Imports and review

Import a CSV or spreadsheet

Bring rows from a CSV, TSV, XLSX or XLS file into Biosphere, from upload to approved records. The example below imports a product list from Alder Supply with the columns SKU, Name and Category.

Prepare the file

• Put the column names in the first row. In a CSV file every column needs a name, and no two names may be the same.
• Include a column that identifies each row and never changes, such as the SKU or the supplier’s product code. Biosphere matches later files by it.
• Replace formulas with their values before you upload. Biosphere reads a spreadsheet formula as written, such as =B2*C2, not its result.
• Biosphere simplifies column names: “Unit Price” becomes unit_price. That’s the name you’ll see when mapping.
• Each sheet of a workbook is reviewed separately. Biosphere reads the first filled row of each sheet as its column names.
• To set variant options such as size or colour, name the columns Option Size and Option Colour. They become option fields when you import catalog variants.

Upload the file and choose its source

1. In Source above the upload area, choose Alder Supply, or create it.
2. Drop the file on Drop files here or choose files in Inbox or on the Files page.
3. Biosphere opens the file in Inbox. Check From shows Alder Supply. If you skipped step 1, choose it there.

The review shows a table of the rows exactly as read, and the number of rows read. If the workbook has several sheets, a menu at the top lists each sheet with its row count; choose the one to work on.

Map the columns

If this is the first file of its kind from Alder Supply, the mapping editor opens on its own.

1. In Record type, choose what each row is, such as Catalog variants. Select the Continue button.
2. In Source field identifying the variant, choose sku.
3. In Source record type, type products and choose Create “products”, then select Use record type.
4. Under Destination fields, check each field’s column. Columns named like a field are already chosen, such as sku for SKU and category for Category. Choose name for Item name. Leave the rest as Keep as source evidence. Select the Continue button.
5. Check the preview: valid records, records with issues and columns left unmapped. Select the Continue button.
6. In Mapping name, enter Alder product list. In Future application, choose Manual review or Automatic after validation.
7. Select the Save mapping version button.

See Map a source for every option.

Review and approve the rows

1. Select the Review changes button. Biosphere lists each record it would create or update. Nothing has changed yet.
2. Check the changes: how each row matched, and each field’s current and proposed value.
3. Select the Approve import button.

To approve only some rows, select Choose records first. See Review and approve changes.

Import the next file from the same supplier

Upload the next product list with Alder Supply as its source. When its columns are the same, Biosphere selects the saved mapping:

• With Manual review, open it in Inbox, select the Review changes button, then the Approve import button.
• With Automatic after validation, Biosphere applies it on arrival when it passes every check. Anything that needs a decision waits in Inbox.

If the supplier adds or renames a column, Biosphere asks for a new mapping. You can start it from the old one.

What to know

• Up to 10,000 rows per file and 25 MiB. A spreadsheet can have up to 100 sheets and 100,000 cells.
• In a CSV file, an empty cell means “no value”. By default this proposes clearing that field on an existing record. To leave the current value instead, open Field options on the field and choose Keep the current field.
• In a spreadsheet, an empty cell is skipped and the current value stays.
• In a CSV file, values that start with =, + or @, or with a minus sign followed by a letter, are imported as text with a warning that they may act as formulas if exported and opened in a spreadsheet.
• In a CSV file, rows with more or fewer columns than the header row are blocked. Fix them and upload the file again, or approve the other rows with Choose records.
• To put several SKUs under one catalog item, map a column that is the same on each of those rows to Item reference.