A ticket that names the exact screen, the exact clicks and one real listing gets a fix in the first reply. A ticket that says something is not working gets a question back, and the round trip costs a day.
Everything below takes about three minutes to gather. Use the template at the end and paste it straight into the ticket.
What to send
1. The problem in one sentence
Say what you did and what happened, in that order. “The import task stays loading after I click Start Import” places the problem immediately. “The import does not work” does not, because loading forever, finishing with nothing, and finishing with the wrong data are three different faults with three different causes.
2. The page it happens on
Paste the full wp-admin address from the browser bar, for example the import task edit screen at /wp-admin/post.php?post=12345&action=edit. If a critical error is keeping you out of wp-admin, send the front end address instead and say what you did immediately before the lockout.
3. The steps that reproduce it
Five lines is enough: where you went, what you clicked, what you filled in, what happened and what you expected. The gap between the last two is what we are looking for.
4. One real example
This is the single most useful thing in the ticket. Give us an MLS number for an import problem, a property URL for a display problem. One listing that should behave differently than it does lets us check the actual data rather than reason about it.
If the complaint is that a listing is not updating, say which field: price, status, description, photos, address or open house. Each is written by a different part of the run.
5. Versions
WordPress, your theme and MLSImport. Version mismatches cause a share of the screens that hang, and you can rule that out before we ever look.
6. A screenshot or a short recording
Capture the whole browser window so the address is visible. For anything that spins or stalls, twenty to forty seconds of screen recording is worth more than any description of it.
One example listing beats ten screenshots. A screenshot shows what the screen said, an MLS number lets us query your feed and see what the MLS actually returned for it, which is the difference between agreeing that something looks wrong and knowing why.
Logs, when the run is the problem
For imports that stall, finish early or produce the wrong counts, turn logging on and reproduce the run once.
- Go to MLS Import Settings, then the Tools tab, and set Disable System Logs to logs enabled. Save.
- Run the import again and let it reach the point where it goes wrong.
- Collect the dated files from the plugin’s
logsfolder over FTP or your host’s file manager. - Set the toggle back to logs disabled once you have them.
Send the import log for today, the cron log if the problem is with the hourly sync, and a screenshot of the progress line.
Access, only when it is needed
Some problems cannot be diagnosed from outside. When we ask for access, what we need is the site address and a temporary wp-admin login, plus FTP details if wp-admin is unreachable or files need replacing. Your host can supply FTP details if you do not have them.
Create the login for the ticket and remove it afterwards. Never send credentials for anything other than the site in question.
Send access at the same time as the report rather than waiting to be asked. Half the tickets that take three days take three days because the first reply is a request for a login, and the second is sent the following morning.
The template
Problem:
Where it happens (wp-admin link):
Steps to reproduce:
1.
2.
3.
Expected result:
Actual result:
Example MLS number or property URL:
Versions: WordPress / theme / MLSImport
Screenshots or video:
Access, if needed: wp-admin / FTPFrequently asked questions
Where do I open a ticket?
From your MLSImport account on mlsimport.com. Tickets are attached to your subscription, which means we can see your MLS and your plan without asking for them.
Can I send a listing that is not on my site yet?
Yes, and for import problems that is usually the right example. An MLS number that should have imported and did not is more useful than one that arrived correctly.
Should I turn logging on before reporting anything?
Only for problems inside an import or a sync run. Logging adds writes on every run and is off by default for that reason, so switch it on to reproduce the fault and off again afterwards.
Do you need my MLS credentials?
No. Never send them in a ticket. They are already saved on your site and we read them there when we have wp-admin access.
Related
- Turning on logging and reading the log files
- Import History and the activity log
- Listings you expect are not being imported
- Cron not working: a checklist
Open a ticket from your MLSImport account with the template above filled in and we will start from the reproduction rather than from questions.