The Import/Export plugin moves product and order data between your Orbit Commerce store and external files. You can bring product data in from suppliers and other systems, and send your own product or order data out to spreadsheets and other systems. Files are handled in CSV, Excel, XML and JSON formats, with a visual tool for matching the columns in your file to the fields in your store. Depending on your plan, feeds can also run automatically on a schedule.
Features
- Supported file formats: CSV, Excel (XLSX), XML and JSON, for both import and export. Tab-separated TXT files also work for exports, and for imports from a web address or an SFTP server.
- Products and orders: import product data from a file; export either product data or order data from your store. Order data is export only and cannot be imported.
- Sources: pull import files from a web address, upload a file directly from your computer, or connect to an SFTP server.
- Field mapping: match each column in your file to the matching store field using a visual mapper that shows a sample value from your file alongside each column.
- Match by identifier: choose whether incoming rows are matched to existing products by SKU, Barcode or Handle (Slug).
- Import behaviour: update existing products only, create new products only, or create and update in one pass. New feeds start on Update only.
- Variants and options: import multi-variant products using option columns (for example Option 1 Name and Option 1 Value), grouped by product handle.
- Scheduling: run feeds automatically on a schedule. Whether you can schedule feeds, how many you can schedule and how often they can run depend on your plan.
- Rows per run: how many rows one run can process depends on your plan.
- Run history: every import run records how many rows were created, updated, skipped or errored, with a per-row log so you can see exactly what happened. Export runs record how many rows were exported.
Before you start
A few things to have ready before your first feed:
- A sample of your file. Open it and check the first row. If the first row contains column names (such as SKU, Price, Quantity), that is a header row, which the plugin expects by default.
- A unique identifier in your data. To update existing products, each row needs a value the plugin can match on: a SKU, Barcode or Handle. Decide which one your file uses and make sure it is filled in consistently.
- UTF-8 encoding. CSV and XML files are read as UTF-8 text. Files saved in another encoding (for example a Windows code page) may show corrupted accented characters or currency symbols. If in doubt, re-save the file as CSV UTF-8 from your spreadsheet program.
- Plain number prices. Prices must be plain numbers such as 1299.00. A currency symbol or a thousands separator in a price stops it importing correctly.
- Large files. For large data sets, use a web address or an SFTP server rather than an upload.
- Access details for remote sources. If you are pulling from a web address, have the full address of the file, reachable without a login. For SFTP, have the host, port (usually 22), username, password and the path to the file on the server.
Getting started
- Open the Orbit Commerce dashboard and go to Plugins.
- Find Import/Export in the plugin store and install it. When prompted, approve the requested permissions; the plugin needs to read and change products, read orders and read your store settings.
- Once installed, open Import/Export from the dashboard menu. The Feeds page lists every import and export you have set up.
- Select Create feed to open the setup wizard, which walks you through the feed's basics, its source and a review before you save. Field mapping comes next, on the feed's own page.
- After saving, map your fields and run the feed once manually to confirm it behaves as expected. If your plan includes scheduling, you can then set it to repeat.
Importing
An import reads a file and creates or updates products in your store. To set one up:
- On the Feeds page, select Create feed.
- Basics: give the feed a clear name (for example Supplier Stock Feed) and choose Products import. Orders cannot be imported.
- Source: choose where the file comes from.
- From URL: paste the full address of the file, such as a supplier stock feed.
- Upload File: choose a file from your computer. The format is detected automatically from the file extension.
- SFTP: enter the host, port, username, password and the remote file path. Then confirm the File Format and tick First row is header if your file starts with a row of column names.
- Schedule (optional): if your plan includes scheduling, set the feed to run automatically, or leave it off to run manually.
- Review, then select Create Feed. The feed's page opens.
- Field Mapping: select Configure Mapping. Field mapping reads a preview of your file, which is why it comes after saving. Choose the Product Identifier used to match rows to existing products (SKU, Barcode or Handle (Slug)). Then, in the Column Mapping table, match each column from your file to the matching store field. The table shows a sample value from your file next to each column to help you choose correctly. Common targets include Product Name, Description, Price, Compare At Price, Cost Price, Stock Quantity, Barcode and Brand. Select Save Mapping when you are done.
- Import Behaviour: decide whether the feed should update only (never add new products), create only (ignore products already in your store) or create and update.
- Select Run Now to process the file.
After a run finishes, open it from the feed's Run History to see totals for created, updated, skipped and errored rows, plus a per-row log showing the outcome of each line and any error message.
Importing product variants
To import a product with several variants (for example different sizes or colours), give every variant row the same handle, map that column to Handle (Slug), and fill in the option columns: Option 1 Name and Option 1 Value, and up to Option 3 if needed. Variant-specific values such as SKU, Price and Stock Quantity belong on each row, while product-level values such as Product Name and Description are taken from the first row of each handle. For variant imports, the run totals count products rather than rows.
Exporting
An export writes data from your store into a file you can download. To set one up:
- On the Feeds page, select Create feed.
- Basics: name the feed and choose Products export or Orders export.
- Source: choose the Export Format (CSV, XLSX, JSON, XML or TXT), then tick the fields you want in the file.
- For product exports you can include product details, SEO fields, and variant fields such as SKU, Price, Stock Quantity and Barcode. Each product is one row, using its first variant's values.
- For order exports you can include Order Number, Order Status, Payment Status, Customer Email, Total, Subtotal, Shipping Amount, Discount Amount, Tax Amount, Notes and Order Date.
- Export options and Destination: adjust the export, and choose Download to download the file yourself.
- Schedule (optional): if your plan includes scheduling, set the export to repeat automatically.
- Review, then select Create Feed. On the feed's page, select Run Now. When the run completes, download the file from the feed's Run History.
Scheduling
Depending on your plan, a feed, import or export, can run on a recurring schedule. In the Schedule step of the wizard, select Enable Schedule and choose a Schedule Frequency. Which frequencies you can choose, and how many feeds you can schedule, depend on your plan.
Scheduled feeds run automatically in the background using the connection you set up, so web address and SFTP sources are well suited to unattended, repeating imports. You can pause or resume a schedule from the Feeds page, or change it by editing the feed.
Settings
On the plugin's Settings tab you choose the timezone used for schedule times. It starts on London time.
Troubleshooting
Field Mapping shows no columns. Field mapping reads a preview of your file. Check that the File Format matches the actual file, that the first row holds column names, and that the source (web address, upload or SFTP path) is correct, then select Retry Preview.
Accented characters or currency symbols look wrong after import. This is almost always a file encoding problem. The plugin reads CSV and XML as UTF-8. Re-save the file as CSV UTF-8 from your spreadsheet program and re-upload it.
A CSV file will not parse, or columns are misaligned. This usually means the quoting is malformed, for example unescaped quotation marks inside a value. Open the file in a spreadsheet program, confirm it displays in clean columns, and re-export it as a standard CSV. Field mapping needs a header row, so keep First row is header ticked.
Prices are wrong after an import. Prices must be plain numbers such as 1299.00. Remove currency symbols and thousands separators from the price columns, then run the feed again.
Products are duplicated or not updating. Check the Product Identifier you chose (SKU, Barcode or Handle) and make sure that value is present and consistent on every row. If new products keep appearing when you expected updates, set the import behaviour to Update only; if existing products are not changing, ensure the match value in your file exactly matches the value stored against the product.
My upload was rejected. Uploads must use a supported extension (CSV, XLSX, XML or JSON). For large data sets, use a web address or an SFTP server instead. How many rows one run can process depends on your plan.
Support
For help with this plugin, visit the Orbit Commerce Help Centre (opens in a new tab), or use the Support link below.