There are three possible ways to import global attributes to your store:
via a products.csv file
A products.csv file is a general file for importing all products related info. You can use it to import global attributes and assign them to products. See the field properties definition in CSV Import: Products.
via a product-attributes.csv file
A product-attributes.csv file is a general file for importing all product attribute-related info. You can use it to import global attributes and assign them to products. See the field properties definition in CSV Import: Product Attribute Values.
via an attributes.csv file
An attributes.csv file is a file specially intended for importing all possible types, including global attributes. It can be used to import global attributes without assigning them to products. See the field properties definition in CSV Import: Classes & Attributes.
A store admin can get each of the files mentioned above by exporting them via the CSV Export page of the store's Admin area.
X-Cart 5.4.x - Catalog > Export
X-Cart 5.5.x - Catalog > Import & Export > CSV Export
Here the "Products" checkbox stands for a products.csv file, "Classes & Attributes" - for attributes.csv, and "Product attribute values" - for product-attributes.csv.
Importing Global Attributes via Products.csv
A products.csv file is a general file for importing all product-related info and contains all possible information about a product imported into a store. Using products.csv, you can create global attributes and assign them to products. Still, the file itself is so big that it's easier and less confusing to use the other two ways of importing global attributes instead. Therefore, the products.csv file is suitable for importing global attributes and the rest of the product info. However, do mind that the products.csv file doesn't allow to set the field types of an attribute.
Let's consider the sample below:
A field that defines whether a product has a global attribute assigned to it is the [attribute_name]: (field:global) format, where [attribute_name] stands for a name of a global attribute. The [attribute_name]: (field:global) field can be multivalue, the options being divided with && from each other. If a global attribute belongs to a group of attributes the field format will be [attribute_name]: (field:global)>>>[group_name].
The minimum required fields to import global attributes via a products.csv file are SKU, name, and [attribute_name]: (field:global).
You can find more info on the fields and field values used in the products.csv file in the CSV Import: Products guide.
Importing Global Attributes via Product-Attributes.csv
A product-attributes.csv file contains the info on all attributes available in the store, including global, product class, product-specific attribute, and attributes allocation to products. Using product-attributes.csv, you can import global attributes separately from all other product-related info and assign them to products.
Let's consider the sample below:
Here, the fields you should pay special attention to are the "name" and "owner" fields. If these two fields are defined for a product SKU with the "class" field being empty, the row stands for a global attribute assigned to this product, where the "name" field value defines a global attribute name.
If you need to import global attributes via the product-attributes.csv file and assign them to products, the minimum required fields for your import file will be:
productSKU: Defines a product SKU for which the global attributes will be set.
type: Defines a global attribute type (check the attribute types described in Attribute Value Field Types).
name: Defines a name of a global attribute.
owner: If the field value is NO, and the "class" field value is empty, it defines that the row stands for a global attribute.
value: Defines the name of a global attribute option. You should specify each new global attribute option in a separate row.
The rest of the fields are optional. You can find more info on the fields and field values used in the product-attributes.csv file in the CSV Import: Classes & Attributes guide.
Importing Global Attributes via Attributes.csv
An attributes.csv file contains the info about all product attributes available in your store, including global, product class, and product-specific attributes. Using the attributes.csv file, you can import global attributes to your store without assigning them to products.
Let's consider the sample below:
The fields that distinguish a global attribute are:
type: Defines a type of a global attribute. This field must be filled in and stands for a global attribute type.
name: Defines a name of a global attribute. If only the "type," "name," and "options" fields have values with all the rest fields being empty, the "name" field defines a name of a global attribute. The field can be multilanguage (like "name_en" in our sample) if a store has more than one language pack installed. The value for each language will differ by a language suffix (_en for English, _de for German, etc.)
options: Defines the names of the attribute option values. If this field has a value along with the "name" and "type" fields, it stands for the names of the global attribute options. The field can be multi-valued with the options' values separated from each other with &&. The field can also be multilanguage (like "options_en" in our sample) if a store has more than one language pack installed. The value for each language will differ by a language suffix (_en for English, _de for German, etc.)
If you need to import global attributes to your store, the import file's required fields will be type, name, and options. The group field is optional, as there may be no groups for global attributes.
You can find more info on the field values used in the attributes.csv file in the CSV Import: Classes & Attributes guide.
Related pages: