Data import

You can quickly import some of the main data, such as eg. products, or inventory quantities by compiling CSV, XLS or XLSX files. To do this from the main menu select Settings -> Data Import .

This screen, initially empty, will show, following the operations, a history of previous imports, divided by lines.

To proceed with importing a new file, press the button at the end of the page.

Let's see below what the individual items shown on the screen indicate:

Import type	Allows you to choose what type of items to import (currently PRODUCTS , or STOCK MOVEMENTS , but more options will be available with future versions of Scloby)
Import source	At the moment the import is only executable from files, but more options may be available with future versions of Scloby
	Allows you to choose the file you want to import
Decimal separator	Check if the decimal separator is set correctly. In Italy and in most of Europe the comma is used as a decimal separator (eg: 1.234.567,89), but consider that files exported from other management systems could use the point.
File type	The following formats are supported: Excel version 97 to 2003 (.xsl extension) Excel from version 2007 to 365 (extension .xlsx) Separator or fixed-width text file (extension .csv)

In the case of CSV files, you will be asked to select some additional information.

Let's see below the two types of separation:

SEPARATE BY VALUES

It is important to choose the "Column separator" between the data and any symbols that enclose the data, indicated by the "String delimiter" entry.

Let's see some common use cases. On the examples we have assumed that the loading of the products is made from a CSV file with data NAME, Price1 and VAT RATE:

NB In case of exporting data already present on Scloby, in .CSV format, the separator and delimiter will be set automatically when importing, therefore keep the separation by values, as set in the image above. For more details on exporting data, see also Introduction to the Products module

FIXED WIDTH

A fixed-width text file is an ASCII file (usually with the extension .TXT) in which each field has a well-defined size and position on the line. To understand how it works, let's try to create a filter called Import CUSTOMERS from fixed-width text files. Here is an example:

Company name Town Country Country Telephone FAX
PEROZZI GIORGIO CESENA FC IT 0547-111111 0547-234343
NECCHI GUIDO RIMINI RN IT 0541-222222 0541-342343

The company name field is 21 characters wide, location 13 characters, province 7 characters, country 6 characters, telephone 15 characters and fax 11 characters. Consequently we are going to set the following separations: 21; 13; 7; 6; 15; 11

Once you have chosen the type of file to import, select on top right to continue. The import of products and the import of inventory movements will be explained in detail below.

IMPORT PRODUCTS

The screen displayed when the import is confirmed is divided into four columns. Let's see what they represent below:

In the example shown in the image above, a typical import of a price list is represented. The values highlighted are the mandatory ones (product name, VAT rate and main price), this means that they would be sufficient for a very basic import.

For greater understanding, at the end of this guide, you will find the file used for this example, called "Simple product import", attached. It can be used as a reference file for your own import.

Optionally, it is also possible to indicate the primary key to be used, which is only useful if you intend to update the personal data already present in Scloby.

In case of new elements you can skip this point.

If any of the imported elements are already present, it is possible to decide the behavior to be followed according to the options proposed in the "In case of element already existing" field:

Once these steps have been completed, press top right to continue.

In the next step, you are asked to name the import.

Having entered the mandatory data, you can continue by selecting again . At this point the data import will start.

This screen is also divided into columns, let's see below what each element represents:

State	The progress of the operation is indicated. The icon indicates that the process is still in progress, when finished it will be replaced by
First name	The name provided in the immediately preceding operation
Execution	Date and time when the process was carried out
Guy	The type of import carried out (e.g. products, or warehouse stocks)
Elements	Number of elements present in the imported list
Imported	Items successfully loaded
Errors	Items not imported due to any compilation errors

The icon to the right of the line allows you to access a series of additional options.

Each function is explained in detail below:

To get a general idea of a more complex import, the file called "Articulated product import" is attached to this guide, which contains some sample products with a series of optional information. On the second tab of the same file there will be a brief description of all the fields that can be associated on Scloby, their characteristics and links to the associated guides for further information.

IMPORT OF STOCK MOVEMENTS

In this second case, the mandatory import values are the SKU (possibly the product ID) and the quantities to be changed. Regarding this last datum, the handling carried out involves loading or unloading with respect to the current stock. Therefore the quantity will be added if the value reported in the file is positive, subtracted if the quantity is negative (eg -60).

Also for this second type of import, at the end of this guide, the file used for the example shown in the image above is attached, called "Simple movement import".

The operations to follow to complete the process are identical to those described above for importing products .