This is a module for importing existing Playa and Matrix fields into new Relationship and Grid fields. The import is non-destructive, meaning it doesn't convert or change the existing fields or data in any way. It creates new fields and copies the data over to them, so you have a chance to inspect and check that the import has done its job before you commit to the new fields.

This importer was developed and tested in the context of at least:

• ExpressionEngine 2.10.2
• Matrix 2.6.1
• Playa 4.5.2

Best to make sure any third-party celltypes you have that are also compatible with Grid are up-to-date as well to ensure their Grid implementations are in place.

1. Back up your database
2. Copy the el_playamatrix_importer folder to your system/expressionengine/third_party folder and install the module.
3. Navigate to the module's control panel page, at Addons -> Modules -> Playa & Matrix Importer.
4. Click the Import button.
5. Existing Playa and Matrix fields should now have native Relationship/Grid copies in their respective field groups.
6. Check some channel entries to make sure the data has been successfully mirrored.
7. Take note of the new field names and update your template tags to the proper syntax for Relationships and Grid.
8. You're free to delete or discontinue using the old Playa & Matrix fields.

Each celltype native to Matrix has been mapped to a native EE near-equivalent. If the celltype is also Grid-compatible, the same celltype will be used. The importer also attempts to read the field settings for each Matrix column and normalize them to a format readable by ExpressionEngine's native fieldtypes. Settings for third party fieldtypes are brought over without modification.

Matrix celltypes and native ExpressionEngine fieldtypes do not mirror functionality 1:1, so there are some issues to note when importing Matrix fields with certain celltypes.

• Fieldpack List essentially stored its data like a Textarea would, so we've opted to map that celltype to a Textarea. But, this will not get you the front-end tag-pair syntax that comes with Fieldpack List that allows you to loop through the list items.
• Fieldpack celltypes that deal with key/value options like Dropdown, Multiselect, Pill, Radio Buttons, and Switch will no longer have access to those keys in templates. Since ExpressionEngine's native equivalent fieldtypes only work with values, only the values will be preserved.

• If your Playa fields have no limit set for the publish form, you may wish to enable a feature of Relationship fields, the Maximum Entries limit. This setting lets you set a reasonable starting limit for what's initially loaded on the publish page. You can live-search the listing, so you still have access to all entries in that channel, but it conserves resources by not loading in thousands of entries unnecessarily.

• If you have Publisher and Low Search installed, you'll need to regenerate Collections before editing entries.

If you run into anything, head on over to the issues to see if a similar issue has been reported, or to submit a new one.

• 1.0.8 - June 21, 2017
  • Fixed a bug (#10) where the importer may error when encountering orphaned Playa or Assets data.
• 1.0.7 - May 30, 2017
  • Fixed a bug (#12) where dropdown and select cells with groups would not get imported correctly.
• 1.0.6 - January 19, 2017
  • Fixed a bug (#8) where the importer may not import data from the first Matrix field it encounters.
• 1.0.5 - December 16, 2016
  • Fixed a bug (#5) where the importer may show errors when encountering orphaned Playa data belonging to a nonexistent Matrix field.
• 1.0.4 - May 17, 2016
  • Fixed a bug where the importer may fail when importing a Matrix field that has no data.
• 1.0.3 - May 10, 2016
  • Fixed a bug (#3) where the importer may fail if the var_id column in the Matrix columns table wasn't consistently NULL.
• 1.0.2 - May 9, 2016
  • Fixed a bug (#2) where the importer may show an error if the var_id column was missing from the Matrix columns table.
• 1.0.1 - March 16, 2016
  • Fixed a bug (#1) where the importer would not work if either Playa or Matrix were uninstalled while the other was installed.
  • Fixed a bug (#1) where importing a Playa field that had no relationships would cause errors.

You may be wondering what the rest of the files in this package are for. They are solely for development, so if you are forking the GitHub repo, they can be helpful. If you are just using the add-on in your ExpressionEngine installation, you can ignore all of these files.

• .editorconfig: EditorConfig helps developers maintain consistent coding styles across files and text editors.
• .gitignore: .gitignore lets you specify files in your working environment that you do not want under source control.
• .travis.yml: A Travis CI configuration file for continuous integration (automated testing, releases, etc.).
• .composer.json: A Composer project setup file that manages development dependencies.
• .composer.lock: A list of dependency versions that Composer has locked to this project.

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