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CSV Improved

CSV Improved

Creating a Google Base export file

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Category: Tutorials
Published on Sunday, 15 April 2012 10:05

Requirements

  • CSVI 4.1+ / CSVI Pro 4.2+
  • Joomla 2.5+
  • PHP 5.3
  • Basic knowledge of creating templates

Background information

Google Base exports are used to upload product information to Google Product Search. There is no default export as the fields required depend on the products being uploaded to Google Product Search and the country you are importing products for.

Creating the template

First create a new export template and set the File options as shown in this screenshot:

google base file settings

Also check if you need additional settings changed e.g. price format.

Required fields

Which fields are required for you, depends on the country and the products you want to import in the Google Product Search. Check the attribute requirements to find out which fields are required for you.

Here we will demonstrate some general required fields:

  • id
  • title
  • description
  • google product category
  • link
  • image link
  • condition

Setting up the export fields

First step is to map the Google fields with the CSVI fields:

GoogleCSVI
id product_sku
title product_name
description product_desc
google product category category_path
link product_url
image link picture_url
condition custom

 Now that we know which fields are need to be used, we will add them to the export fields. Each field will be added with the following settings:

Field nameColumn headerDefault valueProcess
product_sku g:id Yes
product_name title Yes
product_desc description Yes
category_path g:google_product_category  Yes 
product_url link Yes
picture_url g:image_link Yes
custom g:condition new Yes

Save the template !

Some notes:

  • By default CSVI exports the category_path with a /, this is automatically changed on export to the Google Product Search attribute >
  • If your category structure does not match that of Google Product Search, you can use the Replacement feature to replace your category names with those of Google Product Search
  • If the field g:tax is used, the default value must be set to follow the layout country:region:rate:tax_ship. CSVI will change this to the appropriate tags on export
  • To add your own shipping rates, use the Field name custom_shipping and Column header g:shipping
  • If the field g:shipping is used, the default value must be set to follow the layout country:service:price. CSVI will change this to the appropriate tags on export

Export

After all the fields have been added you can export your Google Product Search template by clicking on the Process button in the top right corner.

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