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Importing products with file
Importing products with file

Add products and update the catalog using XML, YML, or Excel files

Updated over a week ago

Importing from a file is the quickest and most convenient method of filling and mass editing the catalog, allowing you to add or update tens of thousands of products in just a few hours.

If you switch to Horoshop from other websites or platforms, they likely have a function for exporting all products to a file. But even if you want to fill the catalog manually, we recommend that you first collect all the data into a file and then import it into the site.

Add products from file

Before you import new items, conduct a few preparatory steps:

  1. Create catalog categories.

  2. Create product templates.

  3. Make sure your file contains required product attributes.

Creating catalog categories

If you are importing products from another website, simply create a similar category structure on the new website. Category names must be identical (all lowercase and uppercase letters match), with no extra spaces or other characters.

If you are filling out the import file manually, first form a convenient category structure in the admin panel. In the file create a Category column with category names for each item in the following format:

Category/Subcategory of the 2nd level/Subcategory of the 3rd level/…

Read more on how to create and configure categories in this tutorial:

Creating product templates

A product template is a set of unique properties of a certain group of products. For successful import, the product properties in the file must match the properties of the product template for the category into which you will be importing products. You can find more information about templates in help articles:

Required attributes

The file must contain these mandatory fields to successfully import a new product item:

  • Article — a unique identifier of a product

  • Title — the title of a product

  • Category — the name of the category.

Not required but recommended fields:

  • Price — the current price of an item

  • Quantity — quantity of the items in stock (if the stock balance is enabled)

  • In stock — [In stock, Out of stock] the status of the item’s availability (if the stock balance is not enabled)

  • Show — [yes, no] whether to show or hide an item for a purchaser on the website; if this field is empty, the item will be hidden

  • Photo — links to the photos of items

Import file

→ Preparing file with products

How to import

The import consists of these stages:

  1. Selecting and uploading the file

  2. Preview and adjustment of column

  3. Import procedure

  4. Results report

How to select and upload import file

  1. In the admin panel, go to the Products section and click Import.

  2. Drag and drop the file into the modal window or press Select on the drive to open the file window for selection.

  3. If the import file is available via a link, paste it into the Link to file field.

  4. Wait for the file to be downloaded and analyzed. If the file is correct, you will see a preview screen.

Preview and match columns

On the preview page, you must specify which properties of the product position match each file column. The system will automatically select the value if the column name matches the field name in the product template.

If the column name in the import file is specified as [Template Name] Attribute Name, it will automatically match the required property in this template.

If no match is found, the header will display Do not import. To import data, select the required value manually. The attributes are grouped by template in the drop-down menu for easy selection.

Attention. Columns containing links to photos (Photo, Gallery, Browse 360) will never be imported by default. You must match them manually if you need to upload photos.

Attention. If the Import button is not active, then one item position property is selected simultaneously for two or more columns. Select different values to correct this error.

Clear the column matching

You can clear all matching columns with a single click. To do this, click the drop-down menu and select Clear matching columns.

To cancel the import of an individual column, click the cross on the matching field.

Updating products details

To update the information, you must specify the item and the field to be updated. For example, you must import the article column (to identify all the product items clearly) and the price column to update the prices. All other product properties will remain unchanged.

Import procedure

To start the import procedure, click the Import button. It will open a small modal window for Operations with goods. There, you have to choose actions with groups of new and/or existing products on the site.

The following actions with goods groups are possible:

  • New products (present in the file, not on the site) - import/not import.

  • Products available (available in the file and already available at the site) - update/don't update.

  • Absent goods (absent in the file, but already present at the site) - do nothing/hide goods/change availability status (if stock update function is disabled).

Attention! The missing products action will apply to all items on the site that are not in the current import file. The default setting is Do Nothing. Do not change it if you do not plan to update all product positions.

Actions with photos during the import

Using import, you can replace and add new photos to products. If you have made a matching column with links to photos (Photos, Gallery), then in the action step in the modal window, a new additional Images field will appear where you can choose:

  • Overwrite - delete all existing product and/or gallery photos and replace them with images from the import file.

  • Add - images from the file will be added to the existing images.

Attention. The import will take considerably longer if you choose to upload photos. If there is no need to update or add pictures, we recommend excluding them from the import process to speed it up.

Stop the import

To pause the import process, click the Pause button. To resume the paused process, click Resume button. To stop and exit, click the Abort import button.

Import result

When all the product positions are processed, you will see the result page with the filter with the status of the product positions at the top.

  1. Success - the item was added or updated successfully, and all fields were added.

  2. Note - the item was added or updated successfully, but some fields were not successfully imported.

  3. Error - the element is not imported.

  4. Skipped - the item was excluded from import and missed.

    Detailed information about the product status is displayed when you hover the cursor on the icon in the line.

Downloading the import result report

It is possible to download the import report in XLSX format. To do this, after the import is complete, click Download Report.

The report file contains mandatory information about the item: article, name, category, and these columns:

  • Item import result - Imported/Imported with notes/Error/Skipped.

  • Report - explanation of the import result; in case of an error - its cause explanation.

Examples of errors in the report

  • The category was not found, or the category contains an invalid template

  • The parent product with the article code ##### doesn't exist - the product with the specified parent article code doesn't exist.

  • Incorrect image link - adding a photo to the product failed.

Using the report

You can quickly filter items in the report having errors or comments during import. Then you can find out what prevented these elements from being added to the site correctly and fix it.


You can use the report file to import new items if the structure of categories on your site does not match the category structure in the provider's uploads. To do this, download the report file, select the items not imported because you specified the wrong category, and indicate their correct types. You can import new elements from this file and then update their properties with the original import file.

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