I am trying to import a CSV file containing a list of events into my site. I wish to use the event title as the title of my node. But different events can have the same title, especially if they are recurring, so the event title cannot be used as a unique identifier.
I expected to be able to use a different field as the unique target. However, I am only given the option to use the node title as the unique target. Is there a way to choose a different field, or is this a limitation (or bug) in the Feeds module? (I can also use GUID as the unique target, but this seems risky to me.)
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I usually have a unique field in my export/CSV file (generally the entity ID (e.g. NID, TID, etc.)), and then I assign this to the GUID field as the unique one in Feeds. I then use all other fields as normal without worrying about the unique option after that.
Why does using the GUID seem risky? That's what it's designed for AFAIK...
How about using https://github.com/backdrop-contrib/feeds_tamper to combine the event title + event date into the title? That way you'd get unique titles. Right?
Sure, but I don't want the event date in the title. I want the title of the node to be the title of the event.
No, using a unique target is NOT required in Feeds. And yes, it's limited to a small number of field types (e.g. Decimal).
Using unique target is for importing and overwriting content on a regular basis, in order to assign the right content to the right node. I am not sure if GUUD really works for this, because the format has very strict rules... however, I never tried it.
You might try to use the event date as key, using Feeds Tamper's "string to UNIX timestamp" function. Or the the tool where the events are created can export somme unique values per entry.