Quoted attributes

If you intend to use TSV-format data files, you must enable quoted attributes. Please note that quoted fields are automatically enabled in every Manufacturer Center account.

Each item in a tab-delimited data file must appear on a single line without extra tabs or line breaks. If you cut and paste item information directly, and this content contains tabs, line breaks, or other formatting, our system will not be able to process this part of your file. However, if you surround this content with quotation marks (such as "product content [tab] product content [line break] product content"), our system will treat everything within the quotation marks as a single attribute. Use quoted attributes to avoid retyping or reformatting existing content you want to use.

Note that when you use quoted attributes, if your content already contains a quotation mark (12" Teflon Frying Pan), you must pair it with a second quotation mark so the system doesn't confuse this quotation with an attribute boundary. For example, instead of "12" Teflon Frying Pan", enter "12"" Teflon Frying Pan".

Only straight quotes are accepted; curly quotes will cause a feed processing error. Curly quotes, also called curved quotes or book quotes, have distinct shapes for the left quote and right quote; for example, ‘ and ’. Straight quotes are identical on the left and right and have no curve; for example, '.

To enable quoted attributes in your data feed:

1. Click your data feed's file name on the Feeds page.
2. On the page that loads, select the Settings tab.
3. Click Edit and select the checkbox next to Use Quoted Fields under Delimiter.
4. Click Save.

Important:

• For repeated attributes, you may include multiple values separated by a comma (,). If the values also contain commas (,), you should place the value containing commas in quotes ("). For example, for the product type [product_type] attribute, you could place each value in quotes, or just the value with commas:
  • "Home, Garden, and Yard > Outdoor Entertaining > Sofas", "Furniture > Outdoor Furniture > Sofas"
    or
  • "Home, Garden, and Yard > Outdoor Entertaining > Sofas", Furniture > Outdoor Furniture > Sofas"
• For group attributes, you may include sub-attribute values separated by a colon (:). If a colon doesn't indicate a separate sub-attribute value, the value should be surrounded by quotes ("). Quotes (“) should only be used to enclose individual sub-attribute values, not the entire attribute. For example, for the product detail [product_detail] attribute you could provide:
  • General:Range:"10:20 inches"