Import products and photos

Upload your spreadsheet, check what it would change and apply it. Nothing is written until you have seen the preview.

The import matches each row to a product by SKU, creates the ones that are new and updates the ones that exist. Get your file ready first with Prepare your Excel file with photos.

1. Open Import in the admin, or press Import on the products screen.
2. Upload: drop the file or tap to pick it (.xlsx, .xls or .csv).
3. Map columns: check that each column feeds the right field. Columns the importer guessed carry a Guessed badge. Pick the SKU column, then press Preview changes.
4. Preview: read the three counts and the first rows with their badge. To see every row, open See all 12 rows. If the file has photos, each one is shown beside its row in the Photos in this file card. Check them against the SKU next to them.
5. Press the import button, for example Import 12 rows. The Done step shows what happened. Use Import another file to start again.

What the counts mean

• new (badge New): SKUs that do not exist yet. They need a name and a price. They are listed under Products to create.
• changed (badge Changed): SKUs that exist and have at least one value that differs from the file. They are listed under Products to update.
• with problems (badge Problem): rows that cannot be imported, each with its reason. They are skipped and everything else still applies. They are listed under Rows that cannot be imported. Fix them in your spreadsheet and import the file again.
• Products where the file matches what you already have get no count: they appear under Already up to date. Nothing is written and no stock moves.

Good to know

• A SKU that appears on two rows imports neither of them, because there is no way to tell which one is right.
• A stock figure in the file sets the count and writes a movement to the stock log with the reason IMPORT.
• If the file has photos, you choose between Keep existing photos and add new ones and Replace each product's photos with the spreadsheet's. A photo the product already has is not added twice.
• A product holds 4 photos at most. A photo that does not fit is refused with the message A product can have at most 4 images. With the replace option, a new photo does go in even when the product is full, because it takes the place of one of the current photos that the file has not touched.
• Photos that sit on no row are listed in the Photos with no row card. They are not moved to the nearest row: place them by hand on the Photos screen.
• Photos are stored one by one after the rows. If you close the tab, the run stops; importing the same file again attaches only what is missing. Failed ones can be retried with Retry failed photos.
• New categories the file would create are listed in the preview. See Categories.

Three Excel behaviours worth knowing

• Photos follow the row they were pasted on. A photo floats over the sheet and belongs to the row its anchor sits in, not to the product. If you sort, insert or delete rows, or move cells after pasting them, a photo can end up on a different product, usually one row out. Finish your data and sort the rows first, paste the photos last and, in the preview, check each one against the SKU beside it in the Photos in this file card.
• An empty cell erases nothing. On a product that already exists, leaving a cell empty leaves that field as it is. The import cannot empty a value. To remove one, change it on the product itself in the admin (Add products).
• Use one method for subcategories. If you map a Subcategory column, even an empty one, the category column is read whole and ">" no longer splits it into a category and a subcategory. Pick one method: a subcategory column, or everything in the category as "Kites > Line".