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Ok, I have feedback for you on the “Import from Ning” plugin if I use it to upload a normal CSV file that is not originally from Ning. I hope the developer @boonebgorges of the plugin reads this to give him some ideas about expanding the ability to use this

The plugin does work, but not entirely. In your CSV columns, you must have Name and Email as the first and second columns, respectively. If you do not have them in that order, it will not import. That is an easy thing to do though, so not a headache

Here are some problems I found:

1) I want to create usernames for my imported users. How are usernames generated for users when you import them? The “Import from Ning” plugin takes the ‘Name” field and makes that the username automatically. So if your name is “George Bush”, it will automatically create a username called “georgebush”.

However, I do not want this. I have separated by “Name” field from the “Surname” field, so my user would have Name=George and Username=George. I do not want that. Instead I want to create my own usernames. However if I upload a column called “Username”, the importer does not recognize that.

2) The “Import from Ning” plugin does a decent job of automatically aligning your xprofile fields with the columns in the CSV file. For selectbox fields, there is no problem. For textbox fields, there is no problem. For radio fields, there is no problem. However there are problems with these two fields: datebox and checkbox.

What happens if I try to upload data into datebox? I tried uploading in the formats “1 January 1950” and “January 1, 1950” but the plugin ignored those, so I am unsure how to upload dates correctly. When I tried “1 January 1950”, it changed that and instead displayed “January 1, 1970”, so I feel that maybe I am near a solution…. however when I tried “January 1, 1950” in my CSV field, it just left that entire area blank… I have no idea about the correct protocol for uploading dates tat include months, days, and years together. But I feel I am near a solution….

What happens when I include data from a checkbox? Nothing is included. For example, I have a field that is “Favorite Foods” and users can select more than one choice. In my field, I am using “~” as the separator. So I have “Pizza~Noodles~Fruit” in my CSV field, but the plugin ignores this. Therefore, for the “checkbox” field data, I am unsure of the correct protocol for how to prepare my data to upload using this plugin.

I feel that this is a great plugin and we only maybe need some help figuring out the details from above.