Import and export Products
Lesson 9 of 24 6 min read
Load and update Products in bulk with a CSV file, round-trip them through Excel, and avoid the import options that can wipe data you meant to keep.
Adding Products one at a time is fine for ten. For three hundred, you want a spreadsheet. In this lesson you will export your Products, edit them in Excel and import them back, and learn the options that decide what the import changes.
Export first, even when you are starting out
The export and the import use the same layout. The quickest way to get a correctly laid-out file is to export, even if you only have a couple of Products so far.
- Open Settings → Reference data → Products.
- Choose to export your Products to a CSV file.
- Pick the columns to include. Each group of columns has a tick box in its header to turn the whole group on or off. Your choice is remembered for next time.
- Save the file and open it in Excel.
What the columns hold
Alongside the basic details, the file can carry:
- Identifier columns, one per identifier type (and per scope, where an identifier is scoped).
- Identifier unit columns: an
uomcolumn beside an identifier column, holding the unit that identifier stands for, for example the GTIN-14 standing for a Case. - Per-Integration default units: a
Unit of Measure (integration: …)column holding the Product's default unit for one Integration. - Prices and conversions.
Unit columns take unit names. A name that doesn't match one of your units comes back for you to map rather than being guessed.
Import
The product import window lets you load a file and set details such as currency, country, tax code and unit of measure as you go. You can drag and drop the file onto the window.
Two choices matter:
| Option | What it does | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Ignore unrecognised columns | Skips columns the import doesn't recognise instead of failing | Your file has extra columns of your own, such as notes or cost prices |
| Blank cells | Choose whether a blank cell clears the existing value or leaves it unchanged | Leave unchanged for partial updates; clear only when the file is the complete truth |
When the import finishes it tells you how many Products, identifiers, prices and conversions it changed, which units changed and how many cells were skipped.
Blank does not always mean 'leave alone'
If you import a file with only a few columns filled and choose to clear blank values, you can wipe identifiers or prices you meant to keep. For routine updates, leave blank cells unchanged.
An identifier unit never creates an identifier
An identifier uom column only sets the unit on an identifier the Product already has. If
the identifier doesn't exist, that cell is skipped and counted in the result.
Loading Greenleaf's codes in one go
Greenleaf sends Priya a spreadsheet of its product codes against Hilltop's SKUs. Rather than open forty Products, she:
- Exports Hilltop's Products with the SKU and identifier columns ticked.
- Pastes Greenleaf's codes into the Buyer Product Code column for the Greenleaf scope, and
adds the GTIN-14 values with
Casein the GTIN-14uomcolumn. - Imports the file with blank cells set to leave values unchanged.
- Reads the result: 40 Products and 80 identifiers changed, 0 skipped.
She then opens two Products at random to check the codes landed where she expected.
Recap
- Export first: the export and import share one layout, so the export is your template.
- Files can carry identifiers, the unit each identifier stands for, per-Integration default units, prices and conversions.
- Choose whether to ignore unrecognised columns, and whether blank cells clear or keep values.
- For routine updates, leave blank cells unchanged.
- Read the import result and spot-check a few Products afterwards.
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