Import products from a CSV file

With the full version you can load many products at once from a CSV file (a spreadsheet saved as plain text, with values separated by commas, semicolons or tabs) in Product Viewer > Import. Products are matched by their code: loading the same file again updates them instead of creating duplicates.

Before you start

1. Create your filters first (Create filters and entries). The import recognises one column per filter.
2. Open Product Viewer > Import. The box How the file has to look shows the exact first row your file needs, for example: sku,title,excerpt,image,range,function,capacity. Copy it as the first row of your spreadsheet.

The columns

Column	What goes in it
sku	The product code. It decides whether a row creates a new product or updates the existing one with the same code.
title	The product name. New products without a name get the code as their name. Existing products keep their name if the column is missing or the cell is empty.
excerpt	The short description shown on the card. Leave the column out of the file to keep the short descriptions you already have.
content	Optional: the full description, shown on the product detail page.
image	The full web address of the photo (starting with https://). Used only if you tick the image option when importing.
one column per filter	The column name is the filter's internal name, as shown on the Import screen (the filter name in lower case, with spaces turned into underscores). For a list filter, write the entry name; several entries in one cell are separated by a vertical bar, for example Restaurants|Hotels. For a number filter, write just the number, for example 600.

The file needs at least the sku or the title column. Column names are not case sensitive. Rows that are completely empty are ignored.

• Filter entries that do not exist yet are created automatically.
• For a list filter, the cell replaces the product's entries for that filter. For a number filter, an empty cell removes the value.
• Only the columns in the file are written. A column you leave out (a filter, excerpt, content, title) is not touched on existing products, so a file with just sku and one filter column updates that filter and nothing else.
• An empty cell in a column that is present empties that field on the product (the name is the exception: an empty title cell keeps the current name).
• For a number filter you can write decimals with a comma or a point, for example 600,5 or 600.5.

A sample file, sample-catalog.csv, ships inside the plugin zip in the examples folder.

Saving the file from Excel or Google Sheets

• Google Sheets: File > Download > Comma-separated values (.csv).
• Excel: File > Save As and choose CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited). The plain CSV option works too.

Run the import

1. In Upload the file, click the file field and choose your CSV.
2. Leave Dry run, writing nothing (recommended for the first pass) ticked the first time.
3. Tick Download the images listed in the image column if your file has image addresses. The photos are copied into your media library.
4. Click Import.
5. Read the result. A dry run answers Dry run finished, nothing was written. To create: X, to update: Y, skipped: Z.: the numbers tell you what would happen. A real import answers Import finished. Created: X, updated: Y, skipped: Z.
6. If the numbers look right, untick the dry run and click Import again.

Keeping the price list up to date

Edit your spreadsheet and import it again. Products with the same code are updated, new codes are created, and nothing is duplicated. Products that are not in the file are left as they are (they are not deleted), and updated products keep their publication status.