The Import/Export function in Kontainer's PIM (Product Information Management) system allows you to efficiently bulk update product data. This feature is especially useful when you need to make larger edits—such as updating product descriptions, attributes, or other metadata—directly in Excel.

Note: The Import/Export function is gated by a feature flag and requires admin access. Contact your Kontainer administrator or the Kontainer Customer Support Team if you don't see these options.

Step 1: Choose Variant View

Before starting, make sure you are in Variant View, which displays all individual variants of your products.
This ensures that any updates or changes are applied to the correct variant level.

Step 2: Export Product Data

You can export data in two ways:

• Export selected products:
  Mark the specific products you want to edit, then click Import/Export → Export.
• Export all products:
  If no products are selected, simply choose Import/Export → Export to export your entire product list.
  
  

An Excel file will be downloaded containing the selected product data.

Export Formats

Export is available in two formats:

• Export format (styled): Produces a CSV with either bundled asset files or CDN links to the assets, intended for use outside Kontainer (e.g. reporting or other systems). It can be limited to only the columns currently visible in your view, and can expand referenced values instead of showing raw internal IDs.
• Import format (round-trip): A CSV designed to be edited and re-imported into Kontainer, as used in Steps 3–4 below.

Additional export options:

• Export an empty template containing only the column headers, useful as a starting point for a new import.
• Save and reuse export templates so you don't have to reconfigure columns every time.
• Export for import, including tree descendants, to capture a full product hierarchy in one file.
• HTML formatting is automatically stripped from exported text fields.

Large exports run as a background job — you'll receive a notification when the file is ready to download.

Step 3: Edit the Excel File

Open the downloaded Excel file to make your edits. For example, you might update product descriptions, change attribute values, or adjust pricing details.

Important:

• Do not edit or delete the first three columns — these are internal Kontainer reference fields required for a successful import.
• You may delete any other columns that you are not changing.
  This helps keep your file clear and can speed up the import process.

Editing Tips

When editing your Excel file, please note the following rules:

• Empty cells: No changes will be made to those fields.
• Type "NULL": Deletes any existing value in that field.
• Multi-value fields: Separate multiple values with a semicolon by default (e.g. Red;Blue;Green). You can also choose a comma (,) or a pipe (|) as the delimiter instead.
• Select fields: You can only use existing predefined values.
  If a value cannot be found in Kontainer, the system will highlight this during validation before import.

Once your edits are complete, save the file locally.

Step 4: Import Updated Data

Return to Kontainer (without having any products selected) and click Import/Export → Import.

1. Select your updated Excel file.
2. Click Preview import changes to start the validation process.

Step 5: Validate & Confirm Changes

Kontainer automatically checks your file before any data is updated. The preview is a full dry-run: it validates the entire file, rolls back any changes so nothing is saved during the check, and reports up to 100 errors, each with its exact cell location. The error list is copyable, so you can paste it elsewhere for reference.

• If errors are found:
  The system will display validation errors (for example, misspelled or non-existent values).
  You can correct these directly in Excel and re-upload the file.
• If no errors are found:
  You'll see a summary of all proposed changes.
  Review these, and when you're ready, click Import changes to confirm and apply your updates.

Step 6: Optional: Create new products and options during import

Please note: The ability to create new products and options during import is optional and must be enabled by Kontainer Customer Support.
Get in touch with the Kontainer Customer Support Team to learn more about creating new products during the import process.

In addition to updating existing products, the export/import functions can also create new products and new options during import.

When importing a file, you can enable the following options:

• Create new products – Products that do not already exist in PIM will be created automatically during the import.
• Create new options – If an imported value does not exist for a select or element field, a new option can be created automatically, preventing the import from failing.
• Skip ambiguous rows – Rows that cannot be matched with certainty can be skipped, allowing the rest of the import to continue.
• Multi-value delimiter – Multi-value fields use a semicolon (;) by default, but you can also choose a comma (,) or a pipe (|) as the delimiter.

Before any changes are applied, the import performs a full validation of the file, as mentioned and shown above in Step 5.
This preview verifies the entire file without saving any data. If any errors are found, the import is canceled, and a list of errors is displayed, including the row and cell where each issue occurred. Once the errors have been corrected in the spreadsheet, the file can be imported again.

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Admin: Import History & Cleanup

Admins have access to additional tools for managing past imports:

• Import history: View a log of previous imports.
• Download original file: Retrieve the exact file that was imported for a given entry in the history.
• Revert a file: Undo a previous import, restoring the affected data to its state before that import.

Imported files are automatically removed after 30 days.

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Summary

Using the Import/Export function is the most efficient way to:

• Quickly update multiple products at once
• Maintain data accuracy
• Save time when managing large product catalogs
• If enabled: Create new products and options

By following the above steps, you can keep your product data clean, consistent, and fully optimized within Kontainer PIM.