield table also
after you have created this row (just userid must be filled, the rest is irrelevant) the user can be edited from within your acp :)

[jacobi]

First, Xenon - thanks for the tip. I bet that'll do the trick and I can't wait to try.

Regarding Logician's post...
The conversion script must be a custom one depending on the user details of the site applied for everyone. So for example your memberinfo might be including membername, email, location, age, while some other site owner's list has membername, profession, interests, birthday.

I realize this, which is why I customized my member info file to match with vBulletin's fields. I actually painstakingly reorganized the data columns to work with the import, which is why the MySQL database was populated correctly. If the MySQL import worked (and I was just missing what Xenon pointed out), I'm wondering if a be-all, end-all script couldn't prompt the user to match fields and then change the field names/descriptions later. Just a thought.

[jacobi]

Well, I imported to both the "user" and "userfield" tables, and it worked like a charm. In fact, I probably should have just done that in the first place because I did have the profile data for the userfield table; I was simply looking for instant gratification.

[charlesm]

Hi,

We a have a user list that we need to import for a client and would prefer to pay someone to write a script that works rather than bodge it ourselves...

Essentially we will have a CSV file that determines the user name, password, email addresses and a series of fields that relates to the their options (this may or not be necessary).

This will then need to be imported into the main database - initially when it is installed and then possibly every six months.

The board is being is installed within a secure extranet, so the only way that people can be added will be either via the admin section or via this install.

If you need anything else to price this, please let me know,

[kaihawaii]

is there a generic hack fpr these issue, for importing such userfiles, e.g.:

"email"
"name@one.com"
"name@two.com"

or

"email","firstname","lastname"?

it should upd. all the needed tables for 2.6 and must be customizable before on the customfields.

[brobson168]

Hi, we are just setting up a chat room for DECUS - the UK Digital Pensioners association. We have very similar requirement - we wish to import from a CSV file our member details (we have over 500 member so typing them in is a major task).

Can anyone help?

Cheers

Brian Robson(brian.robson@btinternet.com.UK)

[rikkuotaku]

Hi,

I'd like to import users with text passwords into vBulletin along with a forum structure that's stored in an ascii text file.

With all the different scripts to import tons of different boards into vBulletin, someone must know how to import a simple text file with that info???

I have searched the board and found lots of threads about this subject, but no clear answers. Some say 'just import it'. Some say' md5() it and import it'. But none of this helps me with the specifics.

If someone would even give me sample sql code to import a user, and a sample sql code to import a category/forum/subforum structure, I could modify my text file to just have one sql command after another for each user and forum - no problem!!

I just need somewhere to start!

Thanks!!!

[selzlerb]

Hello Team,

I have been looking for a solution to this problem as well. I'm assuming that users could be created from a userlist using basic information. Group, Username, Password, and other VB defaults. Then the user could log in and flesh out the profile themselves.

It seems like there are some with ideas as to how to do this. I took a look at the WebMin MySQL controls to see if there was a method there, but it doesn't look that way.

If anyone has some thoughts or a hint as to where to start I would really appreciate it.

Thanks.

- Sez

[selzlerb]

Well, I imported to both the "user" and "userfield" tables, and it worked like a charm. In fact, I probably should have just done that in the first place because I did have the profile data for the userfield table; I was simply looking for instant gratification.

So, how did you do this? Can you post the script/method you used?

Thanks.

- Sez

[StewardManscat]

I imported my custom user table ok, but the number of members (stats) is not correct. Can anyone tell me how this gets updated, or can I just zap the number in the table (I see it buried in some gobbledegook in a settings table row of some sort...)

None of the repair/integrity functions updated the user count. Curious.

I just paid $500 CDN for this software. I have the insane 20 digit number after digging it out, but then lost the place in this system where I am suppoed to put it in. Argh.

Again: conversion of members appears to be completed normally, but no clue how to get the count updated.

Please and thank you.

[Xenon]

you should update to vb3 and then run the repair user profiles function in the maintenance section.

it's not only, that the users are not counting on the memberslist, but you also cannot edit them in the acp as long as you don't do that.

[Visibility]

I don't think selzlerb ever got a reply - is there a script or easy way to import the users? Any comments or pitfalls to avoid?

[Xenon]

<a href="https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showpost.php?p=339566&postcount=4" target="_blank">https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showp...66&postcount=4</a>

It always depends on how you have your users currently.
i know i did write such a script once as a custom job....

[Visibility]

I've got about 25K users, though I may use some selection criteria to whittle that down in preparing the text file. The key fields would be username and e-mail address; the users can repopulate the profile info as needed. I'm not sure I'll be able to decode the existing passwords, but I suppose returning users could utilize the password recovery feature in order to log in.