Overview

Custom Data lets you keep a list, such as site addresses, staff details or product codes, in one place in your admin area. Each list is a Custom Data category. Products that use the category read its current records, so you update the list once instead of changing every product.

Step-by-step

1. Prepare your CSV file

   Build your list in a spreadsheet and save it as a .csv file. Only .csv files are read.

   1. Put the column headings in the first row, for example Name, FullAddress and SortOrder.
   2. Put one record on each row below the headings.
   3. Keep a copy of the file. You will need it if you ever replace the whole list.

   Each row becomes one record, and each column becomes a field of that record. If the list is for an Infigo Editor product, the column headings must match the field names on the product: see Setting up Custom Data on an Infigo Product.

2. Open Custom Data

   In the admin area, click Configuration, then Resources, then Custom Data. The page lists every Custom Data category with its Id, Name and Type. If Custom Data is missing from your menu, ask Infigo Customer Support to enable it for your administrator role.

   Configuration > Resources > Custom Data

   

3. Click Add new record

   Click Add new record, above the list on the right. A new, empty row opens at the top of the list.

   Click Add new record

   

4. Name the category and click Insert

   Fill in the new row:

   1. Id: leave it at 0. The category is given its own Id when you save.
   2. Name: type a name using letters and numbers only, for example SiteAddresses. Spaces and any other characters are removed when you save.
   3. Store Location (optional): leave it empty.
   4. Type: leave it as Default. Only Default categories work with products and templates. Choose Cost code only for a list of cost codes; a Cost code category has different options and is not covered in this guide. You cannot change the Type after you save.
   5. Click Insert.

   The category appears in the list with its new Id.

   Enter a Name, leave Type as Default, then click Insert

   

5. Click Manage

   Find your category in the list and click Manage on its row. The Custom Data Category page opens. Make a note of the category's Id from the list first if you are going to use it in an Invent template, because Invent asks for it.

   Click Manage on your category

   

6. Optional: limit the category to one department

   Do this before you upload any data, and only if the records should be available to one department.

   1. Click the Department Selection list and choose the department.
   2. Click the Save button beside the list. The department is only kept when you click Save.

   Customers who are not in that department do not get the records in the editor. Records are stored against the department that was set when they were uploaded. If you change the department later, the category looks empty until you upload the CSV file again. Setting the earlier department back shows its records again.

   Optional: choose a department, then click Save - before you upload

   

7. Upload your CSV file

   Under Upload a CSV file, drag your file onto the Drop files here box, or click the box and choose the file. A message confirms how many records were processed, for example "Processed 12 records". If the file is not a .csv file, nothing is added and the message shows 0 records.

   Drop your CSV file here, or click to choose it

   

8. Check the records

   Scroll down to Current data. Total Count shows how many records the category holds, and the records are listed below it, ten to a page. Click the page ranges beside Current data (1 - 10, 11 - 20 and so on) to move between pages. To find a record, type letters or numbers in the box on the right and click Search; click Reset to show everything again. You can browse, edit and download up to 10,000 records on this page, even if the category holds more.

   Every CSV row is now a record

   

9. Optional: choose the order of the records

   Records are not kept in the order of your CSV file. To set the order:

   1. Click the Sort Column list and choose the column to sort by.
   2. Switch on Sort Descending if you want the order reversed.
   3. Click the Save button beside Sort Column.

   The list offers the column headings of the data already uploaded, so upload your CSV file first. If you later upload a file without that column, choose the Sort Column again. Values are compared as text, so give numbers the same length with leading zeros (010, 020 ... 100).

   Optional: choose a Sort Column, then click Save

   

10. Edit or delete one record

    To change a few values, you do not need to upload again. Find the record under Current data, change the value in its box and click Save on that record. To remove one record, click Delete on it. The record is removed at once, without asking.

    Change a value and click Save, or click Delete

    

11. Download the current list

    Click Download CSV file at the top of the page to save the category's current records as a CSV file. The download holds up to 10,000 records. Use it as a backup, or as the starting point for a new version of the list.

    Download CSV file saves the current records

    

12. Replace the whole list

    Uploading a CSV file always adds its rows as new records. It never updates or replaces the records already there, so uploading the same file twice gives you every record twice. To replace the list:

    1. Click Download CSV file first if you want a backup (step 11).
    2. Click Delete all data. The records are removed straight away, without asking. If the category has a department, only the records uploaded for the department currently saved are removed.
    3. Upload the new CSV file (step 7).
    4. Choose the Sort Column again (step 9). Delete all data clears it.

    Products that use the category show an empty list until the new file is uploaded, so do this at a quiet time.

    Delete all data removes every record at once

    

13. Check the category with Test

    Click Test at the top of the page to check that the category's records can be reached. You will see one of three messages:

    • "Success": the category is working.
    • "The index does not exist": the category holds no data yet. This is normal before your first upload and after Delete all data.
    • "The elastic search server is inaccesible" (spelled this way on screen): the search service that stores Custom Data cannot be reached. Contact Infigo Customer Support. This service is set up once for the platform your storefront runs on; there is nothing to enable or change for it on your storefront.

    Your category is now ready to use. To use it on an Infigo Editor product, see Setting up Custom Data on an Infigo Product. To fill a drop-down in an Invent template from it, see How do I set up centrally managed dropdowns in Invent?.

    Test checks that the category's records can be reached

    

Search terms