The Import and Export tools help the admins manage multiple records in a single operation. You can not only import new items, but also update, replace, and delete existing sets of products. For example, you can add new products to your inventory, update product data and advanced price data, and replace a set of existing products with new products.
If you have a large catalog of products, it is much easier to export the data, edit the data in a spreadsheet, and import it back into your store. Data for all product types can be imported into the store. In addition, you can import products, advanced pricing data, customer data, customer address data, and product images. Import supports the operations like: Add/Update, Replace, Delete.
When importing product data, new product data is added to existing product data entries in the database. All fields except SKU can be updated through import. All existing product data is replaced with the imported new data. You must exercise caution when replacing data. All existing product data will be completely cleared and all references in the system will be lost.
Data import
How to import data: Stick to the below steps to ensure a safe data import.
Step 1: Prepare the Data.
- On the Admin sidebar, go to System > Data Transfer > Import.
- Under Import Settings, set Entity Type:
- Click download sample file. Open Download Sample File. The sample file includes column headings with placeholder data for example product types. View Sample File. Examine the structure of the sample file and use it to prepare your CSV import file, making sure that the column headings are spelled correctly.Examine the structure of the sample file and use it to prepare your CSV import file, making sure that the column headings are spelled correctly.
- Locate the export file at the downloads location for your web browser and open the file.
- Verify that the size of your import file does not exceed the limit shown in the message.
Step 2: Choose the Import Behavior
- Set Import Behavior.
- To determine what happens when an error is encountered when importing data.
- In the Allowed Errors Count field, enter the number of errors that can occur before the import is canceled.
- Accept the default value of a comma (,) for the Field separator.
- Accept the default value of a comma (,) for the Multiple value separator. In a CSV file, a comma is the default separator. To use a different character, make sure that the data in the CSV file matches the character that you specify.
- If you want to enclose any special characters that might be found in the data as an escape sequence, select the Fields Enclosure checkbox.
Step 3: Identify the Import File
- Click Choose File to select the file to import.
- Find the CSV file that you prepared to import and click Open.
- In the Images File Directory field, enter the relative path to the location on the Magento server where uploaded images are stored.
Step 4: Check the Import Data
- In the upper-right corner, click Check Data.
- Wait a few moments for the validation process to complete. If the import data is valid, the following message appears:
- Once the file is validated, click “Import” to download the import.
