Article Import

Short description

This import is enabled for customers that manage their product data in the PIM component of Vendisto.

The Article XML import is the XML equivalent of the Article Excel import. These files enable the user to batch update product data in Vendisto.

The file can be upload by hand into Vendisto via the import/export dialog or by an automated process that is started when the file is placed in the correct upload location within in the FTP root.

If an optional field is left empty, or the element itself does not exist, the importer will use an empty string. Some translatable elements can be defined in serveral languages and may therefor occur more than once for different languages.

Delivery method

Update Frequency: Batch at least once a day

Incremental or complete set: Incremental

Filetype: Zipped XML

Filename: [SHOPNAME]_Articles_[INDEXNUMBER].xml Transport: over FTPS, FTPS Vendisto server hosted by INTEGRACE, file will be placed on FTPS server by ERP party.

Location within FTP root: \Vendisto\Integration\

Articl XML Structure

Changes from Article XML 1.0 to 1.1

  • Article XML 1.1 supports the classification of an ArticleGroup into multiple classifications and into multiple classificationnodes per classification. The Classification element is now embedded in a Classifications element. In order to classify an ArticleGroup into multiple ClassificationNodes per Classification, a Classify element wqs introduced to encapsulate the Level elements. The classification is identied by with an optional name element. For databases with only one classification, the name element is not needed.

  • ArticleGroupDefaultTitle now supports "ArticleTitle" as a fallback. If no ArticleTitle is found in the first article, the article number is used.

  • The article import now suppports "CreateUnknownAuthorizationProfiles".

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Import>
    <ImportSettings>
        <Importer>Articles</Importer>
        <Version>1.1</Version>
        <IsPartial>Y</IsPartial>
        <CreateUnknownClassificationPaths>Y</CreateUnknownClassificationPaths>
        <CreateUnknownAuthorizationProfiles>Y</CreateUnknownAuthorizationProfiles>
        <SplitArticlePropertyValuesInUnits>Y</SplitArticlePropertyValuesInUnits>
        <DisableGtinValidation>N</DisableGtinValidation>
        <DeleteNotImportedProperties>N</DeleteNotImportedProperties>    
        <ArticleGroupDefaultTitle>ArticleNumber</ArticleGroupDefaultTitle>    
        <EnableArticleGroupSplitting>N</EnableArticleGroupSplitting>    
    </ImportSettings>
    <ArticleGroups>
        <ArticleGroup id="">
            <Name lcid="">String</Name>
            <DescriptionHeader lcid="">String</DescriptionHeader>
            <DescriptionFooter lcid="">String</DescriptionFooter>
            <Brand>String</Brand>
            <Kind lcid="">String</Kind>
            <BluePencil transposed=""/>
            <Classifications>
                <Classification name="Classification1" declassify="">
                    <Classify>
                        <Level1 lcid="">string</Level1>
                        <Level2 lcid="">string</Level2>
                        <Level3 lcid="">string</Level3>
                        <Level4 lcid="">string</Level4>
                    </Classify>
                    <Classify>
                        <Level1 lcid="">string</Level1>
                        <Level2 lcid="">string</Level2>
                        <Level3 lcid="">string</Level3>
                        <Level4 lcid="">string</Level4>
                    </Classify>
                </Classification>
                <Classification name="Classification2" declassify="">
                    <Classify>
                        <Level1 lcid="">string</Level1>
                        <Level2 lcid="">string</Level2>
                        <Level3 lcid="">string</Level3>
                        <Level4 lcid="">string</Level4>
                    </Classify>
                </Classification>
            </Classifications>
            <Assets>
                <Logo>
                    <Name lcid="">String</Name>
                    <Value lcid="">String</Value>
                </Logo>
                <Image>
                    <Name lcid="">String</Name>
                    <Value lcid="">String</Value>
                </Image>
                <Icon>
                    <Name lcid="">String</Name>
                    <Value lcid="">String</Value>
                </Icon>
                <Document>
                    <Name lcid="">String</Name>
                    <Value lcid="">String</Value>
                </Document>
                <Media>
                    <Name lcid="">String</Name>
                    <Value lcid="">String</Value>
                </Media>
            </Assets>
            <Articles>
                <Article number="" gtin="" state="">
                    <Title lcid="">String</Title>
                    <Description lcid="">String</Description>
                    <TypeNumber lcid="">String</TypeNumber>
                    <Manufacturer gln="" mpn="" gtin=""/>
                    <SubGroup id="" index=""/>
                    <Assets>
                        <Logo>
                            <Name lcid="">String</Name>
                            <Value lcid="">String</Value>
                        </Logo>
                        <Image>
                            <Name lcid="">String</Name>
                            <Value lcid="">String</Value>
                        </Image>
                        <Icon>
                            <Name lcid="">String</Name>
                            <Value lcid="">String</Value>
                        </Icon>
                        <Document>
                            <Name lcid="">String</Name>
                            <Value lcid="">String</Value>
                        </Document>
                        <Media>
                            <Name lcid="">String</Name>
                            <Value lcid="">String</Value>
                        </Media>
                    </Assets>
                    <Properties>
                        <Property>
                            <Header>String</Header>
                            <Value lcid="">String</Value>
                            <Unit>String</Unit>
                            <Icon>String</Icon>
                            <BluePencil hidden="" spec="" index="">
                                <Description>String</Description>
                                <Icon>String</Icon>
                            </BluePencil>
                        </Property>
                    </Properties>
                    <AuthorizationProfiles>
                        <AuthorizationProfile>
                        </AuthorizationProfile>
                        <AuthorizationProfile>
                        </AuthorizationProfile>
                    </AuthorizationProfiles>
                </Article>
            </Articles>
            <SubGroups>
                <SubGroup id="">
                    <DescriptionHeader>String</DescriptionHeader>
                    <DescriptionFooter>String</DescriptionFooter>
                </SubGroup>
            </SubGroups>
        </ArticleGroup>
    </ArticleGroups>
</Import>

Fields XML

Some translatable elements can be defined in serveral languages. On ArticleGroup for the Name, DescriptionHeader, DescriptionFooter or Kind elements, on Classification for the differnt Level elements, on Article for the Title, Description and TypeNumber elements and on Property for the Value element. All these elements may therefor occur more than once if they are identified by different lcid attributes. On the Logo, Image, Icon, and Media Asset elements the Name element may occur more than once (for different languages) but the Value element, which has also a lcid attribute, may occur only once.

Import element:

Name

Description

Type

Required/Optional

ImportSettings

Container element for the import settings

Element

Required

ArticleGroups

Container for the ArticleGroup elements

Element

Required

ImportSettings element:

Importer

Name of the importer. Should be Articles.

Text

Optional

Version

Version of the import xml. Value must be set to 1.1

Text

Required

IsPartial

If set to N, articles that are not in the import will be suspended.

Boolean

Default: Y

Optional

CreateUnknownClassificationPaths

If set to Y, new classification nodes will be added. If set to N, an error will be generated if unknow classification nodes are encountered.

Boolean

Default: Y

Optional

CreateUnknownAuthorizationProfiles

If this field is true, non-existing authorization profiles are automatically created in Vendisto

Boolean Default: N

Optional

SplitArticlePropertyValuesInUnits

Automatically split units that are part of the Value field of property into the Unit field.

Boolean

Default: Y

Optional

DisableGtinValidation

If set to Y, the validation on the correctness of Gtin numbers is skipped in the import.

Boolean

Default: N

Optional

DeleteNotImportedProperties

If set to Y, the import will assume that the imported properties complete sets of properties for the imported articles. Properties that are available in the database but not imported will be deleted.

Boolean

Default: N

Optional

ArticleGroupDefaultTitle

The ArticleGroupDefaultTitle can be set to Undefined (this is the default value), ArticleNumber and ArticleTitle. If set to ArticleNumber this setting specifies that for new articles the ArticleNumber will be used as the title of the ArticleGroup when creating an articlegroup for the article if no Title element is present on the ArticleGroup XML. The same applies for ArticleTitle

ArticleGroupDefaultTitle Default: Undefined

Optional

EnableArticleGroupSplitting

If EnableArticleGroupSplitting is set to to Y (default value N) the article import requires that all of the articlegroup's articles are present in the article group node in the XML import. Articles that are not present in the node will be split from the articlegroup after updating the article. The default behaviour of this setting will in most cases be the expected behaviour. Leaving this setting tot N will enable the update of a single article with XML coming from the ERP without splitting the article from the articlegroup.

Boolean Default: N

Optional

The IsPartial element works on rows, not columns. A partial import will update or add the articles it contains, and will not delete articles that are not mentioned. For a specific article, the partial import assumes that the information that is offered is exhaustive, and will delete any information that is present in the database but not mentioned in the file.

ArticleGroup element:

Name

Description

Type

Required/Optional

id

The unique identifier of the article group

GUID

Optional

Name

The name of the article group

Text

Required

DescriptionHeader

The description header of the article group

Text

Optional

DescriptionFooter

The description footer of the article group

Text

Optional

Brand

The brand of the article group

Text

Optional

Kind

The kind of the article group

Text

Optional

BluePencil

Container element for the blue article group blue pencil data

Element

Optional

Classifications

Container element for the classification data

Element

Optional

Assets

Container element for the article group assets

Element

Optional

Articles

Container element for the articles in the article group

Element

Optional

SubGroups

The sub-groups of this group

Element

Optional

lcid

Attribute on Name, DescriptionHeader, DescriptionFooter or Kind. Default value is pre-configured import language.

LCID

Optional

BluePencil element:

Name

Description

Type

Required/Optional

transposed

Indicates if the article group table is transposed

Boolean

Default: N

Optional

Classification element:

Name

Description

Type

Required/Optional

name

Identifies the classification. Must be the name of the classification in the pre-configured import language.

Attribute, Text

Required if multiple classifications are present in the database. Otherwise optional.

declassify

Specifies if the article group should be decoupled from the current classification node

Attribute, Bool

Default: N

Optional

Classify element:

Name

Description

Type

Required/Optional

Level1

Level one classification nodes in the classification tree

Text

Optional

Level2

Level two classification nodes in the classification tree

Text

Optional

Level3

Level three classification nodes in the classification tree

Text

Optional

Level4

Level four classification nodes in the classification tree

Text

Optional

lcid

Attribute on Level1, Level2, Level3 or Level4. Default value is pre-configured import language.

LCID

Optional

Assets element:

Name

Description

Type

Required/Optional

Logo

Asset, that belongs to this Article or Article group

Element

Optional

Image

Asset, that belongs to this Article or Article group

Element

Optional

Icon

Asset, that belongs to this Article or Article group

Element

Optional

Media

Asset, that belongs to this Article or Article group

Element

Optional

Logo, Image, Icon, Media (Asset) element:

Name

Description

Type

Required/Optional

Name

Name of the asset, may occur more than once with different lcid attributes.

Text

Optional

Value

Value of the asset. Element may occur only once.

Text

Required

lcid

Attribute on Name or Value. Default value for the licd on the Name element is the pre-configured import language. If no lcid is specified on the Value element the asset will be available in all languages. Otherwise the asset will only be available in the specified language.

LCID

Optional

Article element:

Name

Description

Type

Required/Optional

Number

The article number of the article

GUID

Required

gtin

The “Global Trade Item Number” of the article

Text

Optional

state

Active / Suspended / Deleted

ArticleLifeTimeState

Optional

Title

The title of the article

Text

Optional

Description

A description of the article

Text

Optional

TypeNumber

The type number of the article

Text

Optional

Manufacturer

Container element for the article manufacturer data

Element

Optional

SubGroup

Container element for the article sub-group data

Element

Optional

Assets

Container element for the article assets

Element

Optional

Properties

Container element for the article properties

Element

Optional

AuthorizationProfiles

Container element for the article authorization profiles

Element

Optional

lcid

Attribute on Title, Description or TypeNumber. Default value is pre-configured import language.

LCID

Optional

Manufacturer element:

Name

Description

Type

Required/Optional

gln

The “Global Location Number” of the manufacturer

Text

Optional

mpn

The “Manufacturer Part Number”

Text

Optional

gtin

The “Global Trade Item Number”

Text

Optional

Article/SubGroup element:

Name

Description

Type

Required/Optional

id

The identifier of the sub-group that the article is in

GUID

Optional

index

The priority of the item in the sub group

Integer

Optional

Article/Property element:

Name

Description

Type

Required/Optional

Header

The name of the property

Text

Optional

Value

The value of the property

Text

Optional

Unit

The metric unit of the property

Text

Optional

Icon

The icon of the property

Text

Optional

BluePencil

Container for the blue pencil data of the property

Element

Optional

lcid

Attribute on Value. Default value is pre-configured import language.

LCID

Optional

Properties are always imported as a full set. When importing properties, the full set should be present, or alternatively no properties at all. If the file contains only a subset of the properties for a specific article, all properties that are not specified will be deleted.

Property/BluePencil element:

Name

Description

Type

Required/Optional

hidden

Indicates if the property should be displayed

Boolean

Default: N

Optional

spec

If the property is to be shown below the description header

Boolean

Default: N

Optional

index

The position of the property in the article table

Integer

Optional

Description

The description of the property

Text

Optional

Icon

Only god knows

Text

Optional

SubGroup element:

Name

Description

Type

Required/Optional

id

The identifier of the sub-group

GUID

Optional

DescriptionHeader

The description header of the sub-group

Text

Optional

DescriptionFooter

The description footer of the sub-group

Text

Optional

AuthorizationProfile element:

Name

Description

Type

Required/Optional

AuthorizationProfile

Name of a profile that is allowed for this article

Text

Optional

Types:

Type

Values

GUID

00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000

Boolean

Y, N

ArticleLifeTimeState

Active / Suspended / Deleted

ArticleGroupDefaultTitle

Undefined / ArticleNumber

LCID

Decimal value representing Windows LCID (Language Code Identifier).

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