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1

Make PDF Catalogs From BigCommerce

Make catalogs for every purpose: events, seasons, segments, etc.

Use the same content as your online store — including HTML, variants & more

Choice of dynamic or grid layouts, with many options

Brand with your colors, logo, & artwork

 

 

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2

Auto-Update PDF Catalogs On Your BigCommerce Site

Always Fresh® means catalogs are updated every night

Create a link to your site one time — the link remains the same

Post an Always Fresh catalog or brochure for every category

 

 

 

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3

PDF for Every Product Page On Your BigCommerce Site

Creates a PDF for every product on your BigCommerce site — updated nightly

Instantly downloadable

Uses your artwork & colors

Free up to 1000 product families

 

 

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4

Lite Edition for Sales Reps & Dealers

For sales reps, dealers, distributors, etc.

They select the tempate & products — you control the design and content

Perfect for 1:1 sales, wish list reminders, abandoned cart follow-ups, including with shipments, trade show handouts

 

 

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5

ProcessingProcessingFlexible Job File (FJF) for Batch Processing

Run publications with no human intervention

Launch jobs with any configuration and any combination of products

Generate Job Files with any tool, or from any system (CRM, etc.)

 

 

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BigCommerce / Catalog-On-Demand

FAQ

How do I integrate Catalog-on-Demand with BigCommerce?

Install the app called Catalog-on-Demand for BigCommerce. You will then receive a welcome email explaining your next steps. Here is the documentation on how to import data and images from BigCommerce.

Is it possible to make the product description or image in my print catalogs different than what is in our BigCommerce store?

You can use the Private Data Editor (PDE) to change product data. This includes the description, images, and attributes. If you do this, you will want to use the Locked Product feature, which prevents your edited data from being overwritten by the next import.

Is it possible to import the product height, width, and weight values from my BigCommerce database?

Yes, there are checkboxes to indicate if you want to import these values. They are handled in Catalog-on-Demand as regular attributes.

Are BigCommerce product options supported?

Yes, in two ways:

  • (1) SKUs that use the option values will automatically import the options.
  • (2) By checking the box labeled “Import product options as attributes”.

I have some product attributes (BigCommerce options) that I do not want to appear in my print catalogs. Can those be hidden?

Yes, you can easily hide any attribute in the Catalog-on-Demand configuration.

Yes, you can easily hide any attribute in the Catalog-on-Demand configuration.

Yes, you can do this and more with the “Override and Supplementary Data” capability, documented here. Here are the available features:

  • Price overrides — Publish a price that is different than the price contained in your database
  • SKU number override — Publish with a SKU number that is different than the SKU numbers in your database
  • Attribute value override — Publish attribute values that are different than the attribute values in your database
  • Attribute supplements — Publish attribute labels and values that are in addition to what you have in your database

Is there a way to automatically strip out, replace, or otherwise change content before publishing?

Yes, by using Catalog-on-Demand Plug-Ins. This is a powerful capability to apply JavaScript in just about any way you can imagine to transform your content for publishing. You might use it to publish or suppress prices, combine attributes in a separate field, pull data from another source, or almost anything else. You can create your own Plug-Ins, or we can make them for you.

I have extensive formatting and HTML in my product descriptions. How is this handled?

Catalog-on-Demand supports simple HTML for print publications, such as bullets and some styling. Other HTML, such as complicated embedded tables or extensive styling, does not transfer well from web to print. Such HTML may be easily stripped out with simple checkboxes.

In addition, Plug-Ins can be created to handle just about any other clean up or formatting replacement that you can imagine.

How can I make the product categories in my print catalogs different than in my Bigcommerce store?

You can use Private Data Editor to recategorize your products. There is a Catalog-on-Demand setting that prevents the Bigcommerce import from overwriting your categories.

The product images on my BigCommerce store vary in size and shape. Can I still use them for print catalogs?

Yes. Catalog-on-Demand automatically handles all the sizing, positioning, and text wrap issues associated with having different shape images for different products

How to Automatically Import Data from

BigCommerce into Catalog-on-Demand

Part I: How to Install the App "Catalog-on-Demand for BigCommerce"

A BigCommerce app is available for integrating Bigcommerce with Catalog-on-Demand.

  1. Log intoBigCommerce 
  2. Click on the Apps button
  3. Find the Catalog-on-Demand app.
  4. Click the Install button.
  5. Click the Confirm button.
  6. If you have not registered with Catalog-on-Demand, click on “Start with a new account”. 
    1. Enter your desired user ID. This must be all lower case, with no special characters except dash or underscore. We suggest basing your ID on your business name (e.g., acmeboats). Note: This field is pre-populated with your Bigcommerce store name. You are free to change it to something else if you want.
    2. Modify your first and last name, and company name if necessary. Note: These fields have been pre-populated from your Bigcommerce profile. You are free to change them to something else if you want.
    3. Click Create new account.
    4. You should see a Welcome email within the next hour or so.
    5. After it arrives, proceed to Part II: Check the Status of Your BigCommerce Data Import.
  7. If you have registered with Catalog-on-Demand, click on “Sign in with an existing account”. You will see a Thank You page. Please note your store ID. Then proceed to Part III: How to Set Up Your BigCommerce Import.

Part II: Check the Status of Your BigCommerce Data Import

  1. Sign into Catalog-on-Demand (your ID and password is in your Welcome email).
  2. Click on Account (top menu).
  3. Your name and email have been filled in from your BigCommerce account.
  4. Important — Please scroll to the bottom of the page and set your correct time zone. Then click Save Changes.
  5. Click on Data Import Setup (left side).
  6. You should see BigCommerce as your Import Type, and your Store ID. If not, please contact support.
  7. Don’t worry about any of the checkbox options for right now. You can come back to these later.
  8. Enter the “Auto Start Time of Day” per the time zone that you selected above. Most businesses want the import to run in the middle of the night, say 0:00 (midnight).
  9. Click Create Data Import Setup.
  10. Click Import History. 
  11. You should see at least one import that is completed or in progress. If completed, you are ready to publish! Start by clicking the button labeled New Publication. If your import is still in progress, you need to wait until it is complete before publishing. The first time might take an hour or two.

Part III: How to Set Up Your BigCommerce Import

Note — These steps are not needed if you clicked “Start with a new account” when installing the app. The import has already been set up for you!

  1. Sign into Catalog-on-Demand (your ID and password is in your Welcome email).
  2. Click on Account (top menu)
  3. Important — Please scroll to the bottom of the page and set your correct time zone (this information is not available to us from BigCommerce). Then click Save Changes.
  4. Click on Data Import Setup (left side).
  5. Under Import type, select Bigcommerce App (Ignore the option for Bigcommerce v.2 import. That is for legacy users only. It will eventually be retired.)
  6. Enter your BigCommerce store ID (e.g., 12a3b).
  7. Don’t worry about any of the checkbox options for right now. You can come back to these later.
  8. Choose at least one day of the week. We recommend you choose every day of the week.
  9. Click Create Data Import Setup.
  10. Click Test. You should see a Test Results pop-up. If everything is ok, go to the next step. If not, recheck your entries. Please contact support if you have problems.
  11. Click Import Now, then OK to the prompt.
  12. You will be taken to the Import History page. You should see your import in progress. The first import might take an hour or two, depending the number of product images you have (nightly updates will take only a few minutes).
  13. When the import is complete, click on Download Report. 
  14. Review the report for errors. If you have any questions or issues, please contact support.
  15. If all is well, then you are ready to publish!

If you are interested in the free Always Fresh Flyers (PDF per product page), click here to get started. Once you have done this, then check “Insert PDF icons in product descriptions”, and Save Changes. Your PDF icons will appear the next time the import runs. If you want to hurry things up, you can click Import Now.

Part IV: Import Options

Catalog-on-Demand offers several options for importing data from your BigCommerce database.

  • Ignore HTML tables — If checked, then any HTML tables in your Bigcommerce product descriptions will not be imported. Sometimes this is necessary if you have complex HTML tables that do not appear correctly in your print catalog.
  • Remove color tags — This is useful if you have color formatting in your HTML that you do not want to appear in your print catalog.
  • Remove all styles — This is useful if you have styles in your HTML that you do not want to appear in your print catalog.
  • Ignore all categories — This is useful if want a different hierarchical organization for your products in your print catalog than you have on your BigCommerce site. You can use PDE to change your category hierarchy and if you wish, reassign products. Then be sure to check this box so that the import only updates product data, not the categorization.
  • Ignore top categories — Check if you do not want your top category to appear in the table of contents for your print catalog. For example, if the top category in your BigCommerce database is “Products”, you will want to check this box.
  • Insert PDF icons in product descriptions — If you are interested in setting up your site with a PDF per product page (Always Fresh Flyers), go here to get started. Once you are successfully creating your flyers, then check “Insert PDF icons in product descriptions”, and Save Changes. Your PDF icons will appear the next time the import runs. If you want to hurry things up, you can click Import Now.
  • Import width, height, and depth — Check if you want these shipping attributes imported as product attributes. You choose whether or not to include them in your publications.
  • Import weight — Check if you want this value included as a product attribute. You choose whether or not to include it in your publications.
  • Import product options as attributes — Check if you want the list of option values to be included as a product attribute.