Building a Posting Template: A How-To Guide

Building a Posting Template

To create a posting template for a marketplace, follow these steps:

Navigate to the Integrations tab under Organization on the sidebar.
Click Edit next to the desired sales channel.
Click the Posting Templates tab at the far right.
Select a category from the dropdown and click Create.
On the Attributes tab, click the + Add (Category Name) button to generate that category’s attributes. You can also click the Clone tab and select a pre-existing template to clone the new template’s attributes from. Please see the article 'How to Clone a Posting Template: A Step-by-Step Guide' for more details about cloning a posting template.
The next step is mapping all the required attributes and any optional attributes you want included in product data. There are ‘Required’ and ‘Unmapped’ check boxes in the top right that filter the attributes by those that are required and/or unmapped.
To map an attribute, click + Add Value under the attribute and select the Value Type.
1. The Static String value type is a single value or string that will apply to all items assigned to that posting template. After selecting it, enter that string in the field to the right.
2. The Product Property value type allows attribute values to vary for each product. In the ‘Select a Field’ box to the right, enter the Acenda mapping for the attribute by searching for the closest match.
  1. If there is no available matching mapping, the mapping will need to be created.
  2. In the sidebar under Organization, select the Custom Fields tab.
  3. Click Edit next to the Product model.
  4. Click + Add Field at the top right.
  5. In the name box, enter the attribute name as seen in the posting template attributes tab with underscores replacing spaces.
  6. For Validation Type, use single_line_text_field for most attributes. The other options limit the values of the attribute to specific types such as dates, measurements, numbers, and true/false.
  7. Once the mapping is created, you must refresh the posting template page by clicking Save at the bottom and then clicking Edit next to it again to refresh it. Now the created mapping will appear in the ‘Select a Field’ search bar under the attribute and can be selected.
3. The Twig Template value type is used to customize rules for mapping an attribute and applies to attributes such as size and color. Acenda admin will map these types of attributes.
To the right of each attribute name are one, two, or three symbols.
1. The white exclamation point and circle appears when the attribute must be filled out for both products (parent SKUs) and variants.
2. The yellow exclamation point and triangle appears when the attribute has recommended/restricted values.
3. The green circle with an 'i' lists several details about the attribute:
  1. The Value Type is the type of value (e.g. xsd:string for text strings or xsd:decimal for numeric values).
  2. The Min Value is 0 if the attribute is not required or 1 if it is required.
  3. The Max Value is the maximum amount of values that can be assigned to that attribute. If it is more than 1, you can select multiple values for that attribute.
    If this value is more than 1, a box will appear below the attribute 'Use delimiter'. Check this box and select the delimiter (pipe, caret, or comma) to use between multiple attribute values when filling in product data. Note: it is best to use the same delimiter for all attributes across all posting templates to prevent mix-ups.
  4. Documentation lists a detailed description of the attribute.
  5. If the attribute has recommended/restricted values, a list of its Allowed Values will appear below Documentation. These are the only values allowed by the integration for that attribute. Please use these exact values to ensure there are no integration errors when filling in your product data.

When finished, click Save at the bottom.