Importing Images & Documents

The process for importing files is a bit different to the above (although the import button is still in the same place).

First, understand that when uploading files, lets says images for now, two things have to happen:

1. The actual image file needs to be transmitted to the system and uploaded to storage.

2. An "Image" record needs to be created so that the file can be referenced in the future (e.g., so you can attach it to a product record).

It would be a pain to have to do these two steps separately and somehow link up the image file to the record, so the system does it automatically for you.

ZIP File Upload

The "ZIP" file format, in case you haven't come across it, is just a simple way to "bundle up" a lot of files into a single file. It's also compressed to save a bit of space. Most operating systems (WIndows, Mac, Linux) have ZIP file creation built right in - you just select all the files you want to include, right click and choose an option like 'Compress' or 'Create Archive'. If you can't find that option, you might need a small tool to do it for you.

When creating your ZIP file, don't include subfolders - just select all the files directly and create the ZIP from there.

The same workflow described in 'Simulate, then commit' above still holds - you should test your import and inspect the results report to make sure everything is OK before 'committing'. When you're ready to go, check the 'Commit' checkbox and the files will actually be uploaded and the records created automatically and linked to the file.

Image/Document "titles" will be automatically created from the filename, so if your files have decent, human-readable names, that will certainly help discoverability in the future.