Volusion Import Items & Categories

AA-00454

Volusion Import Items & Categories

If you have a Volusion site and you want to import items "through the front door" with a semi-automatic process, follow along this step by step guide.

Prerequisites

1) Make sure you have a paid Volusion account so you can FTP your images.

2) Setup your FTP client, Use Filezilla
Volusion Knowledge Base Article - Setup FTP

3) Install Thumbnail Generator Program from Volusion
Volusion Thumbnail Generator Program

4) Install the Artisan Volusion Export Tool from CerTek

  1. Copy the Volusion (from certek's client folder) folder to c:\artisan\
  2. Edit and place volusion.dbf into the data directory.


Regular Activities

To Update Categories: You only need to do this if you have changed your category structure.

This procedure will create/update the Volusion Category Tag and put it in the Artisan Field: Internet Store Layout Options

Volusion uses this reference to the category record.

ALTERNATIVELY - YOU CAN MANUALLY UPDATE THIS FIELD IN ARTISAN (WHICH MAY BE QUICKER).

1) Run the Artisan Export Tool

2) Import Categories into Volusion

3) Export Categories FROM Volusion

  1. Navigate to your Manage Store page.
  2. Choose Inventory -> Import/Export
  3. Click the Export Button.
  4. Choose Categories (36).
  5. Check Off Fields:
    1. CategoryID (LONG) *
    2. CategoryName (TEXT : 255)
  6. File Format: CSV
  7. Click Export
  8. Click Download (on the right side of screen)
  9. Save the file as "Categories_Vol_ID.csv" and put it in your working directory.
  10. Run the Artisan Export Tool again.

4) Import Category changes into Artisan from Step 3.

To Update Items: 

1) Make sure that the log file is closed.

2) In the item records, please be aware that Internet Store? should be set to (Y) for availability online.

3) In Store Only? should be set to (N) for availability online. - Within the Artisan item record.

4) Status' can also effect web store integration.  ie. Discontinued items will not display.

5) Run the Artisan to Volusion Export Tool

6) Within Volusion, select: Inventory - Import/Export - Import to : Products - *file name


Photo Import:

1) The directory that stores your photos from Artisan is /Artisan/Volusion/Photos.

2) The directory for your Thumbnails is /Artisan/Volusion/Output.

3) The .CSV for the photos will be /Artisan/Volusion/Item Photos.csv.

3) The tool for importing photos from Artisan to Volusion is the Volusion Thumbnail Generator.

2) Use Recommended Dimensions should be set to Yes.

3) .JPEG QUALITY should be set to 100.


Resetting your Photo Cache

Your store's product image cache is refreshed every night, ensuring that your store shows only the most current images. However, if you're using FTP to upload product images to your store, you should refresh the cache immediately afterward to push the changes:

  1. Go to Settings > Maintenance in your Admin Area.
  2. Click Reset next to the Photo Cache.