Import & Export

OnixFeed provides powerful tools for importing books from various sources and exporting your data in different formats.

Importing Books

Access the import feature from the Books page by clicking Import.

Supported File Types

• ONIX XML (.xml) - Industry standard book metadata
• CSV (.csv) - Comma-separated values
• TSV (.tsv) - Tab-separated values
• Excel (.xlsx, .xls) - Spreadsheet format

Importing from CSV or Excel

1. Click Import on the Books page
2. Drag and drop your file or click to browse
3. OnixFeed will analyse your file and suggest field mappings
4. Review the Auto Mapping Suggestions panel:
   • See which columns map to which fields
   • Check the confidence scores
5. Use Core Field Overrides if the ISBN or Publisher columns weren't detected correctly
6. Click Re-run CSV Validation if you changed mappings
7. Optionally download the generated ONIX to review
8. Click Import to add the books

Field Mapping

The smart mapper recognises common column names:

Your Column	Maps To
title, book_title, name	Title
isbn13, isbn, ean, barcode	ISBN-13
author, authors	Contributor
publisher, publisher_name	Publisher
description, blurb	Description
price, retail_price	Price
pages, page_count	Page Count
thema, subject_code	Subject
format, binding	Format

Importing from ONIX XML

1. Click Import on the Books page
2. Select your ONIX XML file
3. The system validates the XML structure
4. Choose which data to import (plugins)
5. Set your import options
6. Click Import

Import Options

Option	What It Does
Skip Existing Records	Only import new books (matched by ISBN-13)
Show Duplicate Warnings	See which books were skipped
Limit Records	Test with first N records before full import
Record Range	Import a specific range (e.g., records 100-200)

Cover Image Options

Choose how to handle cover images:

Option	Description
Upload to Staging	Downloads covers and uploads to your image library
Use Library Images	Match existing images by ISBN
Use Supplied URLs	Keep the original URLs from your file

Import Plugins

Select which data to import:

Required:

• Publisher - Creates publisher records
• Book Base - Core book information
• Titles - Book titles
• ISBN - Product identifiers

Optional:

• Publishing Detail - Status and dates
• Editions - Edition information
• Collections - Series data
• Language - Language details
• Content - Descriptions
• Extents - Page counts
• Measures - Dimensions
• Audience - Target audience
• Subjects - Categories
• Thema - Subject codes
• Contributor - Authors
• Format - Product form
• Supply Chain - Pricing
• Image - Cover images
• Related Works - Series links
• Related Products - Format variants

Exporting Books

Excel Export

Export your catalog to an Excel spreadsheet:

1. Go to Books
2. Select books (or export all)
3. Click Export and choose Excel
4. Download the .xlsx file

Included columns:

• Title and Subtitle
• ISBN-13
• Language
• Publisher
• Publication Date
• Price
• Page Count
• Format
• Description

Shopify CSV Export

Export books in Shopify's format for e-commerce:

1. Go to Books
2. Select books to export
3. Click Export and choose Shopify CSV
4. Review any validation warnings
5. Download the CSV file

Requirements for Shopify export:

• Title
• ISBN-13
• Price
• Publisher

The export maps your data to Shopify's columns:

• Title → Product Title
• Description → Body HTML
• Publisher → Vendor
• ISBN-13 → SKU and Barcode
• Cover → Image URL
• Price → Variant Price
• Stock → Inventory Quantity

ONIX Export

Export via ONIX Feeds (see ONIX Feeds) or use bulk actions:

1. Select books
2. Choose Add to ONIX Feed
3. Generate the feed to download XML

Other Import Options

Importing Contributors

Import author and contributor data:

1. Go to Contributors
2. Click Import CSV
3. Upload your CSV file

CSV columns:

• Name (required) - For matching
• Image URL - Profile photo (auto-uploaded)
• Biography - Bio text
• Email - Contact email
• Website - Personal site
• ISNI - Identifier
• ORCID - Researcher ID

Importing Stock Data

Update stock levels in bulk:

1. Go to Stock
2. Click Import
3. Upload your CSV file

CSV columns:

• ISBN (required) - ISBN-13 or ISBN-10
• Currency (required) - e.g., ZAR, USD
• Price_Inc (required) - Price including tax
• Price_Excl - Price excluding tax
• Stock (required) - Quantity

Importing Reviews

Add reviews in bulk:

1. Go to Reviews
2. Click Import
3. Upload your CSV file

CSV columns:

• ISBN (required) - To match the book
• Content (required) - Review text
• Reviewer - Reviewer name
• Source - Publication name
• Status - draft, published, or archived

Tips for Successful Imports

1. Test first - Use the "Limit Records" option to test with a small batch
2. Check mappings - Review auto-mapping suggestions before importing
3. Clean your data - Remove duplicates and fix errors before importing
4. Use Skip Existing - Prevent duplicate records when re-importing
5. Import in stages - Import basic data first, then relationships

Troubleshooting

Import fails to start:

• Check that the file format is supported
• Ensure the file isn't corrupted

Fields not mapping correctly:

• Use standard column names (see mapping table above)
• Use Core Field Overrides to manually select columns

Duplicates being created:

• Enable "Skip Existing Records"
• Check that ISBNs match existing records

Missing data after import:

• Ensure the correct plugins are selected
• Check that source data has values for those fields

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