Import Wizard

Go to the System → Data → Import

AbanteCart supports a flexible Free format for uploading CSV import files, making it easier to import products or categories. Unlike the native strict format described here, the flexible format allows you to quickly adapt to CSV files provided by most dropshippers (like Doba) or suppliers. This feature lets you map the data in CSV columns according to your specific needs, streamlining the import process and saving time.

If AbanteCart is unable to detect the native import format, the Import Wizard will automatically launch, prompting you to specify the name and purpose of each column in the file.

1 Import wizard
- 1.1 CSV editor tips
2 Action Insert or Update
3 CSV Import Mapping Tool
- 3.1 JSON Data Column Mapping
4 Products import example
5 Categories import example
6 Brand import example

Import wizard

To import data from a CSV (Comma Separated Values) file:

Browse for the File: Click the "Browse" or "Choose File" button to locate and select the .csv file from your local computer.
Select CSV Delimiter: Choose the appropriate delimiter used in your CSV file. By carefully selecting the correct delimiter and ensuring proper file formatting, you can successfully import data from your CSV file. Common delimiters include:
- Comma (,): The most common delimiter.
- Semicolon (;): Often used in European locales.
- Tab (\t): Represents a tab character.
- Pipe (|): A vertical bar.

Important Considerations:

File Format: Ensure your CSV file is correctly formatted. Each row should represent a record, and values within each record should be separated by the chosen delimiter.

CSV editor tips

When working with CSV files to import data into AbanteCart, it’s essential to use an editor that preserves data accuracy. Be aware that some editors, such as Microsoft Excel, may modify cell formats, for example, converting dates to its internal format or altering numeric delimiters (e.g., switching a period . to a comma, in prices) based on the system’s locale settings. This can lead to unintended errors, such as prices being imported incorrectly. For this reason, it’s recommended to use the price format 19.99 to avoid accidental editor conversion to formats like 19,99

Apple’s Numbers software mostly correctly opens CSV files but only allows saving them with a comma delimiter by default. You can use File → Export To → CSV to save your work in the required format.

OpenOffice is another reliable tool with useful features for CSV editing. It allows you to set specific columns as text, preventing issues like leading zeros from being removed (e.g., 00134 becomes 134). However, when opening your CSV file in OpenOffice, ensure to select only one delimiter (e.g., a comma) and avoid using combined delimiters, as this can cause compatibility problems.

After uploading the file, choose a destination for the data. At this stage, the information to be uploaded to the database will be displayed. To ensure product details are correctly placed in the appropriate database fields, you need to map the file columns to their corresponding fields.

When importing data from a CSV file, AbanteCart attempts to automatically match the columns in your CSV file to the corresponding fields in its database. This is done by analyzing the column names in your CSV file and comparing them to known field names. If AbanteCart's automatic mapping is incorrect or if you have custom column names, you can manually adjust the mapping using a dropdown menu.

When importing or updating products in AbanteCart using a CSV file, it's crucial to select a unique identifier. This identifier tells AbanteCart how to distinguish between different products and whether to create new products or update existing ones

New Product IDs are incremented by the AbanteCart system itself, wizard does not allow to force ID during import in order to ensure data integrity.

If your data contains multiple values for categories or images in one column you need to select a correct delimiter. The delimiter is a symbol that will be used to detach categories in the category tree, and images in media resources. For example, your product has multiple images so in one column you can set multiple image URLs - url1,url2,url3

Or set the full category tree you want to create and assign to the product - parent category name, child category name, child category name

Multiply categories trails

To assign the product to multiply categories trails (paths) please add more columns for example

category 1 column with Makeup, face

category 2 column with Makeup, Skincare

Action Insert or Update

When importing data into AbanteCart, if your CSV file does not include a column labeled action, the default behavior will be to update_or_create. This means that AbanteCart will either update existing records or create new ones based on the data provided.

To gain more control over the import process and explicitly specify the desired action for each record, you can add a column labeled action to your CSV file. The possible values for the action column are:

• update: Only update existing records. If a record does not exist, it will not be created.

• create: Only create new records. Existing records will remain unchanged.

• delete: Delete existing records specified in the CSV file.

By including the action column, you ensure that the import process behaves as intended, providing more precise control over data updates, creation, and deletion.

CSV Import Mapping Tool

Powerful feature designed to streamline the process of importing data into your store. It provides a highly flexible and user-friendly interface to map columns from your CSV file to specific fields in the AbanteCart database. This tool ensures your data is accurately imported, saving time and effort in managing your store’s content.

Key Features:

Column-to-Field Mapping:

Easily map your CSV columns to specific fields in the AbanteCart database. For example, a column named itemnumber in your CSV file can be mapped to the product SKU or Model field.

Supported Data Types:

The tool currently supports importing data for the following entities:

Products
Categories
Brands/Manufacturers

JSON Data Column Mapping

Import supports JSON data for column mapping, enabling advanced functionalities such as:

Splitting Data: this is useful when a single source column contains information that needs to be stored in multiple distinct fields.
Concatenating Data: combine values from multiple columns into one field.
Merging Data: dynamically merge and process data across columns to suit your requirements.
Direct Mapping: The data from the CSV column will be directly imported into the field in AbanteCart. This is a simple one-to-one mapping.

JSON Map example

By utilizing these complex mapping features, you can efficiently import data from a wide variety of CSV file formats into AbanteCart. To load your JSON map click the Load Mapping button after you upload the file. Review the mapping to ensure it's correct.

In this example, the columns desc1 and desc2 will be merged and imported as the product name. The column itemnumber will be saved to two fields: product SKU and Location. The column msrp will be imported as the product price.

{
    "products": {
        "category": {
            "field": "categories.category",
            "split": ","
        },
        "desc1": {
            "field": "product_descriptions.name",
            "concat": {
                "new_name": "name",
                "position": 1,
                "concat_by": " "
            }
        },
        "desc2": {
            "field": "product_descriptions.name",
            "concat": {
                "new_name": "name",
                "position": 2,
                "concat_by": " "
            }
        },
        "itemnumber": {
            "field": [
                "products.sku",
                "products.location"
            ]
        },
        "msrp": {
            "field": "products.price"
        },
        "price1": {
            "field": "products.cost"
        },
        "upc": {
            "field": "products.model",
            "update_col": "on"
        },
        "weight": {
            "field": "products.weight"
        }
    }
}

Once you're satisfied with the mapping, you can proceed with the import process.

Products import example

comma delimiter products-with-options-comma.csv.zip

example with images loaded to options values products-with-options-comma-optimages-2.csv.zip (comma delimiter)

in this example, options values images separated by a comma

Categories import example

comma delimiter categories.csv

Brand import example

comma delimiter manufacturers.csv

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