Upload an Excel or CSV file
Bring a product catalog into MartechFlow from a static Excel (.xlsx) or CSV file when you do not have a live feed URL, and learn what gets checked on the way in.
When a file upload is the right choice
A file upload is for catalogs you keep as a spreadsheet rather than at a live web address. If you maintain your products in Excel or export a one-off CSV, you can bring that file straight into MartechFlow, map its columns, and publish channel-ready output from it.
The important trade-off: an uploaded file is a snapshot. It does not refresh on its own, because there is no live source to re-fetch. When your prices or stock change, you upload an updated file. If you want hands-off, automatic updates, use a feed URL, a Google Sheet link, or a store connection instead.
Supported file types
MartechFlow reads two file formats for a product catalog.
- CSV (.csv): the first row is your column headers and each following row is a product. Spaces are trimmed and a leading byte-order mark is handled automatically.
- Excel (.xlsx): the first worksheet is read, with its first row as headers. The file is streamed sheet-by-row so even large workbooks stay memory-safe. Only the first worksheet is imported, so put your product data there.
- Excel formulas, hyperlinks, and rich-text cells are flattened to their plain text or computed result, so a cell that shows a price will import as that price.
What gets validated on upload
MartechFlow checks the actual contents of your file, not just its name, so a mislabeled or corrupt file is caught before it reaches your catalog.
- An .xlsx upload is verified to really be an Excel workbook by inspecting its file signature (Excel files are ZIP containers). A file renamed to .xlsx that is not a real workbook is rejected.
- A CSV upload is rejected if it looks like a binary file (for example it contains null bytes), which usually means a real spreadsheet or image was renamed to .csv by mistake.
- File size is limited, so an oversized upload is refused rather than accepted and left to fail later.
After the file is in
Once a file is read, the rest of the flow is identical to a URL feed. MartechFlow shows your columns, you map them to the fields each channel needs (or use auto-map and adjust), and you save. From there you can build your output feeds and badges exactly as you would for a live source.
To update an uploaded catalog later, replace it with a newer file. Because the file is a fixed snapshot, MartechFlow will reflect your latest prices and stock only after you provide the new version.