Introduction

The Product Catalog data feed program is designed for publishers with technical expertise and resources to develop and support a large database of secure product link URLs (HTTPS) and related product information that is updated daily. For this reason, it is not well-suited to all publishers.

Technical Instructions

You can access your FTP account using any FTP client. You can also automate downloading the file or doing it manually. You should set the transfer mode to binary before downloading files, as the files are stored in a compressed format. Using ASCII mode will corrupt the data in the file and render it useless. If you are using a script to automate downloading the files, ensure that you do not open more than five connections to the FTP server simultaneously.

Directory Structure

You will find many files and options when you connect to the server at aftp.linksynergy.com. Here is the general layout and how to find things.

When you connect, you will be in your root directory.

• The root directory contains:
  • The main feed files for your merchants in that network’s currency and language
  • A folder for each merchant
  • An ADDITIONAL folder
  • A GLOBAL
• The merchant folders are labeled with the merchant's MID, and they contain a text file with the list of categories provided in the feed and the category-specific files created from that merchant’s main feed, again in the network currency and language.
• The ADDITIONAL folder contains folders for each merchant that provides additional feeds, again labeled with the merchant MID. Those folders contain the additional feed files supplied by the customer. Note that ADDITIONAL feeds are only available as a single file for all products in that feed. There are no separate category files for the ADDITIONAL feeds.
• The GLOBAL folder contains a folder for language/currency combinations, one for each combination with files available. Within each language or currency combination, you find the main file with feeds from your merchants that have supplied a feed in that language/currency and a folder for each merchant. The merchant folder contains a text file with the list of categories provided in the feed and the category-specific files created from that merchant’s language or currency feed.

Click on the image for a larger version.

Global Files: Naming Conventions

Following the specified naming convention, you must browse and download your desired Global feeds.

root

GLOBAL(folder)

FR-FR_EUR(folder – language-locale_currency)

12345(folder – the number here is the Advertiser ID, or MID)

                  12345_678_mp_FR-FR_EUR.txt.gz

                  12345_678_mp_delta_FR-FR_EUR.txt.gz

                    5555(folder)

                  5555_678_mp_FR-FR_EUR.txt.gz

                  5555_678_mp_delta_FR-FR_EUR.txt.gz

FR-CA_CAD(folder – language-locale_currency)

                  12345(folder)

                 12345_678_mp_FR-CA_CAD.txt.gz

                   12345_678_mp_delta_FR-CA_CAD.txt.gz

Additional Files Naming Conventions

You must follow the specified naming convention to browse and download your desired Additional feeds.

root

ADDITIONAL (folder)

                 12345 (folder – the number here is the Advertiser ID or MID)

                                    2017Summer (folder – name of the Additional file, as specified by the Advertiser)

                                                    12345 (folder – the number here is the Advertiser ID or MID)

                                               12345_678_mp_2017Summer.txt.gz

                                               12345_678_mp_delta_2017Summer.txt.gz

                                     Back2School (folder – name of the Additional file, as specified by the Advertiser)

                                                    12345 (folder – the number here is the Advertiser ID or MID)

                                                12345_678_mp_Back2School.txt.gz

                                                12345_678_mp_delta_Back2school.txt.gz

       5555 (folder – the number here is the Advertiser ID or MID)

                                   FreeShipping (folder – name of the Additional file, as specified by the Advertiser)

                                                    5555 (folder – the number here is the Advertiser ID or MID)

                                               5555_678_mp_FreeShipping.txg.gz

                                               5555_678_mp_delta_FreeShipping.txt.gz

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