Import Export Controller

The Backend\Behaviors\ImportExportController class is a controller behavior that provides features for importing and exporting data. The behavior provides two pages called Import and Export. The Import page allows a user to upload a CSV file and match the columns to the database. The Export page is the opposite and allows a user to download columns from the database as a CSV file. The behavior provides the controller actions import() and export().

The importing and exporting behavior configuration is defined in two parts, each part depends on a special model class along with a list and form field definition file. To use the behavior you should add it to the $implement property of the controller class. Also, the $importExportConfig class property should be defined and its value should refer to the YAML file used for configuring the behavior properties.

namespace Acme\Shop\Controllers;

class Products extends Controller
{
    public $implement = [
        \Backend\Behaviors\ImportExportController::class
    ];

    public $importExportConfig = 'config_import_export.yaml';

    // [...]
}

# Configuring the Behavior

The configuration file referred in the $importExportConfig property is defined in YAML format. The file should be placed into the controller's views directory. Below is an example of a configuration file.

# config_import_export.yaml
import:
    title: Import Subscribers
    modelClass: Acme\Campaign\Models\SubscriberImport
    list: $/acme/campaign/models/subscriber/columns.yaml

export:
    title: Export Subscribers
    modelClass: Acme\Campaign\Models\SubscriberExport
    list: $/acme/campaign/models/subscriber/columns.yaml

The configuration properties listed below are optional. Define them if you want the behavior to support the import page or export page, or both.

# Import Page

To support the Import page add the following configuration to the YAML file.

import:
    title: Import Subscribers
    modelClass: Acme\Campaign\Models\SubscriberImport
    list: $/acme/campaign/models/subscriberimport/columns.yaml
    redirect: acme/campaign/subscribers

The following configuration properties are supported for the Import page.

# Export Page

To support the Export page add the following configuration to the YAML file.

export:
    title: Export Subscribers
    modelClass: Acme\Campaign\Models\SubscriberExport
    list: $/acme/campaign/models/subscriberexport/columns.yaml
    redirect: acme/campaign/subscribers

The following configuration properties are supported for the Export page:

# Format Options

To override the default format options add the following configuration to the YAML file:

defaultFormatOptions:
    fileFormat: json

The following configuration properties (all optional) are supported for the format options, including their applicable format type.

# Import and Export Views

For each page feature import and export you should provide a view file with the corresponding name - import.htm and export.htm.

The import/export behavior adds two methods to the controller class: importRender and exportRender. These methods render the importing and exporting sections as per the YAML configuration file described above.

# Import View

The import.htm view represents the Import page that allows users to import data. A typical Import page contains breadcrumbs, the import section itself, and the submission buttons. The data-request attribute should refer to the onImport AJAX handler provided by the behavior. Below is a contents of the typical import.htm view file.

<?= Form::open(['class' => 'layout']) ?>

    <div class="layout-row">
        <?= $this->importRender() ?>
    </div>

    <div class="form-buttons">
        <button
            type="submit"
            data-control="popup"
            data-handler="onImportLoadForm"
            data-keyboard="false"
            class="btn btn-primary">
            Import records
        </button>
    </div>

<?= Form::close() ?>

# Export View

The export.htm view represents the Export page that allows users to export a file from the database. A typical Export page contains breadcrumbs, the export section itself, and the submission buttons. The data-request attribute should refer to the onExport AJAX handler provided by the behavior. Below is a contents of the typical export.htm form.

<?= Form::open(['class' => 'layout']) ?>

    <div class="layout-row">
        <?= $this->exportRender() ?>
    </div>

    <div class="form-buttons">
        <button
            type="submit"
            data-control="popup"
            data-handler="onExportLoadForm"
            data-keyboard="false"
            class="btn btn-primary">
            Export records
        </button>
    </div>

<?= Form::close() ?>

# Integration with List Behavior

There is an alternative approach to exporting data that uses the list behavior to provide the export data. In order to use this feature you should have the Backend\Behaviors\ListController definition to the $implement field of the controller class. You do not need to use an export view and all the settings will be pulled from the list. Here is the only configuration needed:

export:
    useList: true

Then simply add an export button to the list toolbar:

<a
    href="<?= Backend::url('acme/campaign/subscribers/export') ?>"
    class="btn btn-default oc-icon-download">
    Export Records
</a>

Similarly, to add an import button, the code would look like this:

<a
    href="<?= Backend::url('acme/campaign/subscribers/import') ?>"
    class="btn btn-default oc-icon-upload">
    Import Records
</a>

If you are using multiple list definitions, then you can supply the list definition.

export:
    useList: orders
    fileName: orders.csv

The useList option also supports extended configuration properties.

export:
    useList:
        definition: orders
        raw: true

The following configuration properties are supported: