Importing large files into mysql with phpmyadmin

I’m writing this here because it’s the third time I’ve had this problem, and the third time I’ve forgotten how to fix it! If you ever get hit with the error message:

“You probably tried to upload too large file. Please refer to documentation for ways to workaround this limit.”

When trying to import large SQL files into mysql using phpmyadmin, the phpmyadmin documentation offers a few solutions, but I find the easiest method to overcome this is…
Find the config.inc.php file located in the phpmyadmin directory. In my case it is located here:

C:\xampp\htdocs\phpMyAdmin\config.inc.php

Find the line with $cfg[‘UploadDir’] on it and update it to this or if it is not there then just paste it there:

$cfg['UploadDir'] = 'upload';

Create a directory called ‘upload’ within the phpmyadmin directory.

C:\xampp\htdocs\phpMyAdmin\upload\

Then place the large sql file that you are trying to import into the new upload directory. Now when you go onto the db import page within phpmyadmin console you will notice a drop down present that wasn’t there before – it contains all of the sql files in the upload directory that you have just created. You can now select this and begin the import.
If you’re not using XAMPP on Windows, then I’m sure you’ll be able to adapt this to your environment without too much trouble.