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Build your exports from scratch

Manually create an export template in Add Exports in Productsup.

Introduction

Build exports from scratch using a blank export if existing export templates don't suit your needs. Blank export is a blank canvas that you can customize as you need.

There are four (4) types of blank exports in Productsup:

  1. Blank Export (empty). This type of blank export lets you manually create a custom set of attribute in the export stage of Dataflow to meet the requirements of the desired export channel. See Set up Blank Export (empty) or Blank Export (with ID) for more information.

    Use Blank Export (empty) in the following cases:

  2. Blank Export (with ID). This type of blank export is similar to Blank Export (empty) but has the ID attribute pre-defined as a mandatory attribute in the export stage in Dataflow. See Set up Blank Export (empty) or Blank Export (with ID) for more information.

  3. Delta Blank Export. This type of blank export lets you work with delta logic and delta files. The most popular use case for Delta Blank Export involves exporting only new, changed, and removed products to your export channels without exporting products with unchanged data. Delta logic reduces transport time and data volume for big feeds requiring few updates. See Set up Delta Blank Export for more information.

  4. Export2Datasource Blank. This type of blank export lets you compile data from different sites within one organization into a single bucket and use this bucket as a data source in another data-accumulating site. See Set up Export2Datasource Blank for more information.

Note

There are no analyzer tests for blank exports.

Add a blank export

To add one of the blank export to your site, take the following steps:

  1. Go to Exports from your site's main menu.

  2. Select ADD EXPORT.

  3. Select the necessary blank export in the gray banner under the search field.

    Add a Blank Export
  4. Go back to Exports to see and select your blank export in the Export name column to set it up.

Set up Blank Export (empty) or Blank Export (with ID)

Blank Export (empty) and Blank Export (with ID) let you create custom templates if none of the ready-made templates fits your needs. These templates are blank spreadsheets where you can manually add and map the desired attributes in Dataflow.

The process of setting up Blank Export (empty) and Blank Export (with ID) is similar.

After you have added your blank export on the Add Exports page, you need to set it up. For that, take the following steps:

  1. Go to Dataflow from the site's main menu and select your blank export from the channels drop-down menu in the upper ribbon.

  2. Map the attributes from intermediate to export using Drop or Click to add new field at the export stage.

    add new attributes in Dataflow

    Note

    The ID attribute is the only mandatory attribute in the export stage for Blank Export (with ID) in Dataflow. But you still have to connect it with a corresponding attribute of the intermediate stage.

  3. Go to Exports, find your blank export in the list of exports, and change Status from Inactive to Active.

  4. Select your blank export's name in the Export name column.

  5. Select the Edit icon next to the export's name if you want to rename the export.

  6. Select Add Destination in the Destinations section and choose a destination from the drop-down menu. Select Save.

  7. Select Export this export at the top-right corner of the page. Alternatively, the platform exports the file at the next scheduled run.

Set up Delta Blank Export

When you work with extensive data feeds, data processing in the platform may take a long time. With the help of Delta Blank Export, which uses delta logic, you can send only updated data.

Delta is a way of storing or transmitting data in the form of differences, called deltas, rather than complete files. With this logic, the platform doesn't export unchanged products, which allows it to reduce transport time and data volume for big feeds.

The platform takes the product identifier, which can be ID, GTIN, variant ID, etc., to identify each product and compare the product's updated data to its data from the previous run. The platform generates up to four (4) delta files, depending on the data changes:

  • New: items new to the feed.

  • Changed: items that have been in the feed before, but the data has changed.

  • Deleted: items that aren't in the feed anymore because of skip rules or deleting.

  • Unchanged: items that have been in the feed before and haven't changed.

Add Delta Blank Export in the following cases:

  • If you don't expect your product data to change frequently.

  • If your target export channel requires you to export your data feed in delta files due to technical requirements on their side.

Note

Apart from the custom Delta Blank Export, several partner-specific delta exports have similar features. For example, Salesforce Commerce Cloud B2C: Inventory (Delta) or Facebook Dynamic Ads (Delta Upload). If you need support exploring your optimal solution, contact your Customer Success Manager or support@productsup.com.

Configure Delta Blank Export

To set up your Delta Blank Export, take the following steps:

  1. Add Delta Blank Export. See Add a blank export for more information.

  2. Go to Dataflow from the site's main menu and select your Delta Blank Export from the channels drop-down menu in the upper ribbon.

  3. Map the attributes from intermediate to export using Drop or Click to add new field at the export stage.

    Note

    The export stage already has the ID attribute, but you still have to connect it with a corresponding attribute of the intermediate stage.

  4. Go to Exports, search for Delta Blank Export, and change the Status from Inactive to Active.

  5. Select Delta Blank Export in the Export name column.

  6. Select the Edit icon next to the export's name if you want to rename the export.

  7. Select Add Destination in the Destinations section and choose a destination from the drop-down menu. Select Save.

  8. Some export destinations, for example, Productsup Server, may automatically create a file in the Files section. You don't need this file for Delta Blank Export. If you see an automatically created file, select Setup next to the file and then select Delete.

  9. Select Update Files in the Delta Files section. A pop-up area displays four delta files: unchanged, new, modified, and deleted. Modify the file names and extensions as needed.

    Add Site ID to Delta Filenames

    Note

    If the pre-configured extension of the delta files doesn't match your destination requirements, contact us at support@productsup.com.

  10. Toggle Add Site ID to Delta Filenames to On if your destination system receives delta files from multiple sites or systems. Enabling this option appends the site ID to the filenames to let you distinguish between delta files from different sites.

  11. Select Save in the Delta Files pop-up.

  12. Select Export this export at the top-right corner of the page. Alternatively, the platform exports the file at the next scheduled run.

Tip

After each export run, you can download any delta file in the Filename section at the bottom of the export setup page.

Generate empty delta files

You may want the platform to generate files with deleted and new products, even if such files are empty. It is necessary if your destination system or target export channel always expects to have four files with every export run. Otherwise, your system might ingest files from different runs, which can cause ID conflict issues and product duplicates.

To enable the generation of empty files, follow the steps:

  1. Go to Exports and search for Delta Blank Export.

  2. Select Delta Blank Export in the Export name column.

  3. Go to the Settings tab.

  4. Scroll down and toggle Allow empty files (0 products) to On.

    Allow empty files (0 products)

Note

Your target export channel or destination settings must also allow empty files. They may discard these empty files if they interpret them as obsolete or unchanged.

Check your Delta Blank Export history

  1. Go to Exports from your site's main menu.

  2. Go to the Export history tab.

  3. Ensure the Show delta file changes option is active and view the export history.

Set up Export2Datasource Blank

Export2Datasource Blank lets you compile data from different sites within one organization into one bucket and use this bucket as a data source in another data-accumulating site.

Workflow of Export2Datasource Blank

For example, you run a marketplace and, in the Productsup platform, you have hundreds of sites exporting your separate product feeds to the designated Google Merchant Centers. In this case, you may want a site that combines these different feeds into one main feed and exports this feed to price comparison channels, Facebook, or other systems. If you did it manually, you would have to create exports in each site, export them to the Productsup Server, and then add them as a data source in one data-accumulating site. Instead, you can use the Export2Datasource Blank export and export all your separate feeds into a bucket. Later, you can use this bucket as a single import source.

Note

Contact support@productsup.com if you want to use this feature. Since it's an advanced tool, you may need assistance with the initial setup.

Prerequisites

To be able to import from buckets, your Productsup organization should meet the following requirements:

  • All sites from which you want to send data to the same bucket should have Export2Datasource Blank with the same bucket name. See Add a blank export to learn how to add Export2Datasource Blank. You can create a copy of the export channel if you plan to use it multiple times without starting from scratch. See Copy the export channel for more information.

  • If you have several buckets in your organization, each should have a unique name. Otherwise, the platform can't distinguish to which bucket it should send the data.

  • All sites that send data to the same bucket should have feeds with the same structure.

Configure Export2Datasource Blank

To set up Export2Datasource Blank, take the following steps:

  1. Add Export2Datasource Blank. See for Add a blank export more information.

  2. Go to Dataflow from the site's main menu and select your Export2Datasource Blank template from the channels drop-down menu in the upper ribbon.

  3. Map the attributes from intermediate to export using Drop or Click to add new attribute at the export stage.

    Note

    The ID attribute is the only mandatory attribute in the export stage for Export2Datasource Blank in Dataflow. But you still have to connect it with a corresponding attribute of the intermediate stage.

  4. Go to Exports, search for Export2Datasource Blank, and change Status to Active.

  5. Select Export2Datasource Blank in the Export name column.

  6. Select the Edit icon next to the export's name if you want to rename the export.

  7. Select Add Destination in the Destinations section and choose the Export to Data Source destination from the drop-down menu.

  8. On the destination setup page, add a name in the Bucket field.

    Important

    You can't choose an already-created bucket from this field. If you want to send your data to an existing bucket, you must manually enter the existing bucket name. The field is case-sensitive.

  9. To export skipped products, switch Allow skipped rows to On.

  10. You can export attributes created by a data service to the bucket and use these attributes for other sites without applying the service again. If you don't want to export these attributes to the bucket, switch Remove Passthru Columns to On.

  11. Switch Prevent Empty Upload to On to avoid exporting files without data.

  12. Turn on the destination by switching Active to On.

  13. Select Save.

    Bucket settings
  14. Select Export this export at the top-right corner of the page. Alternatively, the platform exports the file at the next scheduled run.

Note

Export to Data Source is a destination and not a file format. As a result, you can't edit file settings, such as Filename, Product limit, Sorting actions, and Product count.

Import data from the bucket

To import data from a bucket into a data-accumulating site, take the following steps:

  1. Go to Data Sources from the site's main menu and select ADD DATA SOURCE.

  2. Search for Export to Data Source and select Add. Give it a custom name as desired and select Continue.

    Export to Data Source
  3. Select a necessary bucket from the drop-down menu.

    Bucket drop-down in Data Sources
  4. Select Save.