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Videos | Importing Product Images Via Flat File

In this video we walk through the steps to prep your store so that you can import product image information using a flat file.
ver.9.0 and later

Video Transcript

This is a flat file with the product information of three of my guitar products in my test store. The guitar products are called Lydia or Tisha Base and Snow White. Today we're going to be using the flat file import method to update the information of these three guitar products so that the data includes four separate product images for each of these products. If you skim the columns of this flat file, you'll notice that there are two columns that pertain to images; the thumbnail URL and the image URL columns. Both of these columns pertain to the Legacy method of importing product images to the store. They do not pertain to the images tab found in the edit products part of your store admin, which is what we actually want to use. So how do we use the flat file import method to add products with multiple product images? There are few configurations that need to be done in the store admin and this video will show you how to do just that.

My goal is to import four product images for each of my products. For me to be able to do that, I will need to have a unique image type for each of the four separate images. We need to configure the store to include columns for image types when working with flat files to import and export products. To do that, click into your “Utilities” and then “Add/Remove Modules.” We’re looking for the “Product Field Custom Fields Module.” We want to make sure it's installed. If it is installed, it will appear on the bottom of this list under “Installed Modules.” If it's not, scroll back up until you find “Product Image Custom Fields,” click on its “Install” button to install it. With this module installed you will be able to work with Image types when importing and exporting product data. I want to add four separate images for each product I'll be updating today. Each of the four product images will require its own unique image type. So let's have a look at our image type settings. Click on “User Interface” and then the “User Types” tab. My store already has a “Main” image type, so I will only have to add three more image types. To add more image types click on this plus button, define a code and a description for each image type. Now when we go into Data Management, export products to flat file. I’m going to focus specifically on my guitars category. I’m going to email this to myself and I'm going to remove some of these columns that I won't actually be updating today. Down here in Custom Fields I want to include the image type Four, Main, Second and Third. Finally, I'm going to click “Export” and the system is going to email me this CSV. This is what my new flat file looks like. I could sort the columns if I like. Each of these products already has a main product image. I can use these three columns here to add three more images for each of my products. Now, keep in mind that using this flat file doesn't actually upload my product file image to my server. For that I need to use file transfer protocol. Let me open up my FTP client and click into my mm5 folder, graphics and then the zeros and the one folder that pertains to the store I'm working on. I just select my images and drag them onto the server.

So now I have my flat file updated with the file paths of the different image files that I want to associate with my three products. When I'm done working in the spreadsheet, I want to save my work as a CSV file. For me, I'll click export to CSV. Finally let's import this information into the store. Let’s go back into Data Management, Add/Update Products from CSV, click the “Choose File” button and browse to the CSV file that you were working on. Choose to upload a file and then we can check our work by clicking on “View Store,” instruments, guitars. And that's how you import multiple product images for your products in your store using the import flat file method.






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