Manual or Linked wpDataTables Not Showing After Migration?

If you've migrated your site to a new domain or hosting environment and your wpDataTables tables show up empty or aren't working correctly, you're likely dealing with one of two common issues:

• The file path to your data source files (Excel, CSV, etc.) has changed

• The database table prefix is different on the new site

This guide will help you resolve both!

🗂 Scenario 1: Linked Tables (Excel, CSV) – File Path Changed After Migration

When you move your site to a new domain or hosting setup, the internal file system path to your uploaded files often changes. This can break tables that are linked to Excel, CSV, or other file types, because the plugin can't locate the file in the new path.

✅ How to Check and Fix It:

1. Create a new test table on the new site, linked to any Excel or CSV file.

2. Go to your database using phpMyAdmin (or another DB tool).

3. Open the table:

   your_prefix_wpdatatables

   Note: your_prefix_ will vary — it might be wp_, xyz_, or something else depending on your site's DB prefix.

4. In the content column, you’ll see the full server path to the newly uploaded file.

   
   

   🔍 Example:

   • New table path:
     /var/www/html/your_NEW_site/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/file-one.xls

   • Old table path (from migration):
     /var/www/html/your_OLD_site/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/file-two.xls

5. To update the old paths in bulk, run this SQL query:

UPDATE your_prefix_wpdatatables SET content = REPLACE(content, '/var/www/html/your_OLD_site/', '/var/www/html/your_NEW_site/'); 

✅ This will update all references to the correct file path.

🧮 Scenario 2: Manual / SQL-Based Tables – DB Table Prefix Changed

If you're using Manual or SQL-based tables, another common issue after migration is that your WordPress database table prefix has changed (e.g., from wp_ to xyz_).

wpDataTables stores these prefixes, so the plugin might still be trying to load tables like wp_wpdatatable_1, while your actual tables are now named xyz_wpdatatable_1.

✅ How to Fix It:

1. Open your database via phpMyAdmin or your host’s DB tool.

2. Run the following two queries on the your_prefix_wpdatatables table:

Update stored table names

UPDATE your_prefix_wpdatatables
SET mysql_table_name = REPLACE(mysql_table_name, 'wp_', 'NEW_PREFIX_');

2⃣ Update stored SQL content

UPDATE your_prefix_wpdatatables
SET content = REPLACE(content, 'wp_', 'NEW_PREFIX_');

🔁 Replace:

• wp_ → your old site’s database prefix

• NEW_PREFIX_ → your current site’s database prefix

These two queries update all internal table references so wpDataTables can load data correctly again — for both Manual and SQL-based tables.

🛠 How to Check Your Current DB Prefix

If you're not sure what your current prefix is:

• Open your wp-config.php file (in your site root folder).

• Look for the line:

  $table_prefix = 'xyz_'; 

• That’s your current prefix (e.g., xyz_).

💬 Still Not Working?

If you've followed the above steps and your tables still aren't loading correctly:

➡ Reach out to our Support Team via the chat box in the bottom right corner of the site. We're happy to investigate further and help you get everything working smoothly.