Export

  • Resolved michaelberger

    (@michaelberger)


    6 months ago

    The Friends of the Trap Grounds in Oxford UK (https://www.trap-grounds.org.uk/), a Nature Reserve near the centre of Oxford run by volunteers.

    When the website was initially developed some years ago, and still ongoing, members and the public submit sightings of special things seen during a Trap Grounds visit via our Sightings web-page. This was adapted from the Guestbook plug-in (presumably the wp_comments file).  We now have close on 1000 entries. To try and manage this list more sensibly, and also to enable the sightings to be analysed for research, I had hoped to export the observations file, clean it up, and make it available as searchable text to researchers and others by creating a document grouping the sighting content by date of post. 

    Using the Export facility in Guestbook, I have downloaded and edited a file but find that the datetime column associated with the download is a string of undecipherable digits (presumably an address link to a separate database). 

    I then tried using the WP Import Export Lite plug-in, but when I try access the comments database, it says there are 0 files found, probably because the Guestbook database has a different title not recognised by the export plug-in.

    I would appreciate any suggestions that could resolve the problem of including the timings  alongside the observations in an exported Guestbook csv file.

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)
  • Plugin Author Marcel Pol

    (@mpol)

    6 months ago

    Hello Michael,

    The guestbook uses a CSV file for import and export. That means it is just a text file, where each field is separated by a comma.
    In the database the guestbook uses its own tables wp_gwolle, not wp_comments.

    Most import and export plugins use XML files, which are very different from CSV files. These are not compatible.

    The datetime field is a UNIX timestamp. There are websites where you can convert a UNIX timestamp to a human readable datetime.

    This guestbook plugin has an importer from comments, but not an exporter.

    With LibreOffice Calc, you can import the CSV file into an excell sheet, which might make it more compatible for you and viewers.
    I don’t know if LibreOffice Calc can change a UNIX timestamp to a human readable datetime. You could look into that.

    Please understand that names and email addresses are private information. You want to think twice before publishing them. I assume most visitors who posted in the guestbook assumed their email address to remain private.
    You could and probably should remove that email column from the published list.

    Regards, Marcel

    Thread Starter michaelberger

    (@michaelberger)

    6 months ago

    Hi Marcel

    Very helpful reply. Much appreciated.

    I am using LibreOffice and an Export option in Guestbook downloaded the full file with me choosing CSV. It needed some cleaning up from spam entries and symbols such as & had some additional material that had to be cleaned up. Ohterwise great!

    Thanks for your comment about emails etc. We work here under UK Data Protection guidelines and our intention is to ask for a First name only and to only show this alongside the date and moderated post on the live site . Similarly, if a copy of the posts is requested for research or other serious work, this will only cover date and post content.

    Incidentally, I submitted a sample of posts to an AI program with a request to list all the birds seen, and how frequently, to be compiled in a table and got it all very rapidly.

    Still need to check for accuracy, but impressed.

    Again, our thanks

    Best wishess

    Michael

    Thread Starter michaelberger

    (@michaelberger)

    6 months ago

    PS – we do not release emails – used for admin purposes, mainly moderation.

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)

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