Data Import Settings

The Import/Export tab is used to:

• Download a template that you can use to import data. See The General Process of Importing.
• Edit Import Options. You can customize, to some extent, the way your data is processed during import. For example, if you are importing Categories, you can tell Miva Merchant what delimiter you are using in your import file.

There is an "Edit Import" dialog box for each template. If you double-click on Add/Update Categories from CSV, you'll open the Edit Import dialog box for importing Categories.



• Create custom import options. In addition to editing the default import options, you can create and save your own. For example, sometimes when you import products you might want to only add new products; other times you might want to only update existing products. Instead of editing the default import options for products, you can create two customized product imports, one for adding new products and one for updating existing products.

Notes: Add/Update Product Variants from CSV

If you are using PR8 Update 9 or later, you can import:

• Attributes
• Options, and
• Variants

To Import Product Variants

1. Go to > Data Management > Import Settings tab.
2. In the Import Settings tab, double-click Add/Update Product Variants from CSV.



The Edit Import dialog box opens. You can use this dialog box to change the way your data will be processed when it is imported. See Saving Import Options for more information. When you are done with your changes to the Edit Import dialog box, click Save

3. In the Import Settings tab, single-click Add/Update Product Variants from CSV, and click either the CSV Template button or XLS Template button to download the template.



4. Add your product variant.
5. Use the standard process to import your data. See The General Process of Importing.

Figure 3: A sample product variant template with data, rows A-J

In this sample variant template:

• The master products are shown in blue: watch, hat, and t-shirt.
• The attributes are shown in green.
• The master product "watch" has no attributes.
• The master product "hat" has one attribute: size.
• The master product "t-shirt" has two attributes: size and color
• The variants are shown in gold:
• The hat is available in sizes small and large.
• The t-shirt is available in small-green, small-blue, large-green, large-blue.

Notice that, although there are only four different t-shirts, there are eight rows for the t-shirt variants in the spreadsheet. In Miva Merchant, when you create a variant, every attribute has to have an option code and an option prompt. Since our example has two attributes (size and color), it takes two rows to capture this information for each variant:

Master Product	Part Product Code	Attribute Code	Option Code	Option Prompt
t-shirt	t-shirt small green	Size	Small	Small
t-shirt	t-shirt small green	Color	Green	Green



Figure 4: A sample product variant template with data, rows K-P



Figure 5: A sample product variant template with data, rows Q-W

Let's say our t-shirt had three attributes, and two options for each attribute:

• Size: Small, Large
• Color: Blue, Green
• Fabric: Cotton, Synthetic

We would stock six different t-shirts (3 attributes x 2 options). We would need three rows in the spreadsheet for each variant. Our spreadsheet would have a total of eighteen rows for the t-shirt variants:

3 attributes x 2 options each x 3 rows per variant. Here's the data we would need in our spreadsheet for 1 shirt:

Master Product	Part Product Code	Attribute Code	Option Code	Option Prompt
t-shirt	t-shirt small green cotton	Size	Small	Small
t-shirt	t-shirt small green cotton	Color	Green	Green
t-shirt	t-shirt small green cotton	Fabric	Cotton	Cotton

Notes on Using the Product Variant Template

• You cannot import Attribute template information in your product variant template.
• If the master product already exists in your store and you list the master product in your import file, the import process will update the master product in your store with the attribute, option and variant data in your file. If there's a master product in your spreadsheet, but not in your store, the master product will be created in your store.

Notes on Using the Product Variant Template

You may have master products where you want to set a customized or "specific" price for each variant. For example, you might have a t-shirt master product with two attributes:

• Size: Small, Medium, Large
• Color: Green

and each variant has its own price:

Master Product	Variant	Variant Price
t-shirt	t-shirt small green	$4.00
t-shirt	t-shirt medium green	$4.50
t-shirt	t-shirt large green	$5.00

If you want to import variants with specific prices, your spreadsheet must have data in these columns:

• MASTER_PRODUCT_CODE
• VARIANT_PRICE
• VARIANT_COST
• VARIANT_WEIGHT

Your spreadsheet would look like this (note that we've hidden some columns that don't have required data):







Notes: Import Shipment Information from CSV

The Shipment Information template has the following fields:

• Order: the order number.
• Shipment_Code: uniquely identifies a shipment. If you enter a value in this field, the shipment will be marked as shipped in the database.

See > Order Processing > Shipments tab > Shipment column for examples of shipment codes.



• Tracktype: uniquely identifies a carrier. The tracktype in Miva Merchant is a string associated with an URL. See > Domain Settings > Shipment Tracking Links tab.

  When Miva Merchant sends a tracking number to one of these URLs, the website (such as USPS) will return tracking information that is displayed in the admin interface. In your shipment information spreadsheet you should enter the "Type" that you have configured in Miva Merchant. By default your store comes with four tracktypes.

• Tracknum: the tracking number assigned by the carrier.
• Cost: the shipping cost quoted by the carrier

Every row in the template is a shipment record. When you import your data, Miva Merchant processes the records in the following way:



Saving Import Options

When you import your data file you should select the import options that will affect how the data is processed. There are two ways to do this:

1. Edit the default Import Options.

1.1. Go to > Data Management > Import Settings

1.2. Double-click on a template.

1.3. In the Import Options dialog box, make any changes that you want, then click Save.



2. Create and save your own import options (see below).

To Create and Save Import Options

It's important to note that the Add Import dialog box does not create a new spreadsheet template. This dialog box only allows you to select some processing options and save those options under a name.

1. Go to > Data Management > Import Settings.
2. In the Import Settings tab, click New Import .
3. In the Add Import dialog box, select the processing options:
• Description: enter a name for the saved options, for example: "Product Import - New Products Only"
• Import Module: This is the type of spreadsheet template you will be downloading and using. The options are:



• Categories/Customers/Products:
• Add New < . . . > Only: Any categories/customers/products in your spreadsheet that already exist in the database will be ignored during import.
• Update Existing < . . . > Only: Any categories/customers/products in your spreadsheet that do not already exist in the database will be ignored during import. Update will ignore empty columns in your spreadsheet. If you have a blank column in your spreadsheet, Update will leave the existing value for that column in your store database alone.
• Add New and Update Existing < . . . >: All new and existing data in your spreadsheet will be imported. Update will ignore empty columns in your spreadsheet. If you have a blank column in your spreadsheet, Update will leave the existing value for that column in your store database alone.
• Replace Existing < . . . > Only: Any new categories/customers/products in your spreadsheet will be ignored during import. Replace pays attention to blank columns in your spreadsheet. If you have a blank column in your spreadsheet, Replace will delete that value from your store database.
• Add New and Replace Existing < . . . >: All new and existing data in your spreadsheet will be imported. Replace pays attention to blank columns in your spreadsheet. If you have a blank column in your spreadsheet, Replace will delete that value from your store database.
• Custom Fields: The options, "Retain Existing Data When Imported Data is Empty" and "Delete Existing Data When Imported Data is Empty" only apply to custom fields that you have:
• Created in your database > Utilities > Custom Fields tab, and
• Added to your spreadsheet.
• Attribute Templates (Product import only): If you are using a Product spreadsheet, it will contain a column called "attribute_template_code". If you have already created an Attribute template, you can add the template to a product in your spreadsheet by filling out the Attribute Template Code column.
• Use Attribute Template Codes: This has the same effect as selecting an Attribute Template from the > Catalog > Edit Product > Attributes tab > Add Attribute button >Type drop-down list. The attribute will be assigned to the product, but to modify the attribute you must change the Attribute Template.
• Copy Attribute Template Values: This has the same effect as selecting the Edit Product >Attributes tab > Add Attribute button > Copy? checkbox. The attribute will be copied from the Attribute Template and applied to the product. Changing the Attribute Template will not affect the product. The attribute can only be changed by editing it in the Edit Product >Attributes tab.
• Delimiter: The field delimiter that you are going to use in your spreadsheet
• File Contains a Header Row: Check this box to have the import process ignore the first row in your spreadsheet.
• Fields:
• Determine Automatically Using Header Row: If you select this field the import process will examine the column headings in your spreadsheet and figure out what fields in the database they represent. This is the appropriate option for most users if you have not changed the column names in the spreadsheet that you downloaded. Note that the order of columns doesn't matter, so if you have changed the column order, but not the column names, you can still use this option.
• Manually Assign: Use this option if you have changed the column names in your spreadsheet.
1. Click on the Choose File button to load your spreadsheet from your local machine.
2. Use the Import Field drop-down list to select a field from the database.





Example: Create and Save Two Product Import Settings

Let's say you have a very busy store and you would like to routinely upload two spreadsheets:

• New products only.
• Changes to existing products only.
1. Go to > Data Management > Import Settings.
2. Click Add Import .
3. Use the Add Import dialog box to create and save the following two settings:





4. After you create and save them both, you'll see them in the Import Settings tab: