Hi:  I spent my $10 to evaluate EE and I am already frustrated.  I cannot import my MT files to EE.  I get the File Not Found error.

First, I assume I am allowed to import MT files to the demo since it says nothing to the contrary.  I also assume that the wording “your server” means my server, not the pmachine demo server, right?  If this is the case, where do I put the files? 

This statment is not clear to me.

Movable Type file location

The location of the file must be relative to your site’s control panel folder. (ex: ../mt_file.txt), if placed at the site root

What is a “site control panel folder”?  That is not MT language.  I have placed the mt_file.txt in every possible place and spent more time that I care to say playing around with this.  I have made sure that the permissions were set to 777.  Still “file not found.”  Would somebody from the company please clarify this problem?

No: The import file needs to be ftp’d to the server to be read; you can’t ftp with the hosted trial so you won’t be able to import it.

You might be able to get around this using “file upload” and then the full path to the file but I do not have enough experience with the hosted trial to say.

and no, it’s not MT language because, well, it’s not MT. =)

I appreciate your reply but it would have been nice if the company had indicated prominently that the hosted demo was not full functioning.  I wasted a lot of time trying to make the MT import work.  I don’t feel that a full evaluation can be made of EE without that feature. 

As to your proposed workaround, what is the full path to the file? 

Thank you.

I’m not really sure - like I said, I don’t have much experience with the hosted demo.  You can probably get the full path from PHP Info though, in Admin.

The trial page says this:

The only restriction is you will not have FTP access to the server

- since you have to ftp the file up:

In order to use this utility, you must first put the file containing your exported MT entries on your server

(from Admin -> MovableType Import

i think it’s pretty clear. =)

Try uploading the MT export file with the File Upload utility.  Then, in the “MT Import” try this for the path setting:

Thanks.  It didn’t work.  I assume the File Upload utility you mention is:

“Publish-File Upload-Choose File-Main Upload Directory-Do not place file in entry”

My upload file was pure ASCII.

It’s good to see you guys stay on top of things, even if you cannot help me evaluate your software in a meaningful way.

In what way didn’t it work?  Were there errors or anything?

I have tested the MT Import on the demo servers before and it worked using the procedure Chris outlined above.  However, the Control Panel is not inside the system directory so try using the URL path:  images/uploads/mt_file.txt

And just as an addendum, before you spent a large amount of time trying to get something to work, post to the forums a question or search them at the very least.  Most questions have been answered already and it saves you time becoming frustrated.

Paul: 

I always check the forums first.  The only thing I found was somebody with a similiar but (unanswered) question.  I am attempting to evaluate EE on your server for purchase and recommendation to my group.  I have to be able to have some data in the program to do that.  If I can’t make a simple thing like an import work I can’t evaluate the program.
I tried your modified URL path: “images/uploads/mt_file.txt”

Dropping the “..” in front moved me forward to the next level of frustration.

Now, instead of “File Not Found” I get this url:

“http://demo.pmachine.com/mKOJ2/admin.php?S=721a2bd0c929cab96372dab9f7f736e44b22d8ea&C=admin&M=utilities&P=mt_import&F=perform_import” and a blank screen.

What do you make of that?

A blank screen?

I just created a demo account for myself, uploaded a file (mt_aaron.txt) into my uploads directory via the Publish area’s File Upload screen, and then used the MT Import with the path ‘images/uploads/mt_aaron.txt’.  The four entries and two comments were uploaded just fine.

Send me an email with your demo account’s URL and login information.  I would like to see this for myself.

I spent $200 and it doesn’t work!!

Could you clarify what does not work?  Is it unable to find the file or unable to perform the import?

Paul, the details for dwolf’s issue are here.

Oh, so currently his problem has absolutely nothing to do with the MT Import only installing EE on his server. 

It has to do with $200.

I will reply in the other thread, since your problem is not related to this one.

Paul I just want to thank you and your team for the attention to my problem with the MT-import.  It turned out, as you know from my private e-mail, that I was pasting the import file into Apple’s TextEdit which saved to Rich Text Format.  Saving directly from the browser solved my problem.

  No problem, glad it was something fairly simple.