Documentation: Forecourt
MachineTrack stock import
Dealers in agricultural, garden and construction machinery often list their stock on MachineTrack. The Task - Forecourt MachineTrack plugin copies those listings to your website on a schedule, including the photos and options.
What you need
Your MachineTrack API username (your dealer number) and API password. MachineTrack provides these.
Set up the import
- Go to System > Plugins and enable Task - Forecourt MachineTrack.
- Go to System > Scheduled Tasks, click New and choose Forecourt - MachineTrack sync.
- Fill in the settings below and choose how often the task runs, for example every hour.
- Save and close. In the task list, click Run Task to import your stock right away.
The settings belong to the scheduled task, not to the plugin. The plugin screen itself only shows a note that points you to Scheduled Tasks.
| API URL | The MachineTrack export address. Leave the default unless MachineTrack gives you a different one. |
| Username | Your MachineTrack API user, usually your dealer number. |
| Password | Your MachineTrack API password. |
| Content language | The language of the titles, descriptions and options to import, for example nl-NL. If a listing has no text in that language, the first available language is used. |
| Overwrite existing vehicles | Updates imported vehicles when the listing changes at MachineTrack. Changes you made in Forecourt are then replaced. |
| Publish new vehicles | Publishes newly imported machines straight away. When off, they are saved as unpublished. |
| Trash removed ads | Moves a machine to the trash when its listing is no longer on MachineTrack, for example because it was sold. If the listing comes back, the machine is published again. |
| Download images | Copies the photos to your own website, resized to the maximum photo width from the component options. |
What is imported
The make, model, listing title, category (for example Compact wheel loaders), year, operating hours, mileage, weight, condition, price and description. Options such as four wheel drive or a cab become options and accessories; the fuel type, transmission, number of doors and number of owners go to their own fields. MachineTrack prices are excluding VAT, and the website shows them that way.
Only listings that changed since the last run are processed again, so a frequent schedule is not heavy for your website. Photos that are already on your website are not downloaded again.
If the task fails
The task list shows whether the last run succeeded. For the details, open the task, switch on Individual Task Logs in the Logging section and run it again. The log then tells you, for example, that the username or password is wrong, or which listing could not be imported. If one listing fails, the other listings are still imported.