FAQ
Overview · Installation · Configuration · Usage · Developer notes
How is this different from the CS-Cart import?
Section titled “How is this different from the CS-Cart import?”The core import (and the Advanced Import add-on) is something you start by hand each time. This add-on runs on a schedule, reads URL, FTP and SFTP feeds as well as files, adds price markup and stock rules, handles products that left the feed, keeps a run history with a row log, and lets vendors run their own feeds.
Which feed formats are supported?
Section titled “Which feed formats are supported?”CSV (any common delimiter, UTF-8 or Windows-1252), XML (any structure, including YML-style offer feeds with param elements) and JSON. gzip-compressed files are unpacked. Excel files: save them as CSV.
How are existing products found?
Section titled “How are existing products found?”By the product code (SKU), within the feed’s vendor (Multi-Vendor) or storefront (Ultimate). Products that a feed created or updated are remembered, so later runs find them quickly.
Can I update only prices and stock?
Section titled “Can I update only prices and stock?”Yes. Switch off Create new products and tick only Price and Quantity under Update on existing products. Names, descriptions, categories and images are then never changed.
What happens to products that disappear from the feed?
Section titled “What happens to products that disappear from the feed?”You choose: nothing, disable, hide or set the quantity to 0. Only products that the feed itself created or updated are affected, only after a complete run, and not when more than the safety limit of products is missing at once (for example when the supplier sent a broken file). When a product comes back, it is shown again.
How large can a feed be?
Section titled “How large can a feed be?”Up to the size in the settings (50 MB by default). The feed is parsed once and then imported in short steps, so tens of thousands of rows are fine; a run continues over several cron calls. Unchanged rows are skipped quickly.
Is it safe to enter a feed URL?
Section titled “Is it safe to enter a feed URL?”Yes. Addresses that point to your own server or private network are refused by default, downloads are limited in size and time, and XML feeds cannot load external files or entities. Passwords are stored encrypted and never shown again.
What if two cron jobs run at the same time?
Section titled “What if two cron jobs run at the same time?”A feed can only have one run. A second cron call continues other feeds or waits; a run whose process crashed is continued after 5 minutes.
Can vendors import their own products?
Section titled “Can vendors import their own products?”Yes, when Vendors can manage their own feeds is on (Multi-Vendor). Vendor feeds only touch the vendor’s own products and follow the core vendor rules (premoderation, plan limits).
Are product images imported?
Section titled “Are product images imported?”Yes, from image URLs: the first image becomes the main image, the others additional images. Images are downloaded again only when the URLs change. Images that cannot be downloaded are listed in the row log; the product is still saved.
Can it create product variations?
Section titled “Can it create product variations?”Not in 1.0.0. Each row becomes a standalone product; you can group them with CS-Cart’s Variations afterwards.
What happens if the license lapses?
Section titled “What happens if the license lapses?”Without a valid license (no key after the 14-day start period, an invalid or revoked key, a domain the license does not cover, or no successful check for 14 days), new imports stop: the cron skips all feeds and Run now is switched off. Feeds, mappings, presets, the preview and the run history stay available, and a run that has already started finishes. Your products are never affected. Once the license is valid again, everything is back.
The admin panel shows a license notice.
Section titled “The admin panel shows a license notice.”Open Add-ons → Manage add-ons → Scheduled Supplier Feed Import: the License card at the top says what is wrong: no key, a key for another add-on, a revoked license, or a domain that the license does not cover. Fix it on the License tab and click Check now. See License.
Does the add-on work on my staging copy?
Section titled “Does the add-on work on my staging copy?”Yes. Subdomains of your licensed domain (for example staging.example.com) and local development hosts (localhost, private IP addresses, *.local, *.test) are covered by the same license.
What happens if your license server is down?
Section titled “What happens if your license server is down?”Nothing changes for 14 days: the add-on keeps working and retries every hour. Only if no check succeeds for 14 days is it switched off until the next successful check.
Does the license check slow down my storefront or checkout?
Section titled “Does the license check slow down my storefront or checkout?”No. The check runs only in the admin panel or from cron, at most once a day, never while customers browse or check out. The add-on itself has no storefront part at all; imports run from cron or the admin panel.
Still stuck?
Section titled “Still stuck?”Work through the troubleshooting guide, then contact support with your CS-Cart version, edition, PHP version and the add-on version (1.0.0).