Transfer Inventory Files Using FTPAfter configuring your FTP Settings, you can then proceed with uploading your file via the FTP client of your choice. PrerequisitesYou should be familiar with the following topics before continuing:
How to FTP an Inventory File to ChannelAdvisorFollow these steps to complete this task:
File RequirementsThe files that you will send to us through the FTP site will need to meet the same format / requirements as files you would upload in the ChannelAdvisor UI. The file must include a header row (a row at the top of the file that specifies the product information that appears in that column, for example 'Title'). Accepted file formats are:
Please note that text files can be compressed before they are sent to ChannelAdvisor IF you are using an FTP "Pull" configuration . These compressed files must use the extension ".zip". Files using the extension ".gz" (or GZip) for file compression will not be accepted. The file that you submit can be in the ChannelAdvisor Inventory Upload Spreadsheet format , or it can be in your own custom format . If you are using a custom format file, you must configure a Template that maps your files fields to the ChannelAdvisor inventory fields. XML files are considered to be "custom" formats and require the use of a template. File Naming and FrequencyThere is no required file naming convention, however if you specify a prefix on your file in settings, then ChannelAdvisor can interpret how you would like to have the data file processed. The default file prefixes are:
Any file that is placed in the inventory directory will be picked up by ChannelAdvisor within one hour. Status of FileIn order to see the status of an FTP'd file, log into ChannelAdvisor and navigate to Inventory > All Products > Upload/Download Status view. Here you will see an entry for your FTP'd file. If the file fails a pre-processing validation, you will still see an entry for the file and a link to its errors. ChannelAdvisor provides a response file that includes the status of each line in the inventory upload file. The response file is dropped in the inventory directory on your FTP site every time an upload runs. The file is named using the original filename with "_RESPONSE" appended to it. For example, INV_UPLOAD_20100101.txt will have a response file called INV_UPLOAD_20100101_RESPONSE.txt. The response file is tab delimited with the following columns:
With this functionality, you can fully automate the process of uploading data into ChannelAdvisor. Templates on an FTP UploadBy placing the file in the 'Transform' folder under the 'Inventory' directory you can apply a template to your upload. You can also specify a default Template to be applied to all inventory uploads processed in your account. By selecting a default option, the template that you have chosen on this settings page will be applied when a new file is processed. The default template will be applied unless a naming convention override is applied. This is done by placing the template code preceded by a '.' before the file extension. For example: CAUpload.TEMPLATE01.txt would look for a template with a template code of TEMPLATE01 to apply to the upload. Tasks to CompleteComplete the following tasks related to this topic: Compile your product data and save it in the ChannelAdvisor Inventory format or a Custom Format |
