Reference Guide

Data Management

Import/Export

The General Process of Importing

You can import different types of data into your store, but the general process is always the same:

1. Download a data file template. The template file contains column headings for the data you are going to import (see below).

1.1. Go to > Data Management > Import Settings tab.

1.2. Select a template (single-click). For example, if you want to import a group of categories into your Miva Merchant store, select Add/Update Categories from CSV, then click on the CSV Template or XLS Template button.



Both files are essentially the same. The CSV template is a text file. The XLS template is an XML file. Both files are designed to be opened in a spreadsheet program.



When you download a template it will be saved to your computer as "import.csv" or "import.xls". You may want to change the name to something more meaningful like "add_update_products.csv" to avoid confusion.

2. Add your data to the template.

NOTE: regardless of which file format that you downloaded (CSV or XLS), after you add your data to the spreadsheet, you must save it as a CSV, or as a text file with your delimiter of choice.

3. Select your Import options.

3.1. Go to > Data Management > Import Settings tab.

3.2. Double-click the template for the type of data you are going to import. For example, if you are uploading categories to your store, double-click on the Add/Update Categories from CSV.

The Edit Import dialog box will open. This dialog box controls the way that your data will be processed during import. To learn more about the Edit Import dialog box, see To Create and Save Import Options.

Make any changes, then click Save.



4. Upload your data file.

4.1. Go to > Data Management > Import/Export tab.

4.2. If you downloaded the "Add/Update Categories From CSV" template and now you want to upload your populated data file, click on the Add/Update Categories from CSV button.



• If your browser does not support drag and drop, you will see a slightly different dialog box:



• The Import dialog box does not have Begin Upload button.

  As soon as you browse to the file that you want to upload, the system will process the data in that file, so be careful to select the correct file.

The General Process of Exporting

Miva Merchant lets you export several different types of data to a file:

• Attributes
• Affiliates
• Customers
• Categories
• Orders
• Products
• Shipment Information
• URI's
• User Data

Exporting data from your Miva Merchant store lets you modify that data much more quickly than you could through the admin interface. For example, if you wanted to change all of the prices in your store, it would be much faster to export the Product information, edit the prices in a spreadsheet, and then reimport the product data. Another reason people commonly export data is to use the information in some external program, for example, if you needed to enter your affiliate payouts in a tax program.

File Locations

When you export data to a file you can either have it mailed to you or leave the file on the server. The exception is the affiliates export file, which doesn't support email. The exported files will always be in the data directory on your server. If you aren't sure what the name and location of your data directory is, the easiest thing to do is:

1. Export a data file, such as the attributes file. The default name of the attributes file is "provide.xml"
2. FTP to your server and search for the filename "provide.xml".

Export Attributes to XML File

1. Go to > Data Management > Import/Export tab
2. Click Export Attributes to XML File. The Export Attributes to XML File screen will appear:



3. Export Product Attributes to File:

Enter a filename for the exported file. The default filename is "provide.xml."

4. Email File To
• Do Not Email: The file will be created on your server. You can use FTP to transfer the file to your local machine.
• Enter an email address: the file will be created and automatically emailed to you.
5. If File Exists:

Choose whether you want to append or replace an existing file. You should select Append to File with caution because it can result in duplicate data in the file.

6. Export Product Attributes In:
• Add Mode: if you select this option, a flag is written to the export file. When you re-import the attribute data, new attribute will be added to your store, but existing attributes will not be overwritten by the file.
• Replace All Mode: if you select this option, a flag is written to the export file. When you reimport the attribute data, all existing attributes in your store will be over-written by the file.
7. Click the Export button.

Example:

• If we create a product called "t-shirt" with an attribute called "Size", the XML would look like this: <ProductAttribute_Add_Template product_code="t-shirt"> <AttributeTemplateCode>Size
• If we opened the XML file in Excel, it would look like this:

Export Affiliates To Flat File

1. Go to > Data Management > Import/Export tab.
2. Click Export Affiliates to Flat File. The Export Affiliates to Flat File screen will appear:



3. Export Affiliates to File: Enter a filename for the exported file. The default filename is "affiliates.csv"
4. If File Exists: Choose whether you want to append or replace an existing file. You should select Append to File with caution because it can result in duplicate data in the file.
5. Email File To:
• Do Not Email: The file will be created on your server. You can use FTP to transfer the file to your local machine.
• Enter an email address: the file will be created and automatically emailed to you.
6. Fields to Export: Select the affiliate fields that you want to export.
7. Delimiter: You can set the field delimiter to a tab or any other character.
8. Click the Export button.

Export Customers to a Flat File

1. Go to > Data Management > Import/Export tab.
2. Click Export Customers to Flat File. The Export Customers to Flat File screen will appear:



3. Export Customers to File: Enter a filename for the exported file. The default filename is "customers.csv"
4. If File Exists: Choose whether you want to append or replace an existing file. You should select Append to File with caution because it can result in duplicate data in the file.
5. Email File To:
• Do Not Email: The file will be created on your server. You can use FTP to transfer the file to your local machine.
• Enter an email address: the file will be created and automatically emailed to you.
6. Standard Fields: Select the customer fields that you want to export.
7. File Format:
• Customer Import: This is the default import process. Choose this format if you are using the import process introduced in PR8. See Data Management > Import/Export Tab.
• Legacy Import Customers From Flat File: Choose this format if you are using the import process that existed before PR8.
8. Delimiter: Choose a Delimiter for the file.
9. Click the Export button

Export Categories To Flat File

1. Go to > Data Management > Import/Export tab.
2. Click Export Categories to Flat File. The Export Categories to Flat File screen will appear:



3. Export Categories To File: Enter a filename for the exported file.
4. If File Exists: Choose whether you want to append to or replace an existing file. You should select Append to File with caution because it can result in duplicate data in the file.
5. Email File To:
• Do Not Email: The file will be created on your server. You can use FTP to transfer the file to your local machine.
• Enter an email address: the file will be created and automatically emailed to you.
6. Standard Fields / Custom Fields: Choose the list of fields that you want to include in the export file.
7. File Format:
• Customer Import: This is the default import process. Choose this format if you are using the import process introduced in PR8. See Data Management > Import/Export Tab.
• Legacy Import Customers From Flat File: Choose this format if you are using the import process that existed before PR8.
8. Delimiter: Choose a Delimiter for the file.
9. Click the Export button.

Export Orders To Flat File

1. Go to > Data Management > Import/Export tab.
2. Click Export Orders to Flat File. The Export Orders to Flat File screen will appear:



3. Export Orders To File: Enter a filename for the exported file.
4. If File Exists: Choose whether you want to append to or replace an existing file. You should select Append to File with caution because it can result in duplicate data in the file.
5. Email File To:
• Do Not Email: The file will be created on your server. You can use FTP to transfer the file to your local machine.
• Enter an email address: the file will be created and automatically emailed to you.
6. Batch to Export:
• All Orders
• All Unbatched Orders: only export those orders that are not part of a Batch.
7. Delimiter: Choose a Delimiter for the file.
8. Click the Export button.

Export Products To Flat File

1. Go to > Data Management > Import/Export tab.
2. Click Export Products to Flat File. The Export Products to Flat File screen will appear:



3. Export Products To File: Enter a filename for the exported file.
4. If File Exists: Choose whether you want to append to or replace an existing file. You should select Append to File with caution because it can result in duplicate data in the file.
5. Email File To:
• Do Not Email: The file will be created on your server. You can use FTP to transfer the file to your local machine.
• Enter an email address: the file will be created and automatically emailed to you.
6. Products to Export: You can choose to export information about all of the products in your store or a range of products. The range fields let you break your product list into sections, if you think you have too many products to fit comfortably into a single flat file.
• To find out how many products you have:

6.1. Go to > Catalog > Products.

6.2. Click the Show button and select All.

6.3. Click Select Multiple Records , then click CSV. This downloads a simple CSV containing all of your products. You can quickly see how many you have in your store.

7. Export Fields: Select the fields to include in the export file.
8. File Format:
• Product Import: This is the default import process. Choose this format if you are using the import process introduced in PR8.
• Legacy Import Products From Flat File: Choose this format if you are using the import process that existed before PR8.
• Miva Merchant XML Provisioning: This is an XML file.
9. File Delimiter: You can set the field delimiter to a tab or any other character.
10. Category Settings:
• Export Only Products In Category: Select this option if you only want to export products in a single Category.
• Include /Ignore Category List: Choose whether you want the categories names to appear in the exported file.
11. Click the Export button.

Export Shipment Information to Flat File

1. Go to > Data Management > Import/Export tab.
2. Click Export Shipment Information to Flat File. The Export Shipment Information to Flat File screen will appear:



3. Export Shipments To File: Enter a filename for the exported file.
4. Email File To:
• Do Not Email: The file will be created on your server. You can use FTP to transfer the file to your local machine.
• Enter an email address: the file will be created and automatically emailed to you.
5. If File Exists: Choose whether you want to append to or replace an existing file. You should select Append to File with caution because it can result in duplicate data in the file.
6. File Delimiter: You can set the field delimiter to a tab or any other character
7. Click the Export button.

See also Notes: Import Shipment Information from CSV.

Export User Data to XML File

To log into the admin interface, you must have a user account. See Users. Note that this is different from a customer account, which is what your customers use when they buy products in your on-line store.

You can have quite a few preferences and customizations in your user account. For example, you can create bookmarks, move tabs around, customize columns in tab, and re-size dialog boxes. In some cases, you might want to move your user data to a new store:

1. Export your user preferences:

   > Data Management > Import/Export tab > Export Data > Export Data to XML File.

2. Then import your user preferences:

   > Data Management > Import/Export tab > Import Data > Import Data and Settings in XML Provisioning Format