Catalog Management

2017-09-05

Certain syndication programs and services require the use of catalogs. By importing your company’s product catalog, you can access additional syndication functionality including product filtering, mapping, pricing and availability, coverage reports and e-commerce integration.

 

Adding a Catalog

When adding a catalog, you will have the following options:

  • Add your existing catalogs manually, or set up an automated schedule to download your existing catalog
  • Assign catalogs to specific markets
  • Manage catalog mapping
  • Review catalog import logs

Adding a catalog requires only 3 simple steps:

  1. Defining the catalog properties
  2. Uploading the catalog
  3. Mapping the columns

Click Add Catalog button to begin.

Step 1 – Set Catalog Properties

 

Field

Description

Example
Name The catalog name used for reference only. Acme Global Catalog
Market Defining the market allows you to assign and filter your catalog to display the market-specific data based on the locale and market code requested. Worldwide
United States
Catalog Code Each catalog will receive a unique code which allows you to specify the catalog to when requesting content. The default catalog code is derived automatically when entering the catalog name but can be overridden with an existing ID or code. acme-global-catalog
cat1234
Catalog Description Provide a description of the catalog for reference only. Our default global catalog with standard pricing.
Set as default If a catalog code is not specified in the real-time service requests, the system will use the default catalog. Only one catalog can be set as the default. Checked = Yes
Unchecked = No

 

Manual Upload

Allows you to manually upload the catalog from your computer. If selected, clicking Next will prompt you to choose the file on your local computer hard drive. Maximum catalog size allowed is 25MB.

All existing entries in your catalog will be purged when re-uploading a new catalog file. Catalog Management does not support incremental or delta files.

 

Automatic

Allows you to automate your catalog download from your FTP or Web server and set up a schedule.

 

Field

Description

Example
File Location Include the full FTP or HTTP address, directory and filename path of where the catalog resides. ftp://ftp.test.com/catalog1.txthttp://test.com /webservices/googledatafeed.txt
Username Optional. If the catalog location requires authentication, please provide the username. Leave it blank for anonymous access. johndoe
Password Optional. If the catalog location requires authentication, please provide the password. Leave it blank for anonymous access. mypassword123

 

Scheduling

After defining the catalog location, you can set an automated schedule for catalog downloads. This allows you to schedule a catalog download in the event that you want the download to occur after a nightly build or catalog refresh process.

Time zone Define the time zone for the scheduled hour and minute. (GMT-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada)
Hour Define the hour in which the automated download should begin. 12 AM
Minute Define the minute in which the automated download should begin. 00
Frequency Set the frequency of how often the catalog should be downloaded. Daily, Weekly, Monthly
Repeat on If a Weekly frequency is chosen, set the days of the week.
If a Monthly frequency is chosen, set the day of the month.		 Monday, Tuesday, etc
1 = 1st day of each month.

All existing entries in your catalog will be purged when a new catalog is downloaded. Catalog Management does not support incremental or delta files.

 

Step 2 – Upload File

Before uploading your catalog, make sure the catalog has been saved using the UTF-8 file encoding to ensure that all special characters are properly imported.

Sample File – click on the “sample file” link if you would like to see an example of the basic fields required in a catalog.

  • First row has headers – If your catalog’s first row has headers, select the checkbox to ensure that the header row is skipped during import.
  • File Type – Select the appropriate delimiter that separates your columns:
    • Tab delimited (TXT)
    • Comma separated (CSV)

Click on Upload to select the catalog on your local computer. Upon successful upload, you will then be able to map the file columns.

 

Step 3 – Map Columns

Once you upload your catalog, you must tell the system how your file columns are structured and how they map to supported fields.

For each column in your catalog, choose the proper “Field” and Click Save or Next. If you do not see the appropriate field option available, choose Not Mapped.