20 Mar Convert product data to XML using the Magic Function

Would you like to convert product data to XML? Use the Magic Function in CatalogExpress!

Do you need to deliver product data to your customers, wholesalers, or marketplaces in differently structured XML files? Have you been tediously copying the necessary data from your sources (e.g., ERP/PIM system, JSON, XML, BMEcat, XLSX, CSV) by hand?

With CatalogExpress, you can easily prepare these differently structured XML files for your customers by using the Magic Function.

Regardless of the file format—whether it’s a JSON file converted to XML, an XLSX file transformed to XML, or a CSV file processed to XML—or the source, such as PIM, DAM, or ERP systems, CatalogExpress enables seamless conversion to XML, including merging data from multiple sources into a single XML file.

Learn how to generate XML files from different data formats and sources for your data recipients in no time.

Learn how to convert various product data to XML

In the following example, we want to convert a CSV file containing product data into an XML file that’s perfectly tailored to your customers’ individual requirements. Of course, you can also combine data from other or multiple data sources such as PIM systems, ERP systems, or various data formats like XLSX or JSON to generate a single optimized XML file from them.

First, log in to your CatalogExpress account. Open your catalog profile, navigate to the “Mapping” interface in the top right corner and then select your “Sources” in the input area on the left side.

As you can see, the source has now been imported. However, the existing data sets in the imported CSV file have not yet been read. To do this, click on the magic wand icon (the “Magic Function”). Now, CatalogExpress will automatically read and import your source data.

Your “Input” side on the left now looks like this:

Following this step, you can now integrate the product data from this CSV file into a predefined XML file structure. Such an XML structure template may look like this (excerpt):

This blank XML target structure can be provided by a specific client or created by you in CatalogExpress.

Next, you need to upload the respective XML template to CatalogExpress. To do this, click on the “Magic Function” (wand symbol) on the “Output” side of CatalogExpress to the right:

Subsequently, the structure of the XML table (here the column headings) is automatically adopted in CatalogExpress.

Now you can link (or “map”) the source data from your CSV file (on the left) with the target elements of the XML file (on the right).
Click on the linking symbol (chain icon) next to an element on the input page, and then do the same for the corresponding element on the output page:

In this example, the element “EAN” from the CSV source file (on the left) is mapped to the element “EAN” in the XML target file (on the right).

The connection symbols of the linked data now light up in red, signaling the successful linking of both elements.

Once your data mapping process is finished, you can save this data mapping within the catalog profile and start the catalog file creation process.

Congratulations! With just a few clicks, you have successfully converted a CSV file into a providable and distributable XML catalog file. The finished XML may look like this, for example (excerpt):

CatalogExpress is also capable of handling more complex use cases: For example, if you want to combine various individual data sets into a cohesive data set (e.g., combining dimensions such as length, width, and height into one data record “Dimensions”) or shorten a longer product description to a specified maximum length, you can achieve this and other use cases through numerous functions available in CatalogExpress.

Even with more complex scenarios and tasks, CatalogExpress is here to assist you: You can easily nest various data transformations or utilize validation mechanisms to clarify dependencies with our dynamic SaaS solution.

What advantages does the Magic Function offer you?

In addition to numerous functions and an easy operation, the CatalogExpress “Magic Function” provides you with helpful benefits. You benefit from this function when your customers, wholesalers, or data recipients request differently structured XML files from you. This is especially helpful when you’re facing requirements and structures that diverge from common data standards.

Convert various formats such as JSON, CSV, or XLSX into XML, with just a few clicks and prepare data from PIM and ERP systems such as Akeneo, ATAMYA (eggheads), Contentserv, Crossbase, OMN by Apollon, Oxid, Pimcore, STIBO, or Viamedici etc. into an XML file in CatalogExpress effortlessly.

These possibilities not only lead to significant time and cost savings but also generate huge automation potentials. Once the individual data mapping for your customer is set up, you can schedule when your customer receives your current assortment automatically via email or as a file on an SFTP server.

By the way: Our “data chameleon” CatalogExpress also handles many other use cases equally optimized. It doesn’t matter which target channels (industry portals such as Mercateo, Amazon, Conrad, eBay, Shopware, meplato, Simple System, SAP-Ariba, etc.) you want to supply with product data or which data exchange target formats (BMEcat, ETIM, Datanorm, FAB-DIS, JSON, etc.) your customers demand from you.

How do you gain access to the Magic Function?

With the Magic Function, you no longer have any issues converting product data into XML or other formats. You can already access this feature in the NEWCOMER package of CatalogExpress. Feel free to contact us for more information or a no-obligation product demo.