Managing your image library has never been easier.

Bulk upload / export your images and product information in one go via CSV!  
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A CSV is a comma separated values file, which allows data to be saved in a table-structured format. CSVs look like other common spreadsheets but do not contain formatting and have the .csv extension. CSVs can be used with any spreadsheet program, such as Microsoft Excel, Open Office Calc, Google Spreadsheets or Apple Numbers.

CSV data import helps you manage your product information in the image library by enabling you to:

• Bulk import product caption information from a CSV spreadsheet (rather than image-by-image, field-by-field)

• Export your product caption info in a CSV spreadsheet to edit / update it offline, then reimport it
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There are three ways you can bulk import your images to your Press Loft image library using a CSV file: 

1. Upload a CSV with the caption information first, then manually upload images one by one.

2. Manually upload all your images first, then export a CSV file of the images in your library (All Images Export.csv), then re-import the CSV with the caption information.

3. Upload a CSV with all of the caption information including a link to a high resolution image file on your website. You must have high-res images available online for this option.
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Export a CSV file of all of your image data (All images export.cvs) for editing in a spreadsheet program when you need to:

• Make changes to product info on many products such as pricing, description, keywords etc
• Add new languages and/or foreign currencies to your products (see our section on formatting International Settings)

You can find this on Image Library > Product Feed > Select 'CSV' > Export image data as a csv file. 

1. Download the CSV sample file (or a CSV of all your current image library data) and open it in a spreadsheet program (e.g. Microsoft Excel, Open Office Calc, Google Spreadsheets, or Apple Numbers). 

• Pre-formatted CSV sample file: sample file.csv
​• All image data CSV file - all images export.csv
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OR

 
You can convert an existing spreadsheet that you have to a CSV file (but you’ll need to make some changes to it). 

• To save an existing spreadsheet as a CSV: File / Save As / CSV (comma delimited) (*.csv)

When you save your CSV, there may be a message that your file ’may contain features that are not compatible with CSV'. Just click 'Yes' to continue
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​ 2. Add (or edit) your product data under the importable fields in the first row (column headings)
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Here are the importable fields Press Loft uses:

*pressloft_id
Press Loft's unique id for your product.  If you are adding new products you can leave this field blank.  When editing products do not change this id because we use it to identify which product you are editing.

*product_name
The name of your product – this field is mandatory to create a new product image's text description 

*description
How the product is described in the image gallery in a text description 

*keywords
The keywords that apply to the product (5 keywords are required for live images) – alphanumeric keywords, separated by a comma 

*categories 
1 or 2 (max) category IDs that apply to the product, separated by a slash ( / ). You can download the list of product categories here

product_link
The url linking to the product page on your online shop / website e.g. www.yourstore.com/product/the-thing 

hi_res_image_link
A link to a high-res image of the product on a website that will import the image e.g. www.yourbrand.com/images/your-image.jpg 

your_product_code
The stock-keeping unit number that you use for inventory (an alphanumeric code) 

*These attributes are required for your images to go live
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DELETE ANY UNSUPPORTED FIELD NAMES (IF YOU ARE CONVERTING AN EXISTING SPREADSHEET):
It works best if you delete columns with field names that Press Loft does not support before you upload your CSV. We do have a column-matching tool that will allow you to ignore or rename columns with unsupported field names that have been uploaded. However, we find it’s easier to just delete this information on your CSV before you upload.

 
​4. Save your CSV file and upload it using our tool.

a) Click the folder icon
b) Browse to select your CSV file
c) Press the ‘Upload CSV’ button
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What happens if some of the fields in my CSV are missing?
If you are using the CSV importer to add new products, the only mandatory fields are unique_image_id and product_name. For any other field, if they are left blank you can always add that info later. For example, if you do not want to add Categories to your spreadsheet you could select a category manually afterwards in the image editor by clicking on the image in the image library. 

What happens if the image I link to is low-res?
If you link to a low-res image in your CSV, the low-res image will still upload to your image gallery but you'll need to replace it with a high-res image later for the product image to go live.
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​What are the image requirements for hi-res images?
For your images to go live they must be:

• JPEG format
• 300 dpi
• At least 10cm x 10cm
• At least 1000 x 1000 pixels
• No larger than 8MB
• At least 100KB

Can I use formulas in a CSV?
CSVs are unformatted so you cannot create or use formulas / macros (as you would in Excel, for example). If you want to have this functionality, you can save the CSV file as a .xlsx (for example), apply your formulas, then re-save as a CSV. 

REACH OUT

If you have any questions or need help with your Press Loft account, please do not hesitate to get in touch with the Press Loft team