Recurring import stopped working

I have not activated any cron server (that I am aware of).

Anyhow, I did activate WP_DEBUG_LOG. After a couple of days, there were tons of entries (Notices and Warnings only) in the debug.log file but nothing about Import and Export that I could find (the word “Import” is not found in the log).

So I decided to change the schedule of the recurring import from “Twice a day” to “Every hour”. As soon as I saved the new setting, it ran an import. It has been importing every hour ever since. Still nothing in the debug.log to show that it ran, but that’s ok.

Still wondering why I am not getting the emails every time it runs though. I do have the box “Send email when using periodic import?” checked. Do I need anything else? I am assuming it’s using the WordPress webmaster email address as the recipient.

I just tried the test email on the “Mail options” tab and received it. So that part works.

Any suggestions?

The problem is not sending since I got the test email (see above). I have other plugins sending emails to the same WordPress-defined webmaster email and that works fine (Updraft Plus and Wordfence for example).

In any case, what is a mail logging plugin? Any specific plugin you want me to install? Might be better to turn on some debugging in Import and Export, if there is such an option.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

WARNING: LONG POST

I installed the plugin you referenced. Two to three hours later, I didn’t see any emails in my inbox nor anything in the log tab of the WP Mail Logging plugin, even though the import had happened. I even ran the import manually by pressing the button “Execute cron task now” and still nothing.

Then I sent a test email (from the Mail options tab) and received it, along it being logged in WP Mail Logging. The email was sent to MY email (the user logged in, not the webmaster). So now that got me thinking.

I have the recurring import configured to NOT send an email to a user when a user is added or updated. Does that mean the webmaster will not get any email, even though the checkbox “Send email when using periodic import?” is checked?

My understanding about that checkbox is that it would send an email to the webmaster when the the recurring import occurs. That is, in my opinion, a separate issue from sending emails to users. But apparently that is not the design intent.

Am I understanding the expected behavior correctly? If so that explains why I am never getting any email (to webmaster) when the import runs. Given the location of the checkbox in the settings tab for recurring import, it makes it sound like it’s a global email (to webmaster) that it is referring to. But unfortunately it isn’t.

If my interpretation is now correct, the wording of the text for the checkbox needs to be changed to better reflect what it really is for. Instead of “Send email when using periodic import?”, you may want to consider “Send email to affected users when using periodic import?”

Better yet, I am not sure if the checkbox is even needed since it is the settings in the Mail Options tab that determine whether an email is sent.

If you want to keep the checkbox, with the suggested change of text above, then add a NEW checkbox that would say “Send email to webmaster when an import occurs?” And that email should contains success or failure information and the stats about the import.

Thanks for reading this long post. What do you think?