Import Behaviors: Append vs Replace
Choose the right Import Behavior so a product import only changes the data you intend to change.
When you import products from the Product List, you choose an Import Behavior. The behavior decides what happens to data already saved on the products in your file.
- Append adds new data and updates existing values. It never removes anything.
- Replace overwrites data with exactly what's on your sheet, and can remove data that isn't on it.
- Delete Attributes clears the values of specific attributes on the products in your file.
When in doubt, use AppendAppend is the safe choice for almost every update, including price changes. Only use Replace when you intend to remove data, and always test it on one product first.
Append
Use Append to create products and to add or update data. Only the products (SKU rows) and columns on your sheet are changed.
Leaving a cell blank with Append does not clear the existing value. To clear a value, use Delete Attributes.
Replace
Only the products (SKU rows) on your sheet are affected. Products that aren't listed are not changed.
For the products that are listed, Replace works differently depending on the type of data:
| Data on your sheet | What Replace does |
|---|---|
Single values, such as name, price or description | Updates only the columns on your sheet. Columns you leave off are not changed. |
Customer Group Prices (_group_price_ columns) | Replaces the product's entire set of customer group prices. Any customer group without a column on your sheet is removed from that product. |
| Tier Prices | Replaces the product's entire set of tier prices with only the tiers on your sheet. |
| Custom Options | Replaces the product's custom options with only the options on your sheet. |
Category assignments (category_ids) | Replaces the product's categories. The product is removed from any category not listed. |
Other data that's saved as a list on the product, such as product links or the variations of a configurable product, may also be replaced. Test on one product before using Replace with any of these columns.
Replacing one customer group's price removes the othersA sheet with only
skuand one_group_price_column, imported with Replace, will keep that one group's price and delete every other customer group's price on those products.To change one group's prices, use Append. To remove prices, follow Removing Customer Group Prices.
Delete Attributes
Use Delete Attributes to clear the value of an attribute, such as a meta_title or meta_description, on the products in your file. This behavior uses a different file layout than Append and Replace. See Import Behaviors for the file format, and test with one product first.
Which Behavior Should I Use?
| I want to... | Use |
|---|---|
| Create new products | Append |
| Update names, descriptions, stock or base prices | Append |
| Add or update customer group prices or tier prices | Append |
| Clear a text value, such as a meta title | Delete Attributes |
| Remove some customer group prices or tiers | Replace, with every group or tier you want to keep on the sheet |
| Move products out of categories | Replace, with every category the product should stay in |
Before Any Replace Import
- Export a backup. Select the products and export them with the matching template, such as Bulk Actions > More Export Templates > Pricing - Group Prices. Keep this file so you can restore the data if needed.
- Start from that export. Edit the exported file instead of building a new one, so every group, tier, option or category you want to keep is already on the sheet.
- Remove extra rows and columns. Delete SKU rows you don't want to change, and columns you don't want to overwrite.
- Test one product. Import a file with a single SKU row, then check that product in the admin before importing the rest.
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Updated about 21 hours ago