J-BusinessDirectory - Changing Category ID Numbers

Hello:

I am looking at switching over from SobiPro to J-Business Directory and will be importing about 1,700+ businesses.

I have already exported the data from SobiPro but I have a question about categories; specifically, I have roughly 50+ categories/subs that I used in SP that had assigned "ID numbers" to each category that exported as well. I want to upload a CSV file of the categories and get them to match the existing categories ID numbers in the SopiPro file so my question is can I change the ID numbers of the categories once I put them into JBD so they will match exactly what is in the SobiPro CSV file. I truly do not want to change all 1,700+ category numbers by hand if I can't, and was hoping JBD would allow me to somehow renumber the ID categories in JBD so it matches the ones I had in SobiPro.

Thank you.

Have no experience of import/export using SobiPro and hope CMSjunkies here can chip in and give some directions. Create a support ticket for this as well though they can help you better there. Pls share how it goes.. Good luck!

In J-Business Directory, you typically can't directly change the category ID numbers as they are often automatically generated by the system upon creation. However, you might be able to achieve your goal through a workaround.

Here's a potential approach:

1. Create Categories in J-Business Directory: Import your categories into JBD without worrying about matching the IDs for now. Let the system assign its own IDs to each category.

2. Export Categories from J-Business Directory: After importing your categories into JBD, export them again. This should give you a CSV file with the newly assigned category IDs from JBD.

3. Map IDs between SobiPro and J-Business Directory: Now, you can create a mapping between the category IDs in SobiPro and the newly assigned IDs in JBD. You can do this manually or use a script to automate the process if you're comfortable with scripting.

4. Update Business Data: Once you have the mapping, you can update your business data CSV file to replace the category IDs with the corresponding IDs from JBD.

5. Import Updated Business Data: Finally, import the updated business data into JBD.

This process should allow you to retain the integrity of your category IDs while still importing your business data into J-Business Directory.

Thanks, Jack.

What you suggested was something i was thinking I needed to do, and am glad you outlined it for me.

I am exactly sure how I will change my cvs with 1,700+ businesses with the new IDs just yet; I am not experienced at scripting, but my first thought was to do a find/replace search (probably in Word since I am more familiar with that) but I would appreciate any scripting ideas.

Thank you again