Canvas Docs

Demo Import Problems

The demo import checks the ground before it builds, so most problems surface up front in the requirements step, where they are cheap, rather than mid-import, where they are not. Read this page when the requirements check reports something, when a step errors mid-run, or when an import was interrupted.

What The Requirements Check Verifies

Starting screenCanvasDemo Import, in the wizard's Check Requirements step.

The check lists each requirement with what is needed and what the server has. Findings come in two severities, and the difference matters:

  • A failure blocks the import, because the run cannot succeed without it: the WordPress and PHP versions a demo declares, the ZipArchive and cURL PHP extensions the download step depends on, a writable uploads directory, and, when the demo requires plugins, the capability to install them.
  • A warning lets the import proceed, because Canvas degrades rather than depends: a PHP memory limit below 256M, a PHP max execution time below 120 seconds, less than 200MB of free disk space, and a missing GD extension, which only affects generating image sizes. Content and media import in small batches precisely to tolerate constrained hosts, and each long step extends its own time limit at runtime.

Required plugins appear in the same list, and any that are missing offer installation from the step itself, which is what the Install Plugins step then performs.

Note: a warning on memory or execution time is still worth fixing before a large demo, because a host that also blocks runtime limit changes can time a long media step out. Both limits are hosting settings, raised in your host's control panel or PHP configuration.

A Step Failed Mid-Run

Every step reports its own error, and the wizard offers Retry on the failed step, with Skip available where the step is not essential. Retry first, because transient network hiccups are the most common cause. If the failure repeats, note the wording of the error and which step reported it, because that is what a support request needs.

A run that goes wrong can be undone: the history row's Rollback removes what the run imported and restores your pre-import settings, as described in How To Remove A Demo.

The Import Was Interrupted

A closed tab or a server restart does not lose the run. Returning to Canvas > Demo Import shows a notice that the import was interrupted, offering Resume, which continues from the step that was running, and Start Over, which removes what that attempt had imported and begins again.

Pitfalls

"Failed to load demo list. Please refresh and try again." The demo grid could not be fetched. Refresh once; if it persists, the site cannot reach the demo service, which is an outbound connectivity or firewall matter on the server.

"A network error occurred. Please check your connection and try again." The same class of problem during a step: the browser lost the site, or the site lost the service. Retry the step once connectivity is back.

The wizard asks for a license. Importing demos requires an active license, and the screen offers Activate License when there is none. See License Problems.

Media import is slow. Media is the heaviest step and reports item-by-item progress. Slow is normal on shared hosting; only a stalled counter plus an error is a failure.

"You do not have permission to install plugins." The demo needs a plugin and your account cannot install plugins. On a multisite network only a network administrator can: ask them to install the plugins the requirements list names, then run the import again. A site that disables file changes in wp-config.php behaves the same way, so install the plugins the way that site allows. "You do not have permission to activate plugins." is the same situation for a plugin that is already installed.

"No demo requires this plugin." The importer installs only the plugins the chosen demo names. Install anything else from Plugins > Add New.

"The demo package was refused because it contains a file that is not data or media." Nothing was extracted, because a demo package only ever holds content and media files. Retry the import once. If the message repeats, contact support with the file name it gives.

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