Creating data in CSV format
You can create data for loading into your database with the Data Load utility in a CSV
formatted file. The easiest way to create this data is to download a sample CSV file to use as a
starting point.
About this task
The following image displays an example of a CSV file that you can use to load catalog data; this
example uploads a sales catalog:
In the CSV file:
In the CSV file:
- The first row contains the keyword that corresponds to the business object you are loading. This
keyword is case-sensitive. For example,
Catalog
for catalogs, orCatalogEntry
for catalog entries. - The second row contains the column headings for the object you are loading. For example, the
object
Identifier
orShortDescription
.Important: These column headings are case-sensitive and must match the name that the column maps to within the business object mediator. If the business object configuration file for the object that you are loading includes a mapping for the column, the name must match the name within the configuration file mapping. The configuration file must then map the column to the business object mediator. - The remaining rows of the file include data values that correspond to the column headings that you include in the file.
Important: If you are loading data with a specific component-based mediator, your
CSV file must contain only one type of business object. In other words, do not combine two different
CSV files into one larger CSV file. Your CSV files can contain multiple objects for a particular
business object type. For example, you can load many catalog entries in a single CSV file that uses
the catalog entry mediator. If you specify that the Data Load utility is to use the table object
based mediator, you can combine multiple types of business objects in a single file. For more
information about the available component and table object based mediators, see
Procedure
-
Download a sample CSV file to use as your starting point. Save the sample CSV file with a new
name in a folder on your computer. If you are loading data for a business object type that does not
have a sample, create an empty file to include your CSV formatted data.
You can download a sample CSV file from a provided Data Load sample. For more information, see Samples: Data Load utility.
-
Open the CSV file that you downloaded or created.
Use a text editor or a spreadsheet editor that can save in UTF-8 format, such as Open Office Calc.Note:
- Before you edit the CSV file, ensure that you review the following topic: General data load best practices for CSV input files.
- CSV formatted data is highly flexible and prone to errors. Manually editing comma delineated data can lead to unintentional segmentation, or formatting errors which can cause your data to become not loadable or incorrect.
- Optional:
Edit the first row in your file to specify a keyword that identifies the type of business
object that you are loading. The keyword is optional for the Data Load utility, but you are
recommended to include the keyword when one is applicable. By specifying a keyword, you can load the
CSV file with the Data Load utility or provide the file to business users to edit and use with the
Management Center Catalog Upload feature.
When you are specifying a keyword, select one of the following keywords. These keywords are case-sensitive, so ensure that you type the keyword exactly as shown:
Attachment
AttachmentAsset
AttachmentAssetLanguage
AttachmentDescription
AttributeDictionaryAttributeAllowedValues
AttributeDictionaryAttributeAndAllowedValues
AttributeDictionaryAttributeFolderRelationship
Catalog
CatalogDescription
CatalogGroup
CatalogGroupAsset
CatalogGroupAssociation
CatalogGroupAttachment
CatalogGroupCalculationCode
CatalogGroupDescription
CatalogGroupRelationship
CatalogGroupSEO
CatalogEntry
CatalogEntryAsset
CatalogEntryAssociation
CatalogEntryATPInventory
CatalogEntryAttachment
CatalogEntryAttributeDictionaryAttributeRelationship
CatalogEntryCalculationCode
CatalogEntryComponent
CatalogEntryDescription
CatalogEntryDescriptiveAttributeAndValue
CatalogEntryDescriptionOverride
CatalogEntryDescriptionUpdate
CatalogEntryInventory
CatalogEntryOfferPrice
CatalogEntryParentCatalogGroupRelationship
CatalogEntryParentProductRelationship
CatalogEntrySEO
CatalogEntryUpdate
CatalogFilter
CatalogFilterCategory
CatalogFilterCatentry
CatalogFilterCondition
CatalogFilterConditionGroup
ListPriceList
MarketingActivity
MarketingCampaign
MarketingContent
MarketingContentAttachment
MarketingContentAttachmentDescription
MarketingContentDescription
MarketingContentImageMap
MarketingElement
MarketingElementNVP
MarketingSpot
MarketingSpotDefaultContent
MarketingSpotDefaultTitle
MemberGroup
MemberGroupCondition
MemberGroupDescription
Offer
ProductDefiningAttributeAndAllowedValues
SKUDefiningAttributeValue
- Optional:
In the second row, edit the column headers that are for identifying the data for a business
object. Add or remove any optional column headings to match the data values that you are
loading.
For more information about the columns that you can specify for any supported types of business objects, see the topics under the Data Load utility CSV column and XML element definitions topic. If you are creating a CSV file for a custom business object type, or loading multiple types of business objects, the column headings must match the column mappings in your business object configuration file.
- Delete the sample data in the third row and all subsequent rows of data in your copied sample CSV file.
-
Starting with the third row, specify the values for your business objects in the mandatory and
optional columns. Separate the value for each column with the appropriate delimiter
characters.
Notes:
- Each column value must be separated with the expected token delimiter character. By default,
this character is a comma (
,
). - If you are specifying a string that includes spaces or special characters as a column value,
enclose the string in the configured token value delimiter character. This delimiter is used to
indicate the beginning and the end of a string. The default tokenValueDelimiter character is the
double quotation mark ("). As an example, the following string includes commas and white spaces and
is enclosed in the tokenValueDelimeter:
"Men's fashions for business, casual, and formal occasions"
- To indicate the end of the record for an object and to begin a new object record, include the line, or record, delimiter character. By default, this delimiter character is the newline character. With this default configuration, the CSV data reader reads each line in the file as a separate object record. If you include data for a column or record across multiple lines in your file, you can encounter errors or issues with the load process or with your data. If you want data for a column to span multiple lines, enclose the data within the configured tokenValueDelimiter characters. If you want data for an entire record to span multiple lines you must configure a new record delimiter to identify the end of each record.
- Each column value must be separated with the expected token delimiter character. By default,
this character is a comma (
- Save your CSV file.