Video




Preface


This video and article will demonstrate how you can use the CSV importer to update product data in GroovePacker. This is handy in a number of different scenarios, and we'll be doing an overview of how to update all of your inventory counts - say, from a new file from your shopping cart or your order manager.



Exporting data for bulk changes


If you're making a change to products that are already in GroovePacker the easiest method is to create a product export from GroovePacker. This can include all of your products or you a selection of your items. This article shows the product export process. It's also possible to use the products section of the backup file as shown in the video. Both options work however there are two advantages to exporting from the products list. First, you can choose a specific status "Active" or "New" products and you can search for specific keywords and categories to export only a portion of the products. Second, you'll find a pre-made import map (GP Product Exp Standard) ready to import the csv format that is created during the export.



Backup


Backups are your friend! Always take a backup when using the CSV importer, as it ensures you can restore your products if needed.  

 

Follow this article to create a backup.


Process




  1. To begin you'll need a CSV file from shopping cart / order manager , or a CSV from GroovePacker's product export.
    You can modify the file if needed, then import all of your new data and possible modifications. If you'll be modifying and saving your changes please take care to use the text data type when opening the original file as explained here.
  2. Click on Settings at the top
  3. If you already have a CSV store open it by clicking on it's name. (if no CSV store exists yet you can create one by clicking "Create Store" for the Store settings menu on the left)
  4. In the CSV store window, scroll down to the Product Import section
  5. Select the CSV file stored on your computer
  6. If the file is in the same format (ie same number of columns in the same column order) as a file that was previously imported you should already have a map that can be used to import the file. It will likely be selected already in the map drop-down for you. If this is your first upload with a new file format please use the "Clear Map" option so you can create a new map rather than using the selected map. 
  7. If you would like to check that the map is set up correctly for the current file (always a good idea) or if you would like to make changes to an existing map, click "Edit Map" while it is selected. If you click "edit map" or import while no map is selected a new one will be created.
    Note: The default settings are usually okay for most imports.
  8. In most cases, you'll want to leave the default, 3rd option selected. If you would like GroovePacker to ignore any SKUs in the file that have not previously been imported and only update existing items you can choose the 2nd option.
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Giving the map a name will allow you to easily reuse it later:

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All columns that are mapped will be created if they do not exist or updated if they do. Some fields can have multiple entries such as SKU, Barcode, and Category. For this reason they are "additive", meaning that new values are added in addition to the previous values. If you wish to delete entries in these fields you can find the method to do so here. The SKU is always required when importing. If you're updating data for existing products it will be the SKU that is used to associate the new data to the existing data. 

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Next, we click import. when the import completes it'll give you the report of how many new and updated products there were.
 
If we go to the CSV importer, our CSV map should be saved and we can re-use it with a file that has the same column order and number of columns.  This makes it really fast to update your product data when the columns in your file are consistent from file to file. 

If you run into any issues, don't hesitate to contact support using the support icon  - we're here to help!


Here is a transcription for the video above:

I'd like to show you how to use the Product CSV Importer to update your products in Groove Packer. This is useful if you need to change inventory, add bin locations, or make any modifications. You can start with a CSV file exported from your shopping cart or order manager. If you don't have a file to work from and all your products are in Groove Packer, you can use our backup exporter to create a starting file, which you can then modify and import.


To begin, go to the backup section and click on "Download Backup." Whenever you update products using a CSV, it's important to download a backup of your product database using the backup exporter. This ensures you can restore your product data if needed. The download may take around a minute, and you'll receive a zip file. Inside, you'll find several CSV files, but the only one you need to worry about is the "products" file.


Open the "products" file, and you'll see columns for name, SKU, barcode, and other relevant information. Towards the front are the common columns, while secondary, tertiary, barcode, and SKU are located later in the file. There are other fields you might want to change, such as special instructions for packing specific items. Feel free to make the necessary edits.


Now, in Groove Packer, select the file by going to the settings section and choosing the CSV option. Ensure that no map is selected. If there's an existing map, clear it. Clicking either "Edit" or "Import" will open the mapping window. The default starting row is usually 2, assuming the first row contains headers. If your file doesn't have headers on the first row, change this value to 1. Generally, you won't need to modify the other settings.


You can give the mapping a name, such as "Inventory Update," especially if you're updating inventory with this file. Depending on whether you're importing new products or updating existing ones, choose the appropriate option. If the products already exist in Groove Packer and you're updating specific fields, select the second option. The third option is for creating new products, while the first option is solely for adding new products without any updates.


If you're updating inventory, the essential fields to map are SKU (used by Groove Packer to recognize items) and available quantity. Select "inventory count" for the available quantity, even if it's zero for all products. That's all you need to do. The importer will use the SKU to overwrite the existing inventory in Groove Packer with the values from the incoming file. If you want to update additional fields like a secondary barcode, choose the corresponding field and it will automatically overwrite the existing values.


To remove a mapped field, simply click the "X" next to it. Once you have everything set up as desired, click "Import." The importer will show the status and provide a message indicating how many products were updated and if any new products were created. In this case, only updates are expected, so there should be zero new products and a certain number of products updated.


You can also reuse the same map for future updates. To do this, go back to the CSV section, and you'll see the "Inventory Update" map selected. Choose a file with the same format and number of columns, and then select the map. Click "Import Products" to initiate the import process directly without opening the product mapper. This allows for quick and easy updates using the same map.