Optimize your data in Dataflow
Optimize your data in Dataflow in Productsup.
Introduction
You can optimize your data with the help of rule boxes in Data View or Dataflow before you export it. For example, if you want to add a specific value to all products in a column, such as the US Dollar sign ($), you can use a rule box. Or, if you want to add a logo to an entire column, add a rule box. There are many different rule boxes available to help you optimize your product data more efficiently. See Optimize your product data with rule boxes to learn about different rule boxes.
There is a slight difference in optimization data with Data View and Dataflow.
In Data View, you can compare the values before and after applying rule boxes with the Before/After View feature. See Optimize your data in Data View with rule boxes to learn how to optimize your data feed in Data View.
Dataflow provides a broad view of all your connections and rule boxes already applied. In Dataflow, you can optimize your data feeds, append columns, replace connections, and copy and apply rule boxes to other columns. This document describes how to do it.
Get an overview of all applied rule boxes
In Dataflow, you can see bubbles of different colors on connections between stages. Each bubble represents a rule box that you applied to a column. Here are the meanings of the colors:
Green bubbles are rule boxes between the Import and Intermediate stages.
Blue bubbles are rule boxes between the Intermediate and Export stages.
Gray bubbles are rule boxes on pause.
Yellow bubbles are rule boxes containing skip rules.
To get more information about the applied rule boxes:
Hover over a connection to see a list of all rule boxes applied to it.
Select the necessary column to see the rule box settings in detail. Or select the arrow icon that appears when hovering over a column to see other available rule boxes.
Add a rule box in Dataflow
Go to Dataflow from your site's main menu.
Select the relevant export channel from the channel selection drop-down menu in the upper ribbon.
Select a column where you want to add a rule box.
Note
You can apply rule boxes in the Intermediate or Export stages only. The Import stage contains your original data, and you can't change it.
Select Add Box and search for the relevant rule box.
Configure the rule box if necessary.
Select Save.
Add a rule box in Datalow using Large View
To see an overview of the available rule boxes and use advanced filtering options, open Large View:
Go to Dataflow from your site's main menu.
Select the relevant export channel from the channel selection drop-down menu in the upper ribbon.
Select the arrow icon to the right of a column's name when hovering over a necessary column.
Note
You can apply rule boxes in the Intermediate or Export stages only. The Import stage contains your original data, and you can't change it.
Select a rule box from the Available Boxes list or search for a relevant rule box in Filter.
Drag and drop a selected rule box to the green or blue area. The green area applies rule boxes at the Intermediate stage, while the blue applies rule boxes at the Export stage.
Configure the rule box if necessary.
Select Save.
Edit rule boxes
You can edit all added rule boxes. See Advanced rule box options for information on how to apply the rule boxes to segments and pause, delete, duplicate or schedule rule boxes.
To edit a rule box:
Go to Dataflow from your site's main menu.
Select the relevant export channel from the channel selection drop-down menu in the upper ribbon.
Select the arrow icon to the right of a column's name when hovering over a necessary column.
Edit the settings of the selected rule box setup as desired.
Select Save.
Filter rule boxes in Dataflow
Filter rule boxes in Dataflow to find the necessary rule box applied to a connection. The platform hides all other rule boxes, leaving only those matching your search term.
Go to Dataflow from your site's main menu.
In the upper ribbon, enter a rule box name in Filter Boxes.
Append a column to another column
You can append a column to another column in Dataflow. For example, you can append values from the color and size columns to your title column.
Tip
Alternatively, you can do it with the Append/Prepend Column rule box.
To append a column to another column using Dataflow connections:
Go to Dataflow from your site's main menu.
Select the relevant export channel from the channel selection drop-down menu in the upper ribbon.
Choose a column you want to append and map it to the desired column in the next stage. The column in the next stage should have a connection to another column already.
For example, you want to
mobile_linktoimage_link.Select Append in the pop-up window.
After appending the columns, an indirect connection appears between the two stages.
Replace a connection between columns
If you need to change the connection between columns, you can delete the existing connection and map a new one. But you can also replace a connection between columns without deleting a previous connection first.
Go to Dataflow from your site's main menu.
Select the relevant export channel from the channel selection drop-down menu in the upper ribbon.
Drag a connection from a column to the column that already has a connection in the next stage.
Select Replace in the pop-up window.
Copy rule boxes from one column to another
If you want a column to use the same rule boxes as in another, you can copy and reuse these rule boxes.
Go to Dataflow from your site's main menu.
Select the relevant export channel from the channel selection drop-down menu in the upper ribbon.
Select the node of the source column containing the rule boxes you want to copy.
Note
An orange circle appears on the column's node. The node has to be either in the Intermediate or Export stage.
Select the node of the target column where you want to copy the rule boxes. A white circle on the column indicates that you can apply these rule boxes to the column.
Note
The target column should have no rule boxes applied.
Select Copy in the Warning pop-up window.
