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The mass content uploader is an easy way to upload content to your store.
Note: To use the content uploader you need to have MS Excel, OpenOffice Calc or some other spreadsheet application.
If you are starting from a new store then the first thing you will want to do is create a blank spreadsheet and enter the column headings. Column headings must go in row 1 and start from column A.
The minimum headings required to create a fully working product are as follows.
You need to ensure that the sheet is named "Products" .
| Heading | Data Type | Description |
| ProductCode |
text |
This is the product code/EAN/SKU/ISBN or whatever you prefer to call it for the product. Please note that if you plan to use product codes that contain both letters and numbers then the first 5 product codes in your spreadsheet MUST contain both letters and numbers. This is a limitation of the Microsoft driver for reading Excel files programatically and cannot be avoided. |
|
ShortDescription
|
text
|
This is the product name or title.
|
|
Teaser
|
text
|
This is the product teaser. This field can contain HTML and will be rendered out in your product teaser areas (and sometimes product details page) on your store.
|
|
Details
|
text
|
This is the products full description. This field can also contain HTML if required. Alternatively you can omit this column entirely and instead create a ".rtf" file for each product. RTF is Rich Text Format and these files will allow you to format your product descriptions more easily.
When using RTF files you must include only one product description per file and the file must be named in the format <ProductCode>.rtf and placed in the same folder as the spreadsheet for now. Once you have all of these files you must create a "ZIP" file and place all of the RTF files and the Spreadsheet file into the ZIP.
|
| Price |
number |
This is the price of the product in pounds and pence.
i.e. 4.5 = £4.50 |
While the above fields are enough to create a fully working product you will likely want to also fill in the following fields to make the store easier to navigate and look more professional.
| Heading | Data Type | Description |
|
Category
|
formatted text
|
This is the primary category for the product. If this would be a sub-category then you must give the full path, separating parent and child categories with a ">" character.
i.e. : Toys>Cuddly Toys>Bears |
|
StockLevel
|
number
|
The number of this product that is in stock. Use -1 if the product is to be classed as always in stock.
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TeaserImageURL
|
url
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If a web address to an image is entered in this field the system will download the image to the server and attach it to the product automatically. Note that the address given must be accessible on the internet. To check that the address is accessibly type it into your browser and see if the image is displayed. The address should link directly to the image file, not to a page with the image on.
Alternatively you could simply enter the filename of your image in this field and ensure that the image file its self is in the same folder as the spreadsheet.
Another option is to omit this column entirely and instead name the image files using the product codes (e.g. <ProductCode>.jpg)
Once you have all of these files you must create a "ZIP" file and place all of the image files (and any RTF files) and the Spreadsheet file into the ZIP. To create a zip file you need to right click on the file/folder that you want to zip and then go to send to and then there should be compressed to Zip folder click on that, and a new zipped folder will be made. |
You now have enough to get started uploading products but as you go on there may be more you wish to do with your products. I have included a full list of all fields below along with a description of each.
| Heading | Data Type | Description |
|
ProductCode
|
text
|
This is the product code/EAN/SKU/ISBN or whatever you prefer to call it for the product. Please note that if you plan to use product codes that contain both letters and numbers then the first 5 product codes in your spreadsheet MUST contain both letters and numbers. This is a limitation of the Microsoft driver for reading Excel files programatically and cannot be avoided.
|
|
ShortDescription
|
text
|
This is the product name or title.
|
|
Teaser
|
text
|
This is the product teaser. This field can contain HTML and will be rendered out in your product teaser areas (and sometimes product details page) on your store.
|
|
Details
|
text
|
This is the products full description. This field can also contain HTML if required.
|
|
Price
|
number
|
This is the price of the product in pounds and pence.
i.e. 4.5 = £4.50
|
|
Category
|
formatted text
|
This is the primary category for the product. If this would be a sub-category then you must give the full path, separating parent and child categories with a ">" character.
i.e. : Toys>Cuddly Toys>Bears
|
|
StockLevel
|
number
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The number of this product that is in stock. Use -1 if the product is to be classed as always in stock.
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TeaserImageURL
|
url
|
If a web address to an image is entered in this field the system will download the image to the server and attach it to the product automatically. Note that the address given must be accessible on the internet. To check that the address is accessibly type it into your browser and see if the image is displayed. The address should link directly to the image file, not to a page with the image on.
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DeliveryCharge
|
number
|
This is the field that is used to determine the delivery cost to the customer. Depending on which shipping method you use this field could represent:
- Product weight in Kilograms
- Additional charge to add to shipping for this product
- Whether to add shipping for this product or not
|
|
IncludesSalesTax
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yes/no
|
This field determines if the price entered in the "Price" column already includes sales tax or not. Only available when your sales tax mode is set to "Simple".
|
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SalesTaxID
|
number
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Identifies the sales tax class to apply to this product. Only applies when your sales tax mode is set to "Advanced". you can find the sales tax ID's in the table on the Sales tax Manager page.
i.e. Orders -> Sales tax details
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Specifications
|
formatted text
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This section is used to display technical specifications about a product and must have the text formatted in a particular way in order to render out correctly.
|
| RelatedProducts |
formatted text |
This is a pipe delimited list of product codes. Related products are displayed on the product details page. Separate each code with a pipe character ( pipe = | ) |
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ProductOptions
|
formatted text
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This is a formatted string of text to create product options. It uses the same format as the product editor in the admin area. Cannot be used in conjunction with Advanced Options.
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AdvancedOptions
|
formatted text
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This is a formatted string that uses ';' and '|' characters to delimit its data to create a single product option for this product where each potential selection can have it's own stock level and code associated with it.
The format is as follows for each potential selection in the dropdown box:
OptionCode;OptionPriceAdjustment;
OptionDescription;OptionStockLevel;OptionShippingAmmount
Use a | character to separate selections as follows:
OptionCode;
OptionPriceAdjustment;
OptionDescription;
OptionStockLevel;
OptionShippingAmmount|Option2Code;
Option2PriceAdjustment;
Option2Description;
Option2StockLevel;
Option2ShippingAmmount
for example the first number is the option code, the second number is price adjustment, the third is the Description, the fourth is the stock level, and the last is the shipping amount for the product option
|
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StockMessage
|
text
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Text to show if product is out of stock and stock messages are enabled in display settings.
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DisplayOption
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text from selection
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Always_On_Home_Page
Let_System_Decide
Never_On_Home_Page
Not_Shown_But_Searchable
Not_Shown_Non_Searchable
Hidden
|
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FriendlyURL
|
text
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Sets the last part of the web address for this product. for example a system generated address might look like "http://www.easywebstore.co.uk/Large-Acrylic-Jewels_APWQD.aspx"
If I enter "Large-Acrylic-Jewels" into this field the address would now be http://www.easywebstore.co.uk/Large-Acrylic-Jewels
|
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DateAdded
|
date
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This will autmatically be set to the current date when you upload if it is removed. Fill it in only if you want to specify the date added field.
Format: DD/MM/YYYY
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AdditionalCategoryX
|
formatted text
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A string formatted in exactly the same way as Category. X must be a number between 1 and 10.
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AdditionalImageURL
|
url
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This allows you to specify additional image addresses to be imported to the product. The first additional image would go in this field "AdditionalImageURL". The second would go in "AdditionalImageURL1", then "AdditionalImageURL2" and so on up to "AdditionalImageURL5".
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| KelkooCategory |
text |
A valid Kelkoo category - used only when you have Kelkoo integration enabled.
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| DealtimeCategory |
text |
A valid Dealtime category - used only when you have Dealtime integration enabled.
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I have attached an example spreadsheet below. Hover the mouse over the column names for reminders of what they do.
When you have your spreadsheet or zip file ready to import continue to Part 2
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