How to import your product data

This article will teach you how to import new product data from CSV files in My Catalog so you can design with products you want in your Canvas.

Table view in My Catalog is the tool used to import products as new releases drop or client projects with specific furniture specs are added to your workload. Here is where you can upload custom furniture pieces and any products you design with on a daily basis that are not already in Canoa's Public Catalogs.

With this feature, you will be able to create, import, and maintain products to your Catalog. If you are a supplier, you will also be able to publish these new products to Canoa's Public Catalogs (with the help of the Canoa team) for all designers and users to discover.

Types of data supported by Canoa:

Data Type	File Type
2D vectors	.dwg, .dxf, .3dm
3D surfaces	.dwg, .dxf, .3dm
3D solids	.dwg, .dxf, .3dm
3D meshes	.dwg, .dxf, .3dm
Images	.png, .jpg, .gif
Structured data	.xls, .csv
Attachments	.pdf

Understanding and using Products

Now, choose one of two ways to create and import your new product data:

Option 1: Create a new product directly on My Catalog

This option is helpful if you are creating a few new products and have all the product data readily available. This is a manual process to bring in your own product data.

• Head to My Catalog in the navigation menu.

• Click on the Create Product button on the upper right.

Create Product icon

• You will be prompted to fill out the several fields of product information, add an image, and add a 2D drawing in order to create a new Product (as seen below).

  • For Drawings, either import existing 2D drawing DWG or DXF files with the Import Drawing button, or use Canoa's drawing tools at the bottom of the Canvas to easily draw your own.

  • If you are a supplier, fill out the required fields marked with a red asterisk to create a 'Complete' product and be ready to 'Publish' to all Canoa users on the Public Catalog. Ping the Canoa team when you're ready to publish.

After clicking 'Create Product,' this window allows you to add in the data, images, and drawing.

Option 2: Uploading a CSV file in Table view

This is the best way to bring in your product data quickly, in bulk, with one swift import. Prepare your list of product data in your favorite spreadsheet program and then export it to a CSV file in order to bring it back into Canoa. Here's a step-by-step how:

1. Click on the My Catalog icon in the navigation menu. Toggle to the Table tab.

2. In a separate window, choose to use Excel, GoogleSheet, Airtable, or any other spreadsheet program you prefer to add your new product data.

3. Refer to this Canoa provided GoogleSheet: Product Data Template (seen below) for the correct formatting of your data with the required fields.

   • If you are a supplier wanting to Publish to Canoa’s public Product Catalog, you will need to provide the data that is noted in red to create a Complete product, and then ping the Canoa team when you're ready to publish.

1. Add in your data for all the products you want to import. Tip: Each variation or SKU will need their own line.

2. Ideally, the format will be consistent to what is in the Product Data Template seen above ... capitalization, imperial sizing, punctuation, required fields, etc.

Here are tips for adding in images within a CSV file:

• If you are using a program such as GoogleSheet or Excel, you will need to copy and paste the image URL address into the Images field before downloading to a CSV.

• If you want to bulk import multiple images for each product, simply copy and paste the image URL addresses into the Images field and separate them with a comma in the cell. No additional spaces are needed here.

• If you are using Airtable, you may attach jpegs or pngs in the Image field before downloading to a CSV.

We recommend using image files under 10mb each for peak performance.

Once your spreadsheet is complete, download it to a CSV file.

1. Log back into My Catalog - Table view.

2. Click Import via the three dots in the upper right hand corner. And select your new/updated CSV file.

3. The Import Products window will pop up. Canoa will automatically match your data fields.

   • If the fields you are importing are not automatically selected and seen, you can manually match the fields by using the dropdown arrows within each field.

   • If you do not want to import a detected field, simply click the X to remove it from the import.

4. Click Next. This will launch a preview of how your data will look for each product you import into Canoa.

   • Use the arrows in the top right corner of this preview to toggle through your list of products from the CSV file.

5. Click Import and then click Proceed when you and your data are ready.

   • A processing notification will appear in the bottom right corner of your screen, letting you know the import is working. You will also receive a confirmation email once your import is complete.

6. Your products are now imported to My Catalog and have been assigned a unique Product ID for easy bulk editing at a late time. Congrats!‍

In Table view, the Import button lives within the three dots.

All the fields you want to include in your import must be selected and seen here. For example, here the Product Name will be created and the Description will not be created with these new product lines.

Import Preview

Some helpful tips to keep in mind:

• If you are not able to bulk import .dwg/.dxf drawing files, you should click into each product to add the drawing in at a later time. (So designers have the most accurate 2D drawing to design to scale with).

• If you are a supplier, you may ping the Canoa team to Publish your ‘Complete’ products, which will now be searchable on Canoa’s public Product Catalog.

• As a supplier, you are responsible for maintaining accurate data you share with Canoa. We recommend that you update your Excel Spreadsheet or Airtable weekly or monthly - pinging the Canoa team when an update to your data has been made - email us @ [email protected].

Please watch the video above for a complete, in depth explanation of navigating these steps.