Using the Template
After you’ve download the spreadsheet from your retailer catalog, you’ll review and update existing product information, and add any new products as additional lines. Click here for more information about selecting products and downloading a spreadsheet.
Navigating the Spreadsheet
Instructions Tab
The spreadsheet’s instructions tab will have an overview of the process to fill in content and submit it to the retailer. Review the instructions tab for any retailer-specific details.
Properties Tabs
The General Properties tab and category-specific tabs contain all the product information the retailer currently has for your products. Review the information and update as needed. The tabs are made up of the following parts:
Description
The description row explains the type of information to be filled in the column and the requirements for that information. Review the description as you work through the spreadsheet to be sure that the property values you submit meet the retailer’s requirements.
Required?
The Required? row indicates whether or not product information is required to publish the product to them. Be sure that all columns with a Y in this row have valid values. If no value is included, you’ll receive a feedback error and the product won’t be submitted to the retailer until it’s resolved.
Pro Tip - Highlight the Required? row, search for Y and focus on filling these properties first. Be sure to review before you submit the spreadsheet to ensure that all the Y columns are filled in.
Type
The Type row indicates the type of field you're filling in:
- String: accepts any value containing letters and numbers
- Enumerated: only accepts pre-defined values. Choose a value from the drop-down menu provided
- Number: accepts only numbers, no letters
Products
The products you downloaded from Salsisheets will appear under the headers on each tab. The General tab contains all products that you selected from the Salsisheets catalog. Each product is also listed on the category-specific tab for that product’s category.
Updating Existing Products
Start with the General Properties tab. This contains all the properties common to all products - typically it will include product identifiers, marketing copy, images and other digital assets and logistics information. Be sure to review existing information and include values for all the required columns.
Next, review and update the category-specific information. These contain properties that only apply to the products in the category.
Enumerated Properties
Enumerated properties have a set of allowed values that the retailer will accept. Choose values from the drop-down menu provided. If you try to type a value that isn’t in the allowed list of options, the cell will not accept your value.
But note that due to an Excel limitation, if you paste values into the column the spreadsheet will accept them whether they are valid for the property or not. If you submit values that aren’t valid for the property, after you submit your updates to the retailer, you’ll receive an email with the errors to correct.
UPC & other properties with leading zeros
As you’re entering numbers, be mindful of those with leading zeros. Excel may convert them to scientific notation. You can avoid this in two ways:
- Add an apostrophe before the number: For example, if the number you want to add is 00712345, enter ‘00712345. The apostrophe will go away when you press enter in the cell, and Excel will treat the cell’s value as text.
- Change the column’s format to text before adding numbers: Highlight the column, then choose Text from the column format drop down menu. Numbers in the column will be treated as text and retain their leading zeros.
Images & Other Digital Assets
Images and other digitals assets are submitted via publicly-accessible URLs. You can use cloud storage locations like Google Drive, or Dropbox, or FTP or DAM locations. Just be sure that the URL doesn’t require a password to access.
A quick way to determine whether or not a URL is public is to paste it into your browser bar while you’re not logged into the service that it’s hosted on. If the image appears in your browser, the location is public.
Click here for help with creating public URLs in Google Drive, Dropbox and Box.
Add New Products
To add new products to the spreadsheet, be sure that the category your product is in is a tab in your spreadsheet. If it’s not, go to the Salsisheets catalog and select a product from the category your item is in and download it. Then either delete the product you downloaded, or add your new product as another line and don’t make any changes to the product you downloaded.
To add a product:
- In a blank row under the existing products in the General Properties tab your spreadsheet, add the property values for your product. Be sure that required values are filled in, and that the product identifier is correct.
- In the category-specific tab of your spreadsheet, add the product on a blank row under your existing products. Be sure that required values are filled in and that the product identifier is entered the same as the General tab.
Submit Updates
When your spreadsheet is complete, save your changes and email it as an attachment to the email address listed in the Instructions tab. Send one spreadsheet per email.
Feedback
If there are any validation errors for the data, you’ll receive an email with feedback attached. Review the feedback, make corrections in the spreadsheet you submitted, and email the updated spreadsheet back.
