Links

Running Imports

Imports can be executed directly in the ExpressionEngine control panel, or by requesting the Import URL. Note that the Import URL does not require the user to be logged in to execute. Therefore, if a random user discovers your Import URL, they can run a import for you without you knowing! For this reason, it is recommended to use a passkey, which you can set when configuring the import.
If you encounter any issues running an import, the first step you should take is look at your import log, as described in the troubleshooting section. DataGrab has pretty extensive logging, so there is a good chance you will find what you are looking for in the logs.

Toolbar Actions

starts, or continues an import.
restarts an import from the beginning. This button is only visible if an import is WAITING.
lets you edit the import settings, such as it's name, description, and passkey.
lets you configure the import itself, e.g. mapping import file properties to fields in ExpressionEngine.
Import URL simply gives you the URL to the import so you can run it in a cron, or outside of the control panel.
If an import was halted for any reason, such as reloading the control panel page while it was in progress, it will switch to the WAITING status. You can resume the import at any time by clicking on the
icon.

Memory Management

DataGrab imports in batches by default. If you have 1000 entries to import, and set the limit parameter to 10, it will import all 1000 entries in batches of 10, each batch of 10 will be a separate PHP request if you're importing through the ExpressionEngine control panel (as pictured above) or using the ?ACT URL to execute the import. After each 10 entries are imported it will refresh the browser and make a new http request, thus creating a new PHP thread with 0 memory used. The more entries you import in a single request, the more memory it will require, and eventually run out of memory and the request will not finish. For this reason the limit parameter defaults to 1. It will import 1 entry at a time 1 request at a time.