Hi @reagan
Are you importing via OJS UI or command line? I’d strongly recommend to use command line tools for that.
I think your issue importing files via URL do not work in the OJS UI import, only in the command line. This is for security reasons. I couldn’t find a link about this, but I’m pretty sure.
You mentioned using 3.3.0.8. I’d strongly recommend that you first upgrade to 3.3.0-22 for security reasons and then Native XML reasons. Around 3.3.0-17 Native XML got some serious bug fixes.
Your approach in exporting stuff to then create XML files is a good idea, but please upgrade your install first to grab a fresh export of XML.
About your worries on importing and then needing to delete something, I’d recommend to have another instance of your OJS to test the import first. And I’d setup a workflow like this (better if done with scripts):
- database dump and files backup
- try importing
- if it fails you can restore DB and files to do another try
Native XML is very tricky to get right. The link below has some examples of that.
Good luck!