eCat Product File Overview #

Product information is imported in a file named 'products.csv'. Please refer to the file template and field list below.

Product information is sent to eCat in a text file named 'products.csv'. In addition to standard fields, as many custom fields can be added to the product file as needed. Custom fields can be used for filtering and sorting the eCat catalog, and to publish as much additional information about products as needed.

View the product file template and instructions

View a sample product file

All of your company's current products and product information should be included in the product file each time it is uploaded. If items are omitted from the file, they will be removed from the eCat database. Any new items in the file will be added to eCat. Information that is changed in the file will be changed in eCat.

Product File Fields #

Tradenames / Collections, Groups / Categories #

There are two methods available for associating products with Tradenames, Collections, and Categories. (Groups are defined in the admin portal.)

The 'Auto-Create' import method automatically creates a Tradename, Collection, or Category for every unique string found in the product file 'tradenamecode', 'collectioncodes' and 'categorycodes' fields. This makes maintaining product classifications convenient for companies with a large number of collections or other product classifications. One downside is that this method does not support assigning the same item to multiple collections and categories. If your company imports using the 'Auto-Create' method, products can be associated with only a single collection and a single category.

The standard import method is to populate the product file 'TradenameCode', 'CollectionCodes' and 'CategoryCodes' fields with short codes of 5 characters or less for each unique classification. The codes are then manually associated with labels in the admin portal. This method enables displaying the same item in multiple collections or categories by populating the product file fields with comma delimited lists of valid category and collection codes. (Items can be assigned to only a single tradename.) The primary collection or category code should be listed first. Only the first category or collection code listed for an item is supported in SmartList queries.

Custom Product File Fields #

Custom product file fields can be added as desired and populated with values up to 255 characters long. They can be displayed on eCat's ‘Details' view and can also be used to define SmartLists, catalog filters, and catalog sorts. Custom fields can be populated with URL's for linking to externally hosted content like videos and documents. If there is data in a custom field, the field label and contents will display in eCat. If empty, the custom field will not display. This enables custom fields to be used for publishing product specific information. Custom fields must be defined in the admin portal under Products > Custom Fields before they will be imported.

'Hideable' Products #

To avoid showing the same photos repetitively. For example, if beds of different sizes are published as separate sku's in eCat (twin, full, queen, etc.), the new feature enables hiding all but one representative sku in the grid view. When a new Settings button is set to 'Hide', repetitive items are hidden in the grid view for All Products, Collections, Product Types, Presentation View, and Details View. The repetitive items are shown everywhere else, including in user stacks, SmartStacks, and the Details view Collection and Related Items thumbnail lists.

To implement this, add a new field named 'hideable' to products.csv and populate it with 'Y' for items you want to optionally hide in eCat. When this field is present and populated, a new button 'Show Hidden Products' displays in Settings. This defaults to 'off', but can turned on by users who prefer to view all products.

Room Shots & Other Non-Orderable 'Products' #

Room shots (environmental/application photos) are published to eCat as special product records. These 'products' cannot be ordered, so fields that relate to pricing, shipping, options, and UPC codes do not need not be populated for this product type. The dimensions field is also usually not relevant to room shots, but can be populated with a description or other information that would be useful to display on the iPad. Other required fields should be populated with the appropriate values. These include BaseItemCode, TradenameCode, CollectionCode, and ImageFileName (the room shot file name). Product stories, descriptions, custom fields, and RelatedItems can be populated for ‘suite’ type products. Room shots are displayed on the iPad at the beginning of any list in which they are included. More than one room shot can be published for a single suite. These will be displayed in the same sequence in which they are sent in the product file. To identify a 'product' record as a room shot, add the fields ‘ProductType’ and ‘SuiteGroup’ to products.csv. Enter the value ‘suite’ in ProductType to flag the record as a room shot and related information. Enter a valid group code in SuiteGroup. If the ProductType field is empty, the record will be treated as a normal product.

Importing Product Files #

Importing Products in a Single File #

Product information is usually uploaded in a single data file named 'products.csv'.

Upload data files to eCat using the appropriate tool in the admin portal, or by putting the file in your company’s eCat FTP site ‘/data’ directory.

Adding or removing records from a data file causes them to be added or removed from the server database. They will then be removed from eCat the next time users update.

Column headers must match the field names shown in the file template.

Records missing entries in required fields or with invalid data may not be imported and will be listed in an import error log report.

Multi-File product import #

For convenience in cases where product information is stored in separate systems, product data can be sent to eCat in multiple files via FTP as long as the fields BaseItemCode, TradenameCode, CollectionCode, and CategoryCode are all present in the primary products.csv file. Supplemental files should be named ‘products_1.csv’, ‘products_2.csv’, etc. and must contain BaseItemCode values matching values in Products.csv. When sending multiple product files, an additional file, ‘sentinel.csv’ must be sent to the server after all of the product files have been uploaded to indicate that the upload is complete. The contents of this file are not significant.

[Learn More]

Import validation #

Fields are checked for valid values during the import process to ensure eCat's reliability. Any errors found are listed in an import error log report. There are three types of errors, 'Fatal Error', 'Error', and 'Warning'.

Tips & Tricks #

• eCat displays products in the order they are sent in the products file. For example, if you want users and customers to see new items first, sort them to the top of the file. Another option would be to publish new items at the top, then publish the rest by sales rank, with the items that sell the most at the top. New items and most popular items will then be the first things people see in every list.
• Line feeds and carriage returns are not supported in product file data fields. The file importer rejects files that include them.
• CSV file formatting guidelines
• To extend product search capabilities, key words can be sent as a comma separated list in a product file field named 'keywords'. Before importing this field, a custom product file field named 'keywords' must be created in the admin console under Products > Custom fields. The field should be 'sent to the iPad'. The 'Hidden' option can be selected to prevent displaying keywords in eCat's Details view.