Stores with a Modular Merchant Silver account plan or higher gain access to hosting options, and one of the benefits of setting up a hosting account is the ability to upload files directly to the hosting account via SFTP. SFTP is a convenient way to quickly upload a large number of files at once, such as
product images, template packages, and digital object files.
key concept: digital objects and files
Digital objects consist of two distinct pieces:
* The digital object's content (either a file or a webpage)
* The database record containing all of the digital object's settings (including the URL of the file or webpage that is the digital object's content)
Digital products consist of three distinct pieces:
* The digital object's content (either a file or a webpage)
* The database record containing all of the digital object's settings (including the URL of the file or webpage that is the digital object's content)
* The database record containing all of the product's settings (including the SID number of the associated digital object)
Files to be used as content by digital objects may be uploaded via SFTP. However, it is not possible to upload database records via SFTP. Instead, the database records may be transferred into the store through the Import/Export Center; or the Scan & Add a Series of Download Files tool may be used to prompt the shopping cart to create the necessary digital object database records, and then the Import/Export Center may be used to transfer the product database records. Using the Scan & Add a Series of Download Files tool is recommended.
When using the Scan & Add a Series of Download Files tool, the process will involve the following steps:
Part A: Upload the files for use as digital object content
1) Using SFTP, upload the digital object files to the store's digital objects directory (such as /httpdocs/digital_objects/).
Part B: Set up the database records containing the digital object settings
2) Review the store's Digital Delivery Settings at [Products > Digital Delivery Module > Digital Delivery Settings]. These settings include defaults that will be applied to the digital objects created in the next step.
3) Go to [Products > Digital Delivery Module > Scan a File Storage Area], select the file storage area to be scanned (typically the only file storage area is the default digital objects directory), and click Start Scan...
4) When the scan results are displayed, select the checkbox of each file for which to create a digital object (click the green checkmark to select all checkboxes at once).
5) Click the Create Digital Objects for Selected File(s)... button.
6) The shopping cart will create a digital object for each selected file, and display the results.
Part C: Set up the database records containing settings for existing products
Setting up the database records for the digital products will be rather different depending on whether the products themselves already exist and just need to have the new digital objects attached, or if brand new products need to be created. Follow the instructions in Part C to assign the new digital objects to existing products. To instead create brand new products, skip Part C and proceed to Part D.
7) Go to [Admin > Import/Export Center] and choose export / products, then click Continue...
8) On the next page of the Import/Export Center, set the Data Export Preferences as follows:
Data delimiter tab
Data format CONDENSED: single row for each item
Translate SID numbers Either YES or NO is valid for this situation; choose whichever setting you prefer.
Truncate State ISOs This setting should have no effect, since states will not be included in this spreadsheet. Choose whichever setting you prefer.
9) In the Select the fields to include in the export file... section, click the green checkmark once to select every checkbox, then click it again to deselect all optional checkboxes.
10) Scroll through the list of available fields, and select the checkboxes for the following: Digital Object Reference and Name. (SID is required and will already be selected.)
11) At the bottom of the page, click the Save Preferences AND Export Products button.
12) Save the resulting spreadsheet to your computer, then open it in a program such as Excel.
13) Use the SID and Name values to locate the rows corresponding to a product that needs to have a new digital object associated.
14) In the Digital Object Reference column, enter the SID number of the digital object to associated with the product. The digital object's SID number may be found in the store's admin area, using the options at [Products > Digital Delivery Module > Search Digital Objects]. Multiple digital objects may be associated with a product by entering the SID numbers in a comma separated list (such as 123;456).
15) Repeat steps 13 and 14 for each product to have a new digital object assigned.
16) Save the updated product spreadsheet.
17) In the store's admin area, go to [Admin > Import/Export Center] and choose import / products, then click Continue... or Start over...
18) At Step 1 of 4, click the Continue >> button.
19) At Step 2 of 4, click the Choose File or Browse button.
20) In the file explorer popup, locate and select the updated product spreadsheet.
21) Click the Upload & Scan Data File >> button in the right side of Step 2 of 4.
22) At Step 3 of 4, if the results do not include any errors, click the Import Data File >> button.
23) The shopping cart will import the product spreadsheet, and assign the new digital objects to existing products, as specified in the spreadsheet.
Part D: Set up the database records containing the product settings for new products
Setting up the database records for the digital products will be rather different depending on whether the products themselves already exist and just need to have the new digital objects attached, or if brand new products need to be created. To create brand new products, skip Part C and follow the Part D instructions instead.
7) Go to [Admin > Import/Export Center] and choose export / products, then click Continue...
8) On the next page of the Import/Export Center, set the Data Export Preferences as follows:
Data delimiter tab
Data format CONDENSED: single row for each item
Translate SID numbers Either YES or NO is valid for this situation; choose whichever setting you prefer.
Truncate State ISOs This setting should have no effect, since states will not be included in this spreadsheet. Choose whichever setting you prefer.
9) In the Select the fields to include in the export file... section, click the green checkmark once to select every checkbox.
10) Scroll through the list of available fields, and deselect the checkboxes for any columns that are not needed by products in your store. For example, if all products do not require shipping, then the Shipping Exempt column is needed, but the Added Ship Fee Ship Method Reference, Added Ship Fee Type, Added Ship Fee Value, Gift Wrap Eligible, Gift Wrap Fee, Ship Method Reference, Ship Solo, and Zone Fee Reference columns are not needed.
11) At the bottom of the page, click the Save Preferences AND Export Products button.
12) Save the resulting spreadsheet to your computer, then open it in a program such as Excel.
13) Use the SID and Name values to locate the rows corresponding to product(s) that are similar to the new products that will be created. These rows will be used as an example when creating rows for the new products.
14) Delete all of the rows that have not been chosen as examples. When creating new products, it is not necessary to re-import all of the existing, unaltered products, so deleting those unnecessary rows will speed up the import later on.
15) Using the row of an existing product as an example, create a new row for a new product's settings. The new row's SID cell should be left blank. This will flag the row as a new product, and the shopping cart will create a new product record with a new product SID number, using the settings specified in the row's cells.
16) Although the product SID needs to be left blank for a new product, other cells, including SID numbers of other types of objects, should be filled in. For example, the SID number of the new product's new digital object would be entered in the Digital Object Reference column. The digital object's SID number may be found in the store's admin area, using the options at [Products > Digital Delivery Module > Search Digital Objects]. Multiple digital objects may be associated with a product by entering the SID numbers in a comma separated list (such as 123;456).
17) Repeat steps 15 and 16 for each new product.
18) Once all of the rows for the new products have been created, the rows for the existing example products may be deleted, to speed up the import.
19) Save the updated product spreadsheet.
20) In the store's admin area, go to [Admin > Import/Export Center] and choose import / products, then click Continue... or Start over...
21) At Step 1 of 4, click the Continue >> button.
22) At Step 2 of 4, click the Choose File or Browse button.
23) In the file explorer popup, locate and select the updated product spreadsheet.
24) Click the Upload & Scan Data File >> button in the right side of Step 2 of 4.
25) At Step 3 of 4, if the results do not include any errors, click the Import Data File >> button.
26) The shopping cart will import the product spreadsheet, and create the new products, with the settings and digital object assignments specified in the spreadsheet.
The steps above should help you upload files for digital objects via SFTP, and guide you through creating the corresponding digital objects and products.
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