Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with import

Importing Roquefort from France

77144 — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:32:33 -0800

Can I bring about 5 lbs of French Roquefort cheese back into the US, this December, without breaking any laws? For private use only.

Importing to Wordpress Using Custom Fields

backwards guitar — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:15:36 -0800

When importing data into Wordpress, is it possible to put parts of that data into custom fields? I've got a (Drupal) website with about 1000 pages of content that I'd like to port over to Wordpress. The pages are essentially products, so I think they'd function well as posts.

The one snag I'm running into is that the Drupal pages have the product's content split into a few different sections of content, for example "description", "accessories", "specifications".

Questions:

1) I'm thinking the easiest thing to do would be to have these additional sections be custom fields in Wordpress. When I import the data how can I import these extra sections as custom fields?

2) What's the best format to export the data (or perhaps the better question is, what's the best format to import the data into Wordpress). I have access to the data in sql format, and could write a script in PHP to grab the data directly from the database if need be. Should I manually insert the data into the empty Wordpress database? Or use one of the import methods described in the Wordpress codex?

fees plees?

violetk — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:06:06 -0800

what other fees will i be paying for shopping internationally? i am interested in buying something from a clothing store in denmark through their online boutique. they ship via fedex. i live in the US. what other fees, if any, will i be required to pay?

Is it worth the trouble/effort to buy IKEA in Canada and drive it back into the US?

davertron — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 08:11:19 -0800

Anyone with experience buying and bringing IKEA stuff from Canada into the US? I want to drive up to the IKEA in Montreal to purchase some furniture because it's the closest IKEA to where I live here in Vermont (about 2 hours away). I'm guessing that you probably have to deal with import procedures when coming back into the states if you spend a certain amount of money or are bringing back a big truck full of stuff. Does anyone have any experience with this? Do you think I could avoid it if I had a van vs. a Uhaul or something similar? What would this procedure involve? Would the current exchange rate make it worth the trouble?

I'm planning on buying some bigger items, so it might be difficult to sneak through unnoticed, but I might be able to borrow a decently sized van or something if needs-be.

Looking to order not more than $100 worth of semi-tat from overseas

kmennie — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 12:39:50 -0800

Can you suggest more sites like lovelyshoes.net? Rainbow totes, $7! I want to receive parcels of entertaining, extremely cheap goods. I don't mind reasonable minimums but I'm not a reseller. Googling around for wholesale whatever is getting me nowhere. Where do hip boutiques get their goods?

Requirements:

Amazingly cheap

Reasonable minimum orders (lovelyshoes.net's is US$100) -- I am looking to do some Xmas shopping so might conceivably want five of something, but

Goods more interesting/nicer than what I can find in dollar stores -- I suppose I am looking for a good-sized city's Chinatown shops' level of "Ooh, how cute" and "I didn't know they made these"

I have only been able to find Chinese sites selling designer knock-offs, which is not what I'm looking for (though I do like $11 Marc Jacobs knockoffs) -- I don't want fake Louboutins -- or "wholesale" sites whose discounts are crap or whose merchandise is mostly nose hair trimmers. I suppose the perfect place would be like lovelyshoes.net but with Hello Kitty and toy robots and cashmere scarves thrown in the mix.

My Wife Hates Movable Type!

smithmac_99 — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 14:58:51 -0800

Can you import a MT Blog into blogger?

Getting cat through the Channel

Zinda68 — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 05:32:11 -0800

What are the chances my cat will be intercepted in the car crossing the Channel? October 1st I will move to London for a year for studies. I would very much like to bring my cat. (He's very dependent on me since he was abandoned when he was only 2 weeks old.)
I've checked DEFRA's PETS regulations and my cat meats all the requirements except one: a blood test that was taken 6 months ago. He's always had all vaccinations, so I'm quiet sure he's not carrying rabiës. Is there a way to get around this? For instance, will the car and luggage be checked for the 35 min. under the Channel?

Recovering posts from a dead Wordpress blog

johngoren — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 14:22:45 -0800

Is there an easy way to export Wordpress posts when the admin panel is crashed and I have only command line access? I accidentally messed up the MySQL database for my Wordpress blog. The posts are all there to read on the blog, but I can't get into the panel (which is now in a "you don't have permissions" state that I don't think I can fix because it's not for one of the usual reasons.)

So I installed a new Wordpress system in a different directory. Now I would like it to grab all the posts from the other Wordpress, either by grabbing it off the database or (preferably) just using some plugin that would extract posts from the Web site.

Is there a good way to do this? Any help much appreciated.

(I'd hook it up to the old MySQL database, but I'm concerned this would put it in the same dead situation.)

What should I import to New Zealand for resale?

redzarf — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 01:26:42 -0800

What should I import to New Zealand for resale? I'm looking for ideas of products that I could buy in bulk, ship to NZ, and resell for a modest profit. http://www.kk.org/cooltools/ is great, but a little frustrating because I'll often see products there or elsewhere that I'd love to buy, but can't because only shipping one is too expensive or they don't ship overseas (Amazon only send things like books and dvds overseas.)

At the same time I'd like to try making a little extra money on the side by finding a few products that aren't available in NZ, and resell them with a 10-20% profit I'll be happy. Manufacturers/sellers are (hopefully) more likely to ship overseas for a bulk order.

NZ is a long way from anywhere, so shipping costs a lot, so I'm particularly looking for products that are small and light. My preferred price-range would be about US$40-100, though outside of that would be interesting to know about too. Theres lots of cool unique products from the US, but from anywhere else is also of interest.

If you don't have any specific products in mind, are there any other lists/blogs/stores/etc like Cool Tools that I should look at for ideas?

US expat needs new wardrobe

Dag Maggot — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 00:53:53 -0800

I'm looking for good suggestions for buying US clothes on the Internet from overseas. Clothes are so expensive here in Australia that I think it might be cheaper even with the added shipping costs. I'm looking for male clothes that could be worn to the office - trousers, shirts, shoes.

Help required for Excel VBA n00b

cholly — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 18:42:55 -0800

ExcelMacroFilter: Writing a macro that imports a series of .csv files into their own worksheets in the same workbook in Excel 2007 would save me ridiculous amounts of time. I have written a macro to import the files and rename the worksheet accordingly, but I'm new to VBA and can't for the life of me work out how to get Excel to automatically repeat the import from File_1.csv to File_x.csv. Help please? The research that I am doing at the moment means that I end up with lots of .csv data files at the end of a day, and it takes forever for me to move the data into Excel, so automating this would be great.

The files are all saved in the same folder (for arguments sake FOLDER). and all have a set naming convention (eg. File_1.csv, File_2.csv etc). I feel like I there should be something that says "From i = 1 to x" at the beginning of the code and then a "Next i" at the end, but it is definitely not right. What am I missing here?

How to best deal with multiple Chinese suppliers?

mhjb — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:36:29 -0800

Looking for advice regarding Chinese imports. Importing products into New Zealand from a number of suppliers - is there a service that would act as an intermediary for me? I have recently been approved for a capital grant in order to start a business designing and building audio gear. I want to ensure I'm purchasing the maximum amount of stock for the money I have. Most of the components I require are available in China for a fraction of the price I can get them here.* The problem is that I have to deal with numerous wholesalers, leading to inefficiencies in terms of freight cost, not to mention the language issues that come up with each new supplier.

The service I'm looking for would be an intermediary based in China that would act as a kind of a depot for me. This would be someone with good English that could take delivery of my orders from 10 different suppliers and send them over to me in one unit, meaning I'd pay the cheapest possible freight and import duties.

I'm generally a noob with all of this and terrified of blowing this opportunity by mis-spending my start-up capital, so any and all advice relating to dealing with suppliers and import issues would be appreciated.

*E.g. 3PDT footswitch: 100 units delivered for 170USD compared to 750USD locally

Font Book collection importing.

starman — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:12:09 -0800

Need help importing collections into Font Book. I set up half a dozen "collections" in Font Book 2 on Mac #1 for handy organization. My goal is to recreate these collections I've organized on Mac #1 to Mac #2.

Font Book lets you export collections, which I did to an external HD, but when I drag the collections into Font Book on Mac #2, it will only copy over fonts I don't have (and add them to the collection -- anything I already have is ignored and not added).

Any ideas?

WTB Mr.Roboto, will robot boogie for pay.

jstarlee — Sun, 24 May 2009 09:18:56 -0800

I would like to purchase the Japanese version of some DS games. eBay, trouble friends/families in Japan/southeast Asia, or just bite the bullet and buy US versions? I am getting myself a DSi and most of the games I like are originally made in Japanese. Games like Professor Leyton series, Square-Enix games (Final Fantasy, Front Mission, Dragon Quest), Zelda : The Phantom Hourglass and etc. Since I can read Japanese to a certain level I find it more fun to play the Japanese version. It is a way to keep my Japanese fresh as I will have to look up words/phrases I have forgotten or don't know at all. I am aware that getting the JP version may mean no interaction with other game owners. I would like to know if anyone here has obtained imported games and what was your experience like?

Possible Options:
1) Ebay- games run from $40~$80 from reliable vendors (not pirated version from HK/China). Fast but expensive as used games of English version are half the price if not less.

2) Have friend/family purchase them in JP/Southeast Asia - I have a couple friends living in JP and families in southeast Asia. The price on the games would be much lower but I have no idea how much the shipping will cost. The prices I've looked up on Amazon.jp for used games in decent condition are usually around $15~$25. This will take a long time and I have no idea how to transfer funds to my Japanese friends or how much trouble it will cause them.

3) Just bite the bullet and get US versions?

If you have any recommendation about games that are originally made in English I would love to hear them (or ones that language does not really matter.) I realize this question may be very specific but any comment, suggestion, or recommendation is very much appreciated. Thank you.

But I Did Everything Right! Right?

foxy_hedgehog — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 11:06:31 -0800

I backed up all of my iPhoto library onto my iPod (by using the iPod as a hard drive) in anticipation of a Mac hospital system reinstallation. I retrieved my music files just fine and loaded them back into iTunes, but the saved iPhoto library on the iPod won't open and won't let me import it into iPhoto. I'm viewing the contents of the iPod through the finder, and the iPhoto library is there -- in all its 13 GB glory -- but when I try to open in within the iPod, it flickers and nothing happens. When I try to import it via my newly reinstalled copy of iPhoto, the library isn't "clickable" in the import window. I tried copying the library from the iPod to the desktop first, and it seemed to work -- the copying process took 50 minutes -- but I can't access or import anything from the desktop either.

Anyone have any thoughts on what I might have done, or am doing, wrong? Please let me know if you need any clarification.

Why does India consider the iPhone a "Dangerous Item" that cannot be shipped to the US?

smersh — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 06:12:59 -0800

How do you ship an electronic item (iPhone) with a non-removable battery out of India? It's labelled as a "dangerous item." It seems like a lot of my questions stem from an inherent frustration of an American living in a Thirld World country. This question is no exception.

India has this policy of not allowing you to ship out products with their battery inside. That is, I can send you a Nokia cell phone from Mumbai to New York, as long as the battery is separate from the phone.

It can be in the same box, just not in the device. If it's in the device, it's labelled as a dangerous item and you need import/export licenses and such to be able to send it.

So, my brother wants my old iPhone from here and I cannot get it to him. I've tried calling Fed Ex, DTDC, the Post Office. Nobody will take it.

Has anybody a clue how I can ship out an item with a non-removable battery from a country that labels the iPhone as a dangerous item?

I don't know what the metafilter readership is like. Hopefully, there's enough people dealing with India for me to get some help.

Also, if I succeed, how much will customs set my brother back when he receives it? What if I send him 2 new iPhone 3Gs valued at $600 each?

Help is appreciated.

Importing data (and hard returns), Movable Type to Wordpress

avoision — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 17:34:04 -0800

How do I get WordPress to recognize hard returns when importing Movable Type data? I'm in the process of setting up my blog using WordPress 2.7.1 (migrating from Movable Type 4.2.3). I was able to import all of my entries no problem, but I'm noticing that many of the hard returns don't seem to have carried over.

Specifically, when I view posts via WordPress... I can tell where paragraphs end/begin, but there's no space between paragraphs. It's as though a single hard return registered, but the second hard return did not.

In cracking open the MT export file (just a .txt file), I see that the hard returns are present in the exported file. No paragraph tags or break tags, just hard returns.

In the MT exported .txt file, the entry text looks like this:

Text in paragraph 1.

Text in paragraph 2.

But when viewed via WordPress, the entry text looks like this:

Text in paragraph 1.
Text in paragraph 2.

At this point, my options are:

1) Revisit MT and try to export data out with paragraph and break tags.

I've looked, and there doesn't seem to be anything other than a big "export" button. I've verified that my text formatting settings are set to "convert line breaks."

2) Run GREP patterns sweeps on my exported .txt file and insert any necessary paragraph or break tags for every entry.

3) Figure out some way for WordPress to recognize the hard returns - or at least, the second hard return. In looking a bit closer at the exported MT text file, I see this:

--------
AUTHOR: avoision
TITLE: This Week's Assignment is...
BASENAME: this_weeks_assignment_is
STATUS: Publish
ALLOW COMMENTS: 1
CONVERT BREAKS: __default__
ALLOW PINGS: 1
DATE: 07/04/2002 12:00:01 AM
-----

Is it possible that there's some other value I can change the CONVERT BREAKS line to, so that WordPress will pick up both hard returns in my entry bodies? Again, WP seems to be picking up a singular hard return... but not in cases where I have more than one.

I can create some text factories in BBEdit, but man... I really, really don't want to. I've been keeping a daily blog for about 6 years now, and have about 6,000 entries all in all. It's not that I'm unwilling to roll up my sleeves and do the dirty work - I just am hoping there's another approach that I may not know of.

I'm dusting off my regular expression chops as we speak, but would love to hear any other ideas/options regarding importing this info.

Is it possible to import messages to Yahoo! mail?

Grinder — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 07:33:50 -0800

Is it possible to import messages to Yahoo! mail? I'm trying to help someone migrate from Outlook to Yahoo! mail. They want to bring their old mail with them. I can't see any way to import mail into Yahoo! Contacts, yes, but mail, no. Does anyone know if it is possible to import either mbox or EML files to Yahoo! mail?

(This question has been asked before - http://ask.metafilter.com/78229/Can-I-upload-old-emails-into-my-Yahoo-Mail-account - but that was a while ago so I want to check that nothing's changed in the meantime.)

Excel delimited text import FAIL

mwhybark — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 13:59:24 -0800

Excel is chapping my hide. I have a comma-delimited .csv which contains quote-demarcated text fields. The source of my never-ending joy is the recurrent use of inch-marks and commas within the textfields. Right this way... EXAMPLE

TEXTFIELD1, NUMFIELD, TEXTFIELD2
"3" widget, black",1,"3" widget, black"
"Assorted widgets, 3"",1,"Assorted widgets, 3""

this renders in Excel after careful use of the text-import wizard (using backslash-tab to represent cols)

TEXTFIELD1\tNUMFIELD\tTEXTFIELD2\n
3 widget, black"\t1\t3 widget, black"\n
Assorted widgets, 3",1,Assorted widgets, 3""\n

The semi-random removal of in-text-field quotes is repeatable, so there are actual rules being applied.

Excel CAN'T be this brain dead, can it?

I mean, .csv and comma-delimited are OOOOOLD standards. Freeform textfields containing inch-marked and comma-ed product data has to be the very oldest text-and-data management problem in the book.

How can I slap the spreadsheet around to obtain proper data I/O?

PLEASE HOPE ME!

Importing Cocoa

muckster — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 07:49:38 -0800

A friend and I would like to market Philippine cocoa in the U.S. How difficult is it to import food into the country? Digging around the FDA website got me awfully confused. The product is ready and delicious -- can somebody walk me through the steps for marketing it here? Thank you.

How to find live shea plants in the US?

infinitefloatingbrains — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 09:19:53 -0800

Vitellaria paradoxa, know as the shea plant, is used to make shea butter, a common ingredient in cosmetics. Is it possible to find a live shea plant in the US? Or is this something that has to be carried in clandestinely?

Where to get Caña Legui in the US?

sergeant sandwich — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 15:33:41 -0800

About ten years ago, a colleague of mine from Argentina had me try some liquor called Caña (or Canha) Legui that he'd brought with him to the US. It was really good and I want to find a bottle here. Help? It was a sweet, rum-based liquor, that tasted sort of like cream soda. I haven't been able to find it anywhere in the US, so I thought I'd give AskMe a shot. I've seen it for sale on a couple of e-commerce websites, but they are all based in Europe and the shipping charges to the US are pretty steep. I imagine there are import food-and-drink sellers aimed at South American expats and so on, but I fail at finding them.

I'm in southern California; a local source would be great, but an online service that ships to the US for less than an arm and a leg would work too. Any other suggestions would be helpful!

Help me to continue to do business with a manufacturer in Taiwan...

Muirwylde — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 21:32:52 -0800

I've twice bought the same cosmetic packaging components from a specific Taiwanese manufacturer through a US-based middleman. I'm ready to re-order and want to circumvent the middleman and order directly from the manufacturer who we will call BG Manufacturing. There are some fairly compelling motivations and rationale for doing so. Important details inside. Several factors to take into consideration.

1. I'm very happy with the BG Manufacturing product even though there are knock-offs available.
2. The middleman (lets call him XYZ Middleman) tried to 'trick me' into purchasing an inferior product on the first order. I 'caught' the deception quite to the consternation of the middle man who had no intention of being 'caught'. Despite this attempted deception, I did manage to get the actual product I had specified. (BG Manufacturings product.)
3. XYZ Middleman sent me an email on another occasion offering to sell me a competitors of BG Manufacturings product. I did not respond though I did keep a copy of the email. It's quite specific with prices, etc. They even sent me a sample and it is stamped 'Korea" and is of discernably lesser quality.
4. The manufacturer accidentally (?) sent a copy of an invoice that I believe reveals the actual price XYZ Middleman is paying BG Manufacturing before marking up and selling to me. The price is approximately 20% 0f what I am now paying XYZ Middleman. I have a copy of this invoice.
5. GB Manufacturing sent the product directly to me from Taiwan.

My question: should I just go ahead and order from the manufacturer and cite this XYZ Middleman email with a statement along the lines of, "XYZ Middleman is trying to sell me a competitors product but I would prefer to buy from you. May I buy from you directly?" Do I even need to ask? Should I cite / enclose a copy of the XYZ Middleman email? How do I approach the manufacturer? I have one shot and I want to maximize my chance for success. How best to approach. I don't really have a contact at the manufacturer though they have an artwork file and my company name since the product is over-printed with my product logo. Fedex a letter? Furthermore, what is the standard form of remittance of payment for goods between US-Taiwan business for an amount less than 10,000 USD? Can I use an international money order or Cashiers Check? Thanks for any input / advice.

Legality to mail US consumer vegetable seed packets to Kenya?

Quarter Pincher — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 20:36:32 -0800

Are there any export restrictions (or whatnot) regarding me (a US non-business entity) sending a bunch of packages of consumer vegetable-garden seeds to a foreign country (Kenya) as a gift? I'm sure there are some restrictions on receiving foreign seeds, but.. outgoing? A gentleman I met in Kenya last year (having been there myself) has requested a number of seed packets be sent to his rural/slum community. Would I be breaking some US export law (or Kenya import.. hmm) by sending them?

A Microsoft product that thinks it knows what's best for me? Perish!

ChasFile — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 08:13:00 -0800

When I do Add -> Existing Web Site in Visual Studio 2008, if the existing site was created in an earlier version of .net (say 2.0 and I'm running 3.5) Visual Studio automatically starts an update wizard to convert the site to 3.5. How do I turn off this behavior so that it simply imports the web site without updating it? I know this is possible because the first time I did this it happened flawlessly, but at the time I didn't un-check the "automatically update sites next time" check box. Gah.