It is possible to export data from Actinic. Information is usually exported as a hierarchical file (for details about hierarchical files see What Is A Hierarchical File?) and you can also export product data as a 'Froogle Data Feed' (see below).
The data that is available to export is:
· Catalog - The entire content tree. Includes all sections, products, brochure pages, components, attributes etc.
· Shipping Tables- All the zones and classes from 'Business Settings | Shipping and Handling (see Zones and Classes).
· Customer Accounts - All the customer account data in 'Operations | Customer Accounts' (see Customer Account Overview).
Go to 'File | Export' to start the 'Export Wizard'.
On the first screen, read the information and click 'Next'.
On the next screen, select the information that you want to export (see above for details). Then click 'Next'.
The fields on the final screen are described below:
|
Field |
Meaning |
|
File Name |
Enter the name of the file that you want to create with the export. Use the 'Browse' button if necessary. |
|
What type of file do you want to import? |
Specify whether the file you are exporting will be comma-delimited or tab-delimited (whether the fields are separated by commas or tabs). |
|
What character set was used to create the file? |
Specify whether the character set in the export file will be ANSI (Windows applications) or DOS (older DOS or Apple Mac applications). Most of the time, you can just leave this as 'ANSI'. |
When you are ready, just click 'Finish' to create the file.
Note: If you want to generate a flat file from a hierarchical file then open the hierarchical file in a spreadsheet application like Excel. Then you can use the 'Data | Sort' command to sort the first column alphabetically. This will group all your products together in one group as they all have the word 'Product' in the first column. You can then delete all the other rows (except the 'Header:Product' row) to create a flat file of all your products.
Actinic has the ability to be able to export your store data as a 'Froogle Data Feed'. This is a special format of data, designed to be read into the online shopping engine at http://www.froogle.com/.
Go to 'Marketing | Export Froogle Data Feed' to generate the file.
· If your store is based in the United Kingdom or the EU, you will need to select the 'Include Tax in Product Prices' checkbox, as Froogle lists prices including tax for these areas.
· If you want to exclude product duplicates from the export, then leave 'Exclude Product Duplications' selected
· If you want to make sure you only include products that can be ordered online, then you need to leave 'Exclude Products that Cannot be Purchased Online' selected
The data is saved as a tab-delimited text file on your PC. You will then need to register at http://www.froogle.com/ in order to be able to add your shop data to Froogle.
More details can be found online at http://www.froogle.com/.