One CSV file brings a hundred exhibitors into the system in one go – and every export serves as a backup. The page is under Exhibitors → Import / Export; the settings backup is at the very bottom.
Exporting
- 1Choose the delimiter
For German Excel “Semicolon (;)”; comma and tab work too.
- 2All or one fair
“Export All Exhibitors” or choose an event below and “Export selection”.
- 3Open
The file
exhibitors-export-+ date starts with a marker that lets Excel recognize special characters. The safest way to open it in Excel is Data → From Text/CSV.
The export always contains all 46 columns and all exhibitors – drafts, scheduled and private ones included; the Status column says which it is. SVG files and print settings are left out; there is no filter by type or category here – that’s what the Mass Editor is for.
The 46 columns
| Columns | Content |
|---|---|
Name | Required. Together with the event, the record’s key. |
Event_Name | Name of the event. Applies if no target event is selected; if no event of this name exists yet, it is created (see below). |
Status | publish, draft, pending, private or future. Filled in by the export. Empty keeps the current status; new exhibitors without a value are published. |
Hall, Booth | Locations (several with commas; missing ones are created) and booth numbers (A12, A13). |
Type, Category, Products | Several values with commas; missing ones are created. |
Country, Country_Code | One of them is enough – the other is completed. A code set by hand is never overwritten. |
Onsite_Sales | yes/no, 1/0, true/false, on/off – case doesn’t matter. Empty = no change (for new exhibitors: no information). |
Visibility | both (list & map) or map_only (map only). |
Email, Phone, Contact_Person, Address | The contact block. |
Website … ArtStation | 24 link columns in a row; short forms like @name are enough. |
Internal_Info_Url, LogoUrl, Description | Internal info page, logo address (only loaded if there is no featured image yet), description. |
Featured, Featured_Order | Featured yes/no and position. |
Event_Ids | Session IDs of the calendar plugin, comma-separated (only valid for this installation). |
The order is free – columns are matched only by the header row, case doesn’t matter. If the Name column is missing, the import stops with a message. The import detects the delimiter itself.
Importing
- 1Download the template
“Download sample template (.csv)” provides the header row and two sample rows.
- 2Fill in and save as CSV
Not as an Excel workbook. Format booth numbers consisting only of digits as text first – otherwise Excel turns them into a date or number.
- 3Choose the file
Under “Upload CSV file”.
- 4Choose the target event
The selected fair applies to all rows. If the choice stays empty, the
Event_Namecolumn decides per row. - 5Start
Afterwards the page reports how many exhibitors were processed. There is no test run and no confirmation.
With “– From CSV or create new –” the import reads the Event_Name column (or Main_Event_Name if present). If no event with exactly this name exists yet, it creates one – so a typo creates a second event. If the name is missing entirely, the row is skipped; after the import the page reports how many rows were affected. Choosing a target event is therefore the safest way.
How the import recognizes an exhibitor
By name and event. If both match an existing entry, it is updated; otherwise a new one is created. A typo – even an extra space – therefore creates a duplicate instead of a change. That’s why it is safer to edit a file from your own export than to retype names.
What an import overwrites
One simple rule applies: an import never deletes anything. Only what is in a cell is written.
| Case | Result |
|---|---|
| Column missing from the file | The field stays unchanged – the description too. |
| Column present, cell empty | The field stays unchanged. This applies to all columns, including Booth, Visibility, Country/Country_Code, contact block, link columns, Onsite_Sales, Featured, Featured_Order and Event_Ids. |
| Cell filled in | The value is taken over. Hall, Type, Category, Products and Event_Ids replace the existing list. |
| Explicit “off” value | Takes effect as given: Featured = no removes the highlight, Featured_Order = 0 the position, Onsite_Sales = no sets “No”. |
LogoUrl | Only if no logo exists yet. |
| Status | A filled Status column applies. Without it, new exhibitors are published and existing ones keep their status – a draft stays a draft. An entry in the trash comes back (as a draft without a value); an import cannot move anything to the trash. |
A file with only Name and Booth changes only the booth numbers – descriptions, links and contact details stay as they are. Emptying a field is not possible via import – use the edit screen or the Mass Editor.
Because missing types, categories, products and halls are created on import, “Hall 1” and “Hall 01” end up side by side. Standardize them in the table first.
The safe procedure
- 1Export
Keep it as a backup – it takes five seconds.
- 2Change a copy in Excel
Don’t retype names. You may leave out columns you don’t want to change.
- 3Import with a target event
See above.
- 4Check the dashboard
The audit tiles show at once whether types, halls or descriptions were missing.
Back up & restore settings
At the bottom of the page you save all settings – design, functions, labels & texts, security – in a JSON file. Optionally the lists of types, categories, products, countries and locations come along (with colors, images and country codes). Ideal before an update or to set up a second website the same way.
- 1Back up
Choose on the right whether the lists come along, then download.
- 2Check the file
Choose the file on the left and “Check file”: you first see what would change.
- 3Restore
Tick the parts and “Restore now” – or “Cancel”.
The exhibitors and events themselves (that’s what the CSV export is for), the events’ hall plans, the option “Delete data on uninstall”, API keys and the API switch as well as technical markers. Missing list entries are created, nothing is deleted; images only if they exist in the media library. If a label is missing in the file, the default applies again afterwards.