You can import the xml file using wp-admin > tools > import
@chantalc – Yeh I tried that, but as I said my Ubuntu linux setup won’t let WordPress ‘upload’ the file to the folder. (I’m using a LAMP localhost development server).
@michaelh – Yeh I’ve downloaded both of the test data set’s you’ve listed, but as I’ve described to ChantalC above, WordPress can’t upload them to install the data. Hence the need for a “pure from phpMyAdmin” exported SQL / XML file.
Failing that are there any Linux LAMP guru’s on here can tell me how to safely and securely allow WordPress write privileges to it’s own folder system?
@michaelh – I appreciate the suggestions but this doesn’t work for me…
After manually downloading, installing and activating the ‘wordpress-importer’ plugin I went to ‘Tools > Import’ again and selected WordPress from the list of import options. I got the file selection screen and selected the XML file, then I clicked the ‘Upload and Import’ button…
This is where I get an error message saying that the import process Failed because it was unable to upload the file to the folder!
— As I said before, Linux’s folder permissions wont allow this so I need another “non-WordPress Admin panel” solution, hence the request for a raw SQL file that I can install using phpMyAdmin!
Just did a test import with folder permissions (e.g wp-content/uploads/2010/11/) set to 755 on linux host and it worked just fine.
Hmm that’s odd, doesn’t seem to work for me?!
I tried chmod 755 and 775 but neither would give me access — I think Ubuntu is a bit funny when it comes to ‘root’ permissions. Then again I am a bit a Linux n00b! — Anyway in the end I tried setting the permissions to 777 (once I was safely offline) and it worked! (restored them to 755 after of course)
So I have now successfully added lwallenstein’s test data from your second link above: http://wordpress.org/support/topic/test-data-for-themers?replies=2 and can highly recommend it as a very useful and complete set of test data. It’s the best one I’ve seen yet!
As for my permissions issue I dunno, any ideas why my system setup wouldn’t work with ‘755’? — I may start a new thread or look for support from apache / ubuntu forums.
Thanks for the help though!