Importing Product Images

System > Import / Export > Import

Overview

This article gives you step-by-step instructions for how to import product images into your store. Magento Go uses CSV files to import and export both product and customer information.

What Is a CSV File?

A CSV (comma separated value) file is a formatted text file that organizes data. The data is separated by commas, hence its name.

For more information about using CSV files to import and export product or customer information, see these topics:

• Working with Product CSV Files
• Importing Product or Customer Information
• Exporting Product or Customer Information

Workflow for Importing Product Images Using CSV Files

When you import new product images, Magento Go does not automatically match your images to your respective products. You must import your product images in a format that Magento Go can understand. The following workflow describes how to add product images to your store.

Step 1. Export Your Products

If this is the first time you are importing product images into your Magento Go store, export a sample set of data that can be used as a template in your favorite spreadsheet. To learn more, see Exporting Product or Customer Information.

If you want to make changes to existing product images or add new images, you can do so in the spreadsheet. First, you export existing data from your store to a spreadsheet file. After you add to or update the records in the spreadsheet, you re-import the data back to your store.

Step 2. Edit the CSV File

In your exported CSV file, edit the product fields as needed. To understand more about how product attributes are defined in the CSV file, see Working with Product CSV Files.

When referencing product images in your spreadsheet, always reference the file name with a forward slash, like this: /image-base.jpg. The image file names are case-sensitive, so pay attention to the file names and extensions. For example, /image-base.jpg is not same as /image-BASE.jpg.

Note: If you have the images inside directories within the ZIP archive, you must reference the image files with their directory names. For example, if picture1.jpg is in folderA, that entry in the CSV will be folderA/picture1.jpg.

To import multiple images, enter each additional image reference in a row just below the associated product, as shown in the following example. Leave all other fields blank unless they are applicable.

For example, when editing the data in Excel, each product is on a new line. The labels in the first column identify the data in each column. When saving your changes to the CSV file in Excel, select Yes when prompted to leave out incompatible features.

Note: The Mac version of Microsoft Office supports multiple CSV file formats. When saving your CSV file, be sure to save it as a CSV (MS Windows) file type.

Step 3. Import Product Images

After you edit your CSV file, create a zipped archive containing the image files to be imported. There are several tools available for zipping files. Your computer might already have an archiving tool available. Check your operating system’s documentation for more details. You can also use third-party zipping applications, such as Winzip.

To import a CSV file that contains references to your product images:

1. From the Admin panel, select System > Import / Export > Import.
2. In the Entity Type field, select Product Images as shown below.
   
3. Click the Choose File button to select your zipped archive of product images.
4. Click the Upload Image Archive button to import your images.
5. Check the Validation Results box for file validation information. You might need to fix errors and upload your file again until all errors are resolved.
6. Importing can take time, so you might have to wait to receive a response. When the import is successful, you receive a validated result response as shown below.
   
   

   Note: The total size of uploadable files must not exceed 110 MB.

7. To confirm a successful import, from the Admin panel, select System > Tasks Notifications. A successful import generates a notification. If you are not able to see your new product images in your store, you might need to refresh the search index. To do this, from the Admin panel, select Catalog > Search Indexing and click the Refresh Index button.


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