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1

Make PDF Catalogs From CS-Cart

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 CS-Cart 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 CS-Cart Site

Creates a PDF for every product on your CS-Cart 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

Flexible 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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CS-Cart / Catalog-On-Demand

FAQ

How do I integrate Catalog-on-Demand with CS-Cart?

We use the CS-Cart API. Here is the documentation on how to import data and images from CS-Cart.

Is it possible to make the product description or image in my print catalogs different than what is in our CS-Cart 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.

For some publications (such as niche catalogs) I want to be able to add or override attribute values and prices. Is this possible?

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 CS-Cart store?

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

The product images on my CS-Cart 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 Product Data and

Images from CS-Cart into Catalog-on-Demand

Setting Up Your CS-Cart API for Use with Catalog-on-Demand

CS-Cart offers an API that is well-suited for importing product data into Catalog-on-Demand for purposes of creating print catalogs. It allows you to set up API access on a store-by-store basis.

Important! You must have CS-Cart v4.3 or later to integrate with Catalog-on-Demand.

Part I: Enabling CS-Cart API Access

  1. Login to the Administration panel.
  2. Click on Customers > Users.
  3. Click on the user who will be granted API access.
  4. Click on the tab labeled “API Access”.
  5. Check “Yes, allow this user to use the API”.
  6. Copy the API Key to a text file, or leave this tab open for Part II.

Part II: Set Up Your Catalog-on-Demand Account Page

  1. Sign into Catalog-on-Demand (registration is free if you have not already done so).
  2. Click on Account (top menu). Click on Data Import Setup. 
  3. Under Import type, select CS-Cart API import.
  4. Enter your the site URL for your CS-Cart store. 
  5. Enter the email address for the CS-Cart user who is configured with API access.
  6. Paste the API Key.
  7. If you have only one store, you do not need to enter a store view code. If you have multiple stores, this parameter is required. The first (and default) store code is 1. 
  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.
  12. After a few minutes, click on History (in the Data Import section). You will need to click refresh to update the page.
  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!

Part III: Import Options

Catalog-on-Demand offers several options for importing data from your CS-Cart database.
  • Include short description / Include long description — CS-Cart has two description fields. Check which descriptions you want to include.
  • Ignore HTML tables — If checked, then any HTML tables in your CS-Cart 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 font formatting in your HTML that you do not want to appear in your print catalog.