Hierarchical Import using Components

[pierre66]

It sounds from research on the forum that a flat file can be built that will allow import down to the duplicate and component|attribute|choice level.

Does anyone out there build entire catalogs using such an import?

I have used importing to the product level in the past but then needed to go in and build all the components/attributes/choices...VERY time consuming! I am looking to expedite that whole process, if possible.

We keep our master product catalog in an Access db and can tweak that now (before the fall items get keyed in) to allow a flat file that might include the fields and data necessary to create a "fuller" import file...Meaning down to the component|attribute|choice level, and possibly even creating duplicates for the Section|Sub-Section|Product (one product per page) method of catalog design...

Can any of you point me to threads I missed or key suggestions/points to consider before I go down this route?

Thank you in advance!

[Bruce]

Peter,

It is possible to build and import a catalog using a Hierarchical file, flat file imports have their limitations. I would suggest going into Help | Help Topics and search for 'Hierarchical' it should bring up a few topics that will help you unerstand the structure. If you have a current catalog, then go into File | Export and there you can choose what to export, give it a file name and location to save etc and continue. This will create a .csv file in a Hierarchical format, you can use this base to make changes etc before reimporting back into Actinic.

Kind regards,