Topic: DataPort v5.0
Last Updated On: April 21, 2005
Applies to: MC Storefront Software, versions 4.2.2.7+

Summary

Froogle

Google will host and make your content searchable online, making Google Base a place to easily submit all of your products. Based on the relevance of your products, they may also be included in the main Google Search Index and other Google Properties such as Froogle and Google Local. For more information on this upload option you can visit the Google Base site.

What you will need to create a data feed

Requirements

The image URL must be the actual product image. If you are hot linking images to your products, Froogle will not accept the feed. The images must reside on your site and be in a .gif or .jpg format. The URL's for the feed must link to a live and working site. You must log in to Google Base and place a “pause” on your products if your site will be under construction or down for maintenance. Products must be listed in US dollars and be shippable throughout the United States.

Google Base requires that you include the following fields for each product:

Title
This field will display the product name, as it appears on your storefront. In the export file this field will display as “Product.Name”.
Example: <title>Finding Nemo</title>
Description
This field will display the full descriptive text from your storefront for the product, taken from the “Long Description” field of the Product Manager. In the export file this field will display as “Product.LongDescription”.
Example: <description>A movie about a Fish</description>
 
GUID
This field references the DataPort ID for each product. Google Base will update your products based on this ID. In the export file this field will display as “Product DataPort ID”.
Example: <guid>PRD-7228811</guid>
Link
This field will display the direct URL, or (web address), to each product on your storefront. In the export file this field will display as “Company.URL” + “Product.ProductID link“.
Example: <link>http://www.store.com</link>
Condition
This field displays the condition of the product on Google Base, DataPort v5.0 will always default products to a status of “new”.
Example: <g:condition>new</g:condition>
Currency
This field displays currency for the product pricing, Google Base only allows US dollars at this time.
Example: <g:currency>USD</g:currency>
Image_link
This field displays up to 10 images related to your product. DataPort v5.0 will generate image links based on your large product image and any images within the image gallery.
Example: <g:image_link>http://www.domainname.com/ProductImages/nemo.jpg</g:image_link>
Expiration_dates
This field displays the date that the product will expire in YYYY-MM-DD format. The default time for products is 31 days, after that time products which are not updated will appear in the “Inactive Items” section on the Google Base.
Example: <g:expiration_date>2006-04-20</g:expiration_date>
Label
This field displays the first 10 Keywords related to the product from the “Product Keywords” section of the Product Manager.
Example: <g:label>Leather Seats</g:label>
Manufacturer
This field displays the products Manufacturer from the Product Manager. In the export file this field will display as “Product.ManufacturerName”.
Example: <g:manufacturer>Acme, Inc.</g:manufacturer>
Manufacturer_id
This field displays the Manufacturer Part Number from the Product Manager. In the export file this field will display as “Product.MfgPartNumber”
Example: <g:manufacturer_id>030779A</g:manufacturer_id>
Model_number
This field displays the product part number from the Product Manager. In the export file this field will display as “Product.PartNumber”.
Example: <g:model_number>1924863</g:model_number>
Price
This field displays the Customer Price or List Price from the Product Manager. If you are using a Cost Markup, Advanced Variants, or Call for Pricing Message DataPort v5.0 will display the price as $0. In the export file this field will display as “Product.CustomerPrice” or “Product.ListPrice”.
Example: <g:price>5.95</g:price>
Price_type
This field displays pricing type for the product, DataPort v5.0 will display “Starting” for all regularly priced products. If a product has a Cost Markup, Advanced Variants, or Call for Pricing Message then the pricing type will be displayed as “negotiable”.
Example: <g:price_type>starting</g:price_type>
Product_type
This field displays the type of product that is being offered, DataPort v5.0 will export the first ten categories which the product is associated. In the export file this field will display as “Product.CategoryName”.
Example: <g:product_type>Electronics</g:product_type>
Quantity
This field displays the numerical inventory amount listed for each product, which should be equal or greater than 0. DataPort v5.0 will automatically set negative inventory amounts to 0. The new export file will not adjust the current inventory; it will overwrite with the most current information. In the export file this field will display as “Product.QtyInStock”.
Example: <g:quantity>18</g:quantity>
Shortdescription
This is a brief summary of text from your site describing the product, taken from the “Short Description” field of your product manager. In the export file this field will display as “Product.ShortDescription”.
Example: <c:shortdescription c:type="string">MonsterCommerce Lord of the Products Test</c:shortdescription>
GiftCertificate
This field displays if the product is a Gift Certificate product. In the export file this field will display as “Product.isGiftCertificate”.
Example: <c:giftcertificate c:type"boolean">false</c:giftcertificate>
FreeShipping
This field displays if the product is marked for Free Shipping from the Product Manager. In the export file this field will display as “Product.FreeShipping”.
Example: <c:freeshipping c:type"boolean">true</c:freeshipping>
Eproduct
This field displays if the product is marked as a downloadable good from the Product Manager. In the export file this field will display as “Product.isEproduct”.
Example: <c:eproduct c:type"boolean">false</c:eproduct>
Weight
This field displays the weight of the product in pounds from the Product Manager. This field will not display if the weight of the product is equal to 0. In the export file this field will display as “Product.Weight”.
Example: <g:weight>33.22</g:weight>
InformationLink
This field displays the web address link for more information that is entered within the Product Manager. If there is no URL entered in the Information Link section of the Product Manager, then this field will not display. In the export file this field will display as “Product.InformationLink”.
Example: <g:informationlink>http://www.monstercommerce.com</g:informationlink>
SuggestedRetailPrice
This field displays the List Price from your storefront if that value is lower than the Customer Price. If the product has a Cost Markup, Advanced Variants, or a Call for Pricing message, this field will not be displayed. In the export file this field will display as “Product.ListPrice”.
Example: <g:suggestedretailprice>29.99</g:suggestedretailprice>

Creating Your Data Feed File

Froogle

A data feed is a file that contains a listing of your products.

To create your Data feed file:

  1. Open DataPort 5.0
  2. Click on the “Product” link from the left side menu tree
  3. You will see your products listed in the main screen
  4. Select the “Export” button from the top menu bar for the product list screen
  5. A new “Select Export Type” window will open
  6. Select “Google Base” from the drop down menu
  7. Select the status for this export
  8. Select the “Export” button
  9. Save the file to your hard drive.

Note: DataPort 5.0 will not export hidden products or products that have hidden Manufacturers.

Note: You must synchronize new products with your store online before exporting these products in the Froogle format or the Image and Product links will be broken.

Note: DataPort 5.0 will remove all HTML from both the Product Name and Product Description fields.

The file name MUST be the same every time you send your feed to Google Baseor your file will not be processed and your products won't appear on Froogle. This file is case sensitive and the file name can not include any spaces. Product file uploads to Google Base may be made a maximum of one time per hour, and it may take up to thirty minutes for the status of the file to change in your account after the upload. For bulk uploads the maximum file size of the export file is 10MB and the maximum number of products is 100,000.

To upload your export file to Froogle

  1. In a web browser go to, base.google.com
  2. Click on “Post multiple items with a bulk upload file”, from the center content of the screen
  3. You will be directed to the Google Log in page
  4. Log in with your Google Account information (username and password)
  5. Click on the “My Items” tab, on the left hand side
  6. There will be a link to “Specify a bulk upload file”
  7. Click on the “Settings” tab, the right side tab
  8. Enter your company information such as “Company Name”, “Company Description”, and “Website URL” (domain name)
  9. Click on the “Next” button
  10. Enter the file name of the export which you saved from DataPort v5.0
  11. Select “Products” from the standard Item Type drop down menu
  12. Click on the “Specify bulk upload file ” buttons
  13. Follow the instructions that Google Base will display at this step
  14. Check your feed for errors.

Visit the Google Base site for instructions how to upload file feeds to Google Base. You will also find tutorials, FAQs and more!

DISCLAIMER: Google Base is currently in a Beta Program, any changes made by Google to the field formats may prevent users from receiving approval for uploaded files.

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