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Meaning of Fields in Inventory CSV File


cubicsquare

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Hi there,

In order to check out the likely layout of any homemade bulk upload spreadsheet that l design, I bulk downloaded the default CubeCart inventory, the initial one with only one item on display.

I have some outstanding questions, and l am now aware that some of them can be semi guessed-at by browsing the admin control panel (e.g. the tax stuff), but l still don't really have a clue, so here goes, please please please elaborate on all of the following columns if you can:

 

 

Weight ---> Defaults to "4" which is a mere example weight for the default item on sale. HOWEVER: The bulk download spreadsheet doesn't have a column to specify units for weight! The specifications on the example advert referring to the example CubeCart stock item gives Kg, so that item is 4kg. Fair enough but is there any way to specify a different unit, e.g. grammes / g, rather than kg?
 
Tax Class ---> Defaults to "1" but what does it mean?
 
Tax Inclusive ---> Defaults to "0" which l guess means NOT INCLUDED? With "1" meaning INCLUDED?    
 
Main Image ---> HEEEEEEELP!!!! How do l attach a title image to my listings via this column? Can l attach multiple images? Will they be displayed as a carousel of images?
 
Master Category ID ---> HEEEEELP!!!! Defaults to "1". How do l use this? Does this relate to eBay shop categories? Can't l add subcategories too? And sub-sub-categories?
 
 
 
Manufacturer ---> Can l leave this blank?
UPC Code ---> Can l leave this blank?    
EAN Code ---> Can l leave this blank?    
JAN Code ---> Can l leave this blank?    
ISBN Code ---> Can l leave this blank?    
Brand ---> Can l leave this blank?    
MPN Code ---> Can l leave this blank?    
GTIN Code ---> Can l leave this blank?    
 
 
 
Meta Title ---> Shall l make this a shortened version of my item title, such that it looks good a search engine results page (rather than Product Name on your shop advert)?
 
Meta Description ---> I guess this would be the description as you'd want it to appear under the title on the search engine results page (rather than Short Description on your shop advert)?    
 
Meta Keywords ---> HEEEEEEEELP!!!! I absolutely need a free tool to extract keywords from a spreadsheet column containing all of my advert descriptions, and to output the keywords as a parallel column. ANY SUGGESTIONS?    
 
Condition --->    Defaults to "new". Are there a set range of terms l can use here? Or can l use my own special terms e.g. "New oldstock" "New - other" "For spares only"?
 
Digital Path (Legacy) --->    Can l actually use this to specify a file location for digital downloads?
 
 
 
Product Width ---> Can l leave this blank?    Will it cause problems if l add a courier shipping calculator tool to my basket?
Product Height ---> Can l leave this blank?    Will it cause problems if l add a courier shipping calculator tool to my basket?    
Product Depth ---> Can l leave this blank?    Will it cause problems if l add a courier shipping calculator tool to my basket?    
Dimension Unit ---> Can l leave this blank? (It defaults to "cm") Will it cause problems if l add a courier shipping calculator tool to my basket?

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Did you see this?

https://support.cubecart.com/Knowledgebase/Article/View/32/41/how-do-i-use-the-bulk-product-import-tool

6 hours ago, cubicsquare said:

Weight ---> Defaults to "4" which is a mere example weight for the default item on sale. HOWEVER: The bulk download spreadsheet doesn't have a column to specify units for weight! The specifications on the example advert referring to the example CubeCart stock item gives Kg, so that item is 4kg. Fair enough but is there any way to specify a different unit, e.g. grammes / g, rather than kg?

The unit is specified in the stores general settings.

6 hours ago, cubicsquare said:

Tax Class ---> Defaults to "1" but what does it mean?

This can be ignored if no taxes are charged. If they are configure tax first in the taxes section before import and you should then be able to find this value. 

6 hours ago, cubicsquare said:

Tax Inclusive ---> Defaults to "0" which l guess means NOT INCLUDED? With "1" meaning INCLUDED?    

If you put 0 then tax is added into the price. 1 assume the price includes tax.

6 hours ago, cubicsquare said:

Main Image ---> HEEEEEEELP!!!! How do l attach a title image to my listings via this column? Can l attach multiple images? Will they be displayed as a carousel of images?

Enter a path or file id. See link above.

6 hours ago, cubicsquare said:

Master Category ID ---> HEEEEELP!!!! Defaults to "1". How do l use this? Does this relate to eBay shop categories? Can't l add subcategories too? And sub-sub-categories?
 

Either enter the category ID, list of category IDs or name or category. If you use a name it will look for it and use existing / create new category accordingly. 

6 hours ago, cubicsquare said:

Manufacturer ---> Can l leave this blank?
UPC Code ---> Can l leave this blank?    
EAN Code ---> Can l leave this blank?    
JAN Code ---> Can l leave this blank?    
ISBN Code ---> Can l leave this blank?    
Brand ---> Can l leave this blank?    
MPN Code ---> Can l leave this blank?    
GTIN Code ---> Can l leave this blank?    

All optional. 

6 hours ago, cubicsquare said:

Meta Title ---> Shall l make this a shortened version of my item title, such that it looks good a search engine results page (rather than Product Name on your shop advert)?
 
Meta Description ---> I guess this would be the description as you'd want it to appear under the title on the search engine results page (rather than Short Description on your shop advert)?    
 
Meta Keywords ---> HEEEEEEEELP!!!! I absolutely need a free tool to extract keywords from a spreadsheet column containing all of my advert descriptions, and to output the keywords as a parallel column. ANY SUGGESTIONS?    

This should be explained in the link at the top. 

6 hours ago, cubicsquare said:

Condition --->    Defaults to "new". Are there a set range of terms l can use here? Or can l use my own special terms e.g. "New oldstock" "New - other" "For spares only"?

New, used or refurbished.

6 hours ago, cubicsquare said:

Digital Path (Legacy) --->    Can l actually use this to specify a file location for digital downloads?

Yes it can be a server path or external absolute URL but MUST exist.

6 hours ago, cubicsquare said:

Product Width ---> Can l leave this blank?    Will it cause problems if l add a courier shipping calculator tool to my basket?
Product Height ---> Can l leave this blank?    Will it cause problems if l add a courier shipping calculator tool to my basket?    
Product Depth ---> Can l leave this blank?    Will it cause problems if l add a courier shipping calculator tool to my basket?    
Dimension Unit ---> Can l leave this blank? (It defaults to "cm") Will it cause problems if l add a courier shipping calculator tool to my basket?

Can be left blank.

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9 hours ago, cubicsquare said:

Meta Keywords ---> HEEEEEEEELP!!!! I absolutely need a free tool to extract keywords from a spreadsheet column containing all of my advert descriptions, and to output the keywords as a parallel column. ANY SUGGESTIONS?    

Save yourself a lot of time and hassle - meta keywords are a complete waste of time - no search engine uses this any longer so don’t bother filling them in.  A unique Meta title is extremely important and you also need a good unique meta description.  Also NEVER use the “recommended” setting to merge global SEO entries

Ian

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29 minutes ago, Al Brookbanks said:

 and rethink that SEO recommendation. Merging is clearly not a good plan

Not just “not good” - it ruins SEO for a store which is hard enough anyway.  Easy and no disruption to change the recommendation.

29 minutes ago, Al Brookbanks said:

We need to lose keywords - There is possible the concern that removing them could upset existing sites. 

As they aren’t used for SEO, they won’t be missed from that point of view.  I do know at least one person that uses these for a custom search solution but that could easily be reworked - a custom solution shouldn’t be a reason to keep something misleading and useless in core

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I use the keywords for custom search terms. It might be easy for Havenswift to "easily reworked", but certainly not for me. If this is done, I would have to pay @havenswift-hosting to copy my meta data to a new database record and create the CC code to utilize it.

Surely I'm not the only one who uses the keywords as a place to store alternative search terms. Will the customer search for bunny or rabbit? Will they type DanDee or Dan Dee? What if they use Carter's or Carter or Carters. All brand name variations and typical misspellings should lead to the correct search results.

I never used the merged global SEO choice, but I really depend on the keywords for search.

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1 hour ago, Dirty Butter said:

Surely I'm not the only one who uses the keywords as a place to store alternative search terms. Will the customer search for bunny or rabbit? Will they type DanDee or Dan Dee? What if they use Carter's or Carter or Carters. All brand name variations and typical misspellings should lead to the correct search results.

I never used the merged global SEO choice, but I really depend on the keywords for search.

The enhancements that you had written for you are good and help to make up for the failings in the standard search (adding something like Solr as a search engine option would do this) but really shouldn't have used a field that was supposed to be used for SEO - utilising fields for different purposes makes the coding a bit easier to do but can then cause these types of problems.  It isn't a big job to create a new database column equivalent to the keywords field, add that to the admin product source and change the custom search code to use the new field instead of the meta keywords.

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Since I may be the only one using the keywords this way, I will make an effort to follow your directions:

"It isn't a big job to create a new database column equivalent to the keywords field, add that to the admin product source and change the custom search code to use the new field instead of the meta keywords. "

We'll see how it works out.

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Hi guys. Thanks for the copious replies, l really appreciate it.

I must confess l never knew this suggested URL existed: https://support.cubecart.com/Knowledgebase/Article/View/32/41/how-do-i-use-the-bulk-product-import-tool

That URL basically answers my questions.

Regarding meta keywords, l'm *G*L*A*D* l can give that a miss. It's so 2008, totally reaching for the ***t all that mindnumbing keyword stuff. However, if you do decide to completely phase the column out, l hope you explain why because newcomers like me will otherwise see it as something your software lacks.

 

OK more posts forthcoming. But for now, back to the upload spreadsheet. I hope it doesn't fail lol! By the way, some things about the explanatory URL you showed me:

 

1. Erratum:

Instead of "Document root relative path from the images/source folder. Before CSV import all images much have been uploaded to this folder"

Why not: "Document root relative path from the images/source folder. Before CSV import all images will have been uploaded to this folder"

2. Also, an alternative explanation as l see it: Just give the filenames as they appear in your images/source folder (so, if you have a separate folder full of images for each item, and then put all of those folders into the images/source folder, include the entire filepath after images/source i.e. to upload three images of one of the many deckchairs you are selling, you might input: deckchair_orange/01.jpg,deckchair_orange/02.jpg,deckchair_orange/03.jpg,). Make sure to have all images uploaded before the CSV file of your inventory is uploaded. You may wish to use FTP if you have a lot of images to upload, especially if they exist in many separate folders.

3. Also quick question: will the images specified in the CSV be arranged in alphanum order of filename, or simply in the order in which they appear on the upload CSV file?

4. Some dude asked you a question at the bottom of that URL

 

 

 

 

Quick followup question as promised:

Can l specifiy a completely different route for the images, instead of "images/source"? I already have a very large amount of images on my allocated server space. They are used by my eBay adverts (inline, within the HTML).

It would be horrible in many ways (effort, space, inelegant) to have to duplicate all the image folders and images therein, to CubeCart's "images/source" directory as part of my grand plan to copy my eBay inventory across to my website shop.

Already at 30% of allocated quantity of files for my hosting plan with my provider. They say it's unlimited storage but they limit the no. of files l can store.

 

 

 

Remaining questions for tonight:


- Is there a way to make the Product Code private, so that it is displayed on all communication to me, but the online shoppers themselves never see it? Example: The Product Code might contain info about the first listing date of an item. That's not something l'd want shoppers to know.


- Is it possible to add "Best Offer" to my listings, along with offer thresholds, and what to do with when the threshold is reached (instant accept, or allow to be forwarded to myself for consideration)?


- Is it advisable to set up a Google category from the pulldown menu for each product? Or can l get equally far by sticking to my own bespoke categories?


- Is it possible for buyers to request the total for a group of items in one basket? That's an approximate way of giving bulk buy / combined shipping to my buyers.

 

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11 hours ago, Al Brookbanks said:

Keywords gone for 6.2.6. Feels great.

https://github.com/cubecart/v6/issues/2370

 

Yeah those meta keywords were too ... er ... meta? Glad they're not necessary.

 

Anyway dweeby is there any chance l can stay on topic and discuss the questions in my previous post? Shall l make a new thread? I guess l'm going off topic with the last few questions ...

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A "specific" file path for images? No. Not as CC6 is currently coded. In addition, CC6 will want to make derivative images of various named sizes based on specs given in the skin's config.xml file. These derived images are stored in the /images/cache/ folder.

Privatize the "Product Code". You can make certain edits to the skin to {* template comment *} the HTML. Also, the email templates.

"Best Offer". I think there is a plugin that allows the customer to request additional info about a product. But to auto-sell after a reserve is met, I am not aware of an existing plugin. One could be constructed to observe a text entry field as a product's option.

I think the drop-down of Google Categories is for Google's benefit when you want to submit a listing to Google's marketplace (or something like that).

However, this has nothing to do with assigning products to admin-created categories where those categories are listed in the storefront's Navigation menu.

I don't understand how the "basket total" question is asking about anything different that an eCommerce app (including CubeCart) is supposed to do anyway.

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It's SemperFi's AskAbout a Product plugin that makes it possible to let people Make an Offer if you choose that to be available. BUT that's all it does. It just provides a good way to identify exactly what they are asking about. Nothing automatic about the offer acceptance, counter offer, or rejection at all. And there seems to be a support issue on SemperFi's plugins which may not have been resolved - hope I'm wrong about that.

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On 8/21/2019 at 9:31 PM, bsmither said:

I don't understand how the "basket total" question is asking about anything different that an eCommerce app (including CubeCart) is supposed to do anyway.

Hi there, with that suggestion, l was saying: request total, because it won't be the calculated cost.

It will be me offering a special unique deal to the person.

It cuts out the need for programming the basket to automatically give multiple purchase deals and whatnot. Instead, l decide there and then what the total to pay shall be.

On 8/21/2019 at 9:39 PM, Dirty Butter said:

It's SemperFi's AskAbout a Product plugin that makes it possible to let people Make an Offer if you choose that to be available. BUT that's all it does. It just provides a good way to identify exactly what they are asking about. Nothing automatic about the offer acceptance, counter offer, or rejection at all. And there seems to be a support issue on SemperFi's plugins which may not have been resolved - hope I'm wrong about that.

 

Thank you for this information.

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  • 5 months later...

A short time ago, a new Knowledgebase system was put in place, which made all the prior mentioned links inoperative.

One needs to start at the beginning (www.cubecart.com), select Knowledgebase from the Support dropdown menu item, click the "CubeCart Download" button to get all the general Q&A's for CubeCart. (https://support.cubecart.com/hc/en-gb/categories/360000562458-CubeCart-Download)

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Hi there, l noticed that page had gone missing some time ago too.

 

You really need to bring that page back.

 

Add a donate button to your site.

 

Add a subscription service - all plugins for one tier, all plugins + tech support for a higher tier etc.

 

The job of a vanilla proof of concept shop should be unobstructed - bring back the import spreadsheet explanation table!

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  • 9 months later...

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