Required and optional columns

You can import with very few columns. What is required is decided by the destination, not by Content Uploader, and it is shown with an asterisk or the word Required in the configuration editor.

The minimum#

Everything else is optional: body, slug, excerpt, status, author, dates, tags, images and custom fields. A field you leave unmapped gets the destination's default for new items and keeps its current value on updates, or you can set a fixed value for all rows in the configuration.

So the smallest useful WordPress file is one column:

and the smallest useful Joomla file has two:

An ID column is not required either (items are then matched by their slug or title), but it is strongly recommended (choosing the record ID).

Required custom fields#

A custom field marked required on the site (Joomla custom fields can be) must be mapped, like any required field, and is checked per row. A Joomla field that applies only to some categories is required only for rows in those categories; for other rows it is shown as not used in this category and left out.

What you see when something required is missing#

In the configuration (the mapping is checked when you save it):

• Choose a value for this required destination field. A required field has no source. Choose a column, a fixed value or a template for it.
• Every item needs a Category. Set it from a column or a fixed value. The Joomla category has no source.

In a row (each row is checked when the file is read; the other rows are not held back):

• Title: This field resolves to an empty value. The Title cell of this row is empty. The row is listed under Errors with its row number and is skipped.
• Category: This row has no Category. Every item needs one. A Joomla row without a category.
• Category: This row has 2 values for Category (…), but an item can have only one. A Joomla row with several categories.

Fix the cells in your spreadsheet and upload the file again; the rows that were fine are shown as unchanged and the corrected ones as new or updated.

Optional does not mean ignored#

An optional column that you do map is treated carefully when a cell is empty: depending on how you mapped it, an empty cell can leave the value as it is or remove it from the item (empty cells). Decide on purpose.