| Click Here to view our Training Video covering the Import/Export section |
Exporting Data
In the admin area, click "Import / Export Data", and then click "Data
Export".
1) Choose a table, such as "Products (58)". The number next to the table
indicates how many records are currently in your table.
2) Choose the columns you wish to export by clicking the appropriate checkboxes,
such as "ProductCode (TEXT : 30)" Next
to each column name there is an indication of the datatype for that field.
For example "(TEXT : 30)" means the value of that field must be text up
to a maximum character length of 30.
3) Some tables have column names encapsulated in a box titled "Virtual
Columns". These
columns do not truly exist in the table, but rather when you do the export
of these virtual columns, the export system is building this data on-the-fly
from a variety of tables. Some
of the virtual columns may not be imported back into the
system, as they are only for exporting.
4) Choose the type of file you wish to export to. The most common type
is CSV (comma separated values). This type of file can be opened and edited
with Microsoft Excel, or any other spreadsheet software. A CSV file can
also be imported into Microsoft Access. The CSV format is the most widely
supported format across all software, new & old.
5) Click the "Export my data" button. The page will take a moment
to generate the file, then it will refresh the page and provide you with
a link to download the file.
Saved Exports
You also have the option to "Export Later". To utilize this feature, follow
the steps above, but on step 5, type in a name for your export, such as
"My Product Export", and click the "Save to QueryBank" button. NOTE: The
"Global" checkbox means the query will be available to all administrators.
If you un-check this box, the query will only be available to your admin
account.
After saving your export, you'll be taken to the "Saved Exports" tab, where
you will see your export listed. Now anytime you wish to do this export,
just return to this tab, and do the following:
1) Click the radio button next to the saved query you'd like to export.
2) Choose the type of file you wish to export to.
3) Click the "Export my data" button.
Importing Data
In the admin area, click "Import / Export Data", then click "Data
Import ".
Importing data is as simple as taking a standard CSV spreadsheet of data,
and renaming the columns to match those of Volusion's database.
We recommend the following steps
to accomplish this task:
1) First use the admin area to add a few records to the table you wish
to import. Let's take the "Products" table as an example. We recommend
that you use the admin area to add at least 5-10 products first. Be sure
to test the configuration of those products and ensure from the front-end
of your store that those products look exactly the way you'd like them.
2) Next, in your admin area click "Import / Export Data", then click "Data
Export" and export all fields of the "Products" table.
3)
Now that you've done an export of this data, it will make it easy to use
this sample file as a template. You can either copy the data from your
old spreadsheet into this new spreadsheet (which we recommend) or you may
re-name the columns of your old spreadsheet to match up with the column
names you see in this new spreadsheet.
Common Importing Problems:
1) Often in a spreadsheet you will not notice that there are extra columns
and rows that are blank, however the spreadsheet software such as Microsoft
Excel, considers their blank value to be a text value. To ensure you have
a clean spreadsheet please take the following steps:
(a) Scroll to the right of your spreadsheet to the first empty column
with no column name. Click on the top of the column to select the entire
column. Hold the SHIFT key and click at least the next 10 columns or so.
Now that you have these columns selected, right-click in that selected
area and choose "Delete". Do not hit the DELETE key on your keyboard, as
that will NOT do the same thing.
(b) Scroll to the bottom of your spreadsheet to the first empty rows with
no data. Click the left side of this row to select the entire row. Hold
the SHIFT key and click at least the next 10 rows or so. Now that you
have these rows selected, right-click in that selected area and choose "Delete".
Do not hit the DELETE key on your keyboard, as that will NOT do the same
thing.
2) File must be generated on a PC, Macintosh is not supported. The reason
is that Macintosh uses a different set of characters for line breaks than
a PC.
3) The data types and field lengths are important to consider. For example
if a field only allows 30 characters of TEXT, you may only import up to 30
letters, numbers, or other characters. However if a field is of INTEGER
type, you may only import numbers, up to the number 30,000. Please refer
to the "Data Export" to see what the data type constraints are for each
field.
Importing Product Photos
For bulk importing photos, try our Automatic Thumbnail Generator located at http://www.volusion.com/support/
This tool will take all of your photos (thousands at a time) and rename & resize
all of them with one-click. It will create all required thumbnails, all named
correctly and ready to upload via FTP to your site. There is no field in the
products table that specifies the photo paths, but rather the photo's must simply
be named appropriately. That's what this automatic thumbnail generator takes
care of.
NOTE: The import / export section is compatible with Internet Explorer
6 only. |
