Magento 2 Data Feed Generator Extension

Magento 2 Data Feed Generator Extension FAQ

• How to Download Magento Product Feed File

  Why Do I Need a Data Feed

  Data feed files are used to collect and structure all product data from your Magento store. The data in this file is organized to be uploaded to various shopping channels and affiliate networks. Thus data feeds become an essential part of a successful sales campaign.

  Since some systems require you to upload Magento product feeds manually for further processing, you can use Magento 2 Data Feed Generator Extension to do this. So, after creating the data feed file, you can easily download it in a suitable format from the Magento admin panel. This article explains how to download data feed files in the most popular formats: CSV, RSS, TXT, and XML.

  How Can I Download a Data Feed File in CSV, RSS, TXT, or XML Format

  1. In the main Magento menu, go to Plumrocket -> Data Feed Generator -> Manage Data Feed List, and choose the necessary Data Feed
  2. Go to the General Settings tab
  3. Use a search engine to search for the link below the URL Key field
     
     
  4. Wait a few seconds for the data feed file to be generated
  5. Right-click anywhere on the page and click Save As

  The described above method is suitable for all Data Feed file formats (CSV, RSS, TXT, and XML). However, the CSV file is downloaded automatically so that you can skip #5.

  Data Feed file FTP upload

  Some platforms, including Google Merchant Center, provide an opportunity to upload data feeds in a more secure and automated way. You can upload a data feed to the FTP or SFTP server automatically every time the data feed file is rebuilt. Here is a quick guide on how to set up the automated data feed FTP upload:

  1. In the main Magento menu, go to Plumrocket -> Data Feed Generator -> Manage Data Feed List, and choose the necessary Data Feed
  2. Go to the FTP Upload tab
  3. Set the Enable option to Yes
  4. Choose the protocol you want to use (FTP/SFTP)
  5. Configure it by entering Host, Port, User, and Password
  6. Test the connection
  7. Click Save
     
     

  
  We hope this article was useful for you. If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact our Support Team. They are always eager to help!

• How to Customize CSV Data Feed File

  In this article, you will learn how to delete or add extra columns (product attributes) to the CSV data feed file with the help of the Magento 2 Data Feed Generator extension.

  What is Data Feed File

  A data feed file is a text document that contains all structured product data in different labeled fields, such as "product" or "price". Each listed product includes a unique identifier, price, color, images, etc. - all product attributes. Generally, data feed files are used for easy delivering product data from one system to another.

  In eCommerce, data feed files are most commonly used within affiliate marketing for easy loading thousands of products from online stores. To that end, Plumrocket has designed the Data Feed Generator plugin for Magento 2 to easily create data feeds for major databases like Google Merchant Center, AvantLink, Awin, Pepperjam Network, Rakuten, ShareASale, and many others.

  With the Data Feed module, you can create custom data feeds for both categories and products available on your store. It provides built-in templates for creating your custom data feed and editing them with data feed tags. Moreover, RSS, XML, and CSV formats are supported for data feed files, allowing you to manage and change the data feed.

  How to Add Extra Column (new product attribute) to CSV Data Feed File

  You can easily add a new product attribute to the data feed CSV file by creating an extra column in the template provided by the extension. Please take the following steps to add an extra column in the CSV data feed file:

  1. Go to the Plumrocket tab in the main Magento menu -> Data Feed Generator -> Manage Data Feed List
  2. Click the needed CSV data feed in the grid to open, and go to the Template Editor tab
  3. In the Header field, enter the header of the attribute you would like to show in the CSV file
  4. In the Item Element field, enter the attribute tag you would like to add (see the supported attribute tag list)
  5. Make sure the header and tag attribute are entered in the correct format and order and press the Save button
     
     

  You can add, delete, or edit any data feed using the described above steps. After adding the necessary column, you need to click Rebuild Data Feed to apply the changes.

  Newly Added Attribute is Missing

  Sometimes you might find that the value in the new column of the CSV data feed is missing after all the steps were taken to add it. To fix this issue, make sure the plumrocket_datagenerator_cache Magento cron job is running.

  Please note that this method is suitable for adding the default Magento parameters. However, if the column attribute is set by a third-party service and not by your Magento, you might face some difficulties adding it. In this case, we would recommend contacting our support team to check it for you.

  We are always willing to help! Feel free to contact us by submitting a ticket.

• How to Schedule Automatic Updates for Facebook Data Feed in Magento 2

  It is important always to keep your Facebook Catalog up-to-date. With Magento 2 Data Feed Generator Extension, you can automatically bulk upload your Magento 2 store products to Facebook Catalog. You only have to configure it once - Facebook and Plumrocket extension will do the rest.

  How to Upload a Data Feed File to Facebook

  There are three ways of uploading a data feed to Facebook:

  1. File upload - a simple manual drag and drop process
  2. Scheduled feed - use a file hosted on a website to automatically update your inventory by entering the URL
  3. Google Sheets - upload a data feed file to the Google sheets, get its link (make sure the Sharing option is set to Anyone with the link, not to Restricted), and paste the link to a corresponding field

  In this tutorial, we will use the first and second methods to upload data feed to Facebook. Note that the data feed file size must be less than 100 MB for a manual upload and less than 8 GB for a scheduled upload. Please follow the instructions below to set automatic updates for the Facebook data feed.

  How to Schedule Automatic Updates for Facebook Data Feed in Magento 2

  Step 1. Create a data feed file in a CSV or XML format

  First of all, you have to generate a data feed file to be later uploaded to Facebook and make sure that it contains all the necessary information and meets the Specifications. To do this, go to Plumrocket -> Data Feed Generator -> Manage Data Feed List -> Add New Data Feed in the Magento admin panel.

  You can use a Facebook Data Feed Template already available in the extension or create a new data feed from scratch.

  Step 2. Validate Magento 2 data feed file

  An important step is to test the data feed you created by validating it. All you need to do is to upload it to Facebook manually:

  1. Go to Facebook Commerce Manager and click Add Catalog
  2. Navigate to Data Sources under the Catalog tab and choose Data Feed
  3. Choose the File Upload option to manually upload a data feed, and click Next
  4. Drag and drop the file and complete the upload

  Step 3. Schedule automatic updates for Facebook Data Feed in Magento

  You can set up automatic data feed updates by following the below steps:

  1. In the Magento admin panel, navigate to Plumrocket -> Data Feed Generator -> Manage Data Feed List and choose the Facebook data feed
  2. Go to the Schedule Automatic Updates tab
  3. Set the Enable Scheduling to Yes
  4. Set Days of the Week and Time of the Day when the data feed must be rebuilt
  5. Click Save

  Note: If you constantly change your products, it is recommended to schedule daily updates and choose the time when the user activity on your website is low, e.g., 2:00 - 5:00 a.m. This will decrease the server load. Schedule the time taking into account your server time.
  If you rarely change your products, you can schedule weekly updates and set the time in the same way described above.

  Step 4. Set up scheduled data feed updates on Facebook

  1. Go to Facebook Commerce Manager and click Add Catalog
  2. Navigate to Data sources under Catalog tab and choose Data Feed
  3. Choose Scheduled feed (a file hosted on a website) to automatically update your inventory, and click Next
  4. Setting up a feed, copy the URL mentioned below the URL key field in the Data Feed General Setting on your Magento backend, and enter it into the corresponding field
  5. Schedule daily updates based on the scheduled data field rebuild you set on the Magento backend
  6. Complete the settings by naming your data feed source and choosing a default currency

  That’s it! You have configured automatic Facebook Data Feed upload from your Magento 2 Store.
  If you have any other questions, feel free to contact our customer support.