To start using X-Cart's AutoSync integration with your X-Cart online store:
Sign up for an account with AutoSync.
Ensure that the add-on "AutoSync" is installed and enabled at your X-Cart store. (See add-on management instructions for X-Cart 5.5).
Note that X-Cart's AutoSync integration requires a few other add-ons for operation:
"Auto catalog import" (provides building blocks for catalog provider integrations)
"CloudSearch" & "CloudFilters"
The above-named add-ons need to be installed and kept enabled for as long as you will be using the AutoSync integration.
Ensure that the "Time zone" setting for your X-Cart store has been adjusted properly; it can be found on the Localization > Units & Formats page of your X-Cart store's Admin area.
Important: The time zone specified in php.ini in your store's server environment must be the same as the time zone specified in your X-Cart store's Localization settings.
Check with the X-Cart team to make sure the necessary server environment setup required for your X-Cart store to use AutoSync integration has been completed.
Obtain an API key for access to AutoSync API. See Getting Your API Key for AutoSync.
Save the API key in your AutoSync integration settings. See Saving Your Web API Key in Your AutoSync Integration Settings.
Configure your AutoSync import options. See Configuring the Import Options.
The import of prices from AutoSync is possible only in US Dollar. Consider whether you will need to perform currency conversion for prices imported from AutoSync and complete the necessary setup for currency and price conversion accordingly. See the guide on Setting up the Currency & Price Conversion for more details.
Note that your store's default currency is specified in your store's Localization settings (Store > Localization, Currencies tab). For more information on X-Cart store configuration related to currencies, see Currency.
Enable AutoSync visualization features for your store (This includes configuring the general settings for your X-Cart store's AutoSync integration add-on and adjusting some setting in the AutoSync portal; see Enabling AutoSync Visualization Features and Configuring AutoSync Add-on Settings).
For lossless import of vehicles and fitments data from AutoSync, your store is required to use the Make/Model/Year/Submodel MMY configuration. You can check and adjust your store's MMY configuration on the Vehicles & Fitments Settings page in the Admin backend (Catalog > Vehicles & Fitments, Settings tab). For more information on catalog data import, see About Catalog Data Import from AutoSync.
AutoSync integration will import information about brands that are marked as active in your account. You can check what brands are active and will be imported in your AutoSync account backend.
Configure category mapping rules; see Category Mapping for AutoSync.
Import your active AutoSync brands into your store. The brands imported from AutoSync will be added to the brands list on the Data import page for AutoSync integration. Please be aware that in the event of any changes to the list of active brands on the AutoSync end, you will need to perform a re-import of brands to ensure the list of brands in your store is updated accordingly. See Importing Brands from AutoSync.
Сonfigure category mapping rules; see Category Mapping for Automotive Integrations.
If you wish to use automated catalog imports from AutoSync that will be done periodically on a schedule, configure the import schedule for your AutoSync integration. See Configuring the Import Schedule for AutoSync.
Import vehicle data. See Importing Vehicles from AutoSync.
After importing brands, you need to configure your import preferences for each of the brands. Each brand will have its own data import settings, so you will be able to fine-tune your catalog data import on a per-brand basis. For details on configuring catalog data import, see Brand-specific Configuration of Catalog Data Import for AutoSync.
Let the integration import catalog data from AutoSync. Depending on how you have configured your catalog data import preferences for specific brands, the import will be done automatically on schedule or will have to be initiated manually. See Importing Catalog Data from AutoSync. Once the data has been imported from AutoSync, you should be able to see the imported products in your store's catalog.
Check the imported products and adjust their quantity in stock and status (active/inactive) to reflect their actual availability. If there are any new products imported into your X-Cart store with the status "Inactive" (as set in the Import Options), you will need to change their availability status to "Active" so your store's visitors will be able to see them. You may find it convenient to apply changes to multiple products at once by using the Bulk Editing feature.
Note that if you are going to enable filtering by wheel- and tire-related attributes for products imported from AutoSync, the quantity in stock for such products should be above zero.
To enable attribute-based filtering for AutoSync products, enable the necessary attribute-based filters and enable their display in your store's wheel and tire category/-ies. See Setting up Attribute-based Product Filtering for AutoSync Integration.
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