QUICK INTRO: you can upload products, categories, customer account numbers, special prices, and knowledge base articles. The CSV file can have any column names and column order.
WARNING! The files will take some time to upload, even on a broadband connection. For example, if you have 5000 products to upload it could take 10 minutes to upload the file, 20 minutes to upload the images, and 10-15 minutes to update the database, so please be patient.
Once the file is uploaded, you will be asked to match up the columns in the file with the data fields from the website. Please make yourself familiar with the information below to ensure the upload works as expected.
Microsoft Excel: Sometimes Excel will alter data by itself - eg. it will turn “11/6” into “Jun-11”. If you are altering any of the data manually in Microsoft Excel, make sure it hasn't adjusted the data automatically - to do this, click on the grey box at the top of each column, choosing “Format Cells”, then “Text”, then “OK”. You can drag the mouse to select multiple columns at once.
Images: Your file can contain columns which are filenames of images, and if you use such a column you will be asked to upload a ZIP file of images. The system will match using only the filename of the image (folder names and drives are ignored), and the filename is not case sensitive.
Units: For some fields (eg. Weight, Length, Price) you will be asked for the units (eg. kilos or pounds?, millimeters or inches?, Sterling or Euros?). If the data has come from CustomerFOCUS, then the units will be:
Adjustments: some fields are used to adjust prices, such as the quantity discounts on products. If you use these fields, you can select the type of adjustment that your CSV file contains. If it is Product Data from CustomerFOCUS, the quantity discounts will be “Percentage Discount (100=100 percent)”.
Tick Boxes: CSV fields can contain yes, no, 1, 0, y or n, in upper or lower case, and you can reverse the meaning when uploading if required. You will need to know what your CSV file contains, so that you can choose the right value. Try not to make assumptions!
Matching: Some fields are linked to other sections of the site - eg. if you are uploading products, you may have a column for the “Category”). If you use one of these columns, you will be asked how it is matched - eg. does your CSV file of products use the “name” or “ID” of the category? If any of the matches cannot be found then that line in the CSV file will be ignored and you will see that in the summary report after uploading.
Classifications: Products can have up to 4 “Classifications”. These are mainly used for product variations and are displayed in a list on the product detail screen.