Custom file names for Product Export
When exporting product data, you are allowed to customize the name of the export file that will download to your computer. This is done by using a naming convention or ‘input names’ presented in this article.
The product export file can be one of the following formats: CSV file for Excel, Matrixify Excel, Matrixify CSV ZIP file, or Plain CSV file.
In order to follow along, you should have:
- The Bulk Product Editor app installed on your Shopify store
- Open the Export Product Data page in the Bulk Product Editor app
The custom file name field
The
File name field is visible on the Export Product Data page. This is where you can apply the ‘input names’ listed below to customize the name of the product export file that will download to your computer.
Before editing the file name field, we recommend following this article on
exporting product data to a spreadsheet to have your desired product export configured beforehand.
‘Input names’ to use for customizing export file name
By adding the ‘Input names’ listed below in the
file name field, you will update the name of the export file that will download after selecting
Generate Spreadsheet.
There are two sets of input names you can use to configure a product export file name:
Set 1 - Static input names
Static input names result in descriptive (non-numerical) changes to the name of the file that will generate once entered in the
file name field.
| Input name | Meaning | Example output |
| %{shop_name} | Name of store as defined in Shopify | Ablestar Store |
| %{entities} | Contents of exported file |
Products |
| %{shop_subdomain} | Store name as it appears in the Shopify store subdomain. Example: ablestar-store.myshopify.com |
ablestar-store |
Set 2 - Dynamic input names
Dynamic input names can be used to add date and time details to your product export file name. This is useful if you are looking to timestamp your product export file downloads to keep track of them on your computer.
| Input name (placeholder) | Meaning | Example |
| %j | Day of year (001-365) | 311 |
| %-d | Day of month | 16 |
| %d | Day of month (with leading zero 01-31) | 08 |
| %^A | Full weekday name in uppercase | WEDNESDAY |
| %A | Full weekday name | Wednesday |
| %a | Weekday name abbreviation | Wed |
| %^a | Weekday name abbreviation - Uppercase | WED |
| %w | Number of the day in the week where Sunday is 0 (0-6) | 3 |
| %u | Number of the day in the week where Sunday is (0-6) | 3 |
| %y | Year in 2 digits | 22 |
| %Y | Year in 4 digits | 2022 |
| %b | Month abbreviation | Aug |
| %^b | Month abbreviation uppercase | AUG |
| %B | Month full name | August |
| %^B | Month full name uppercase | AUGUST |
| %-m | Month, not padded (1-12) | 8 |
| %m | Month, padded (01-12) | 8 |
| %p | Am/Pm indicator, uppercase | PM |
| %P | AM/Pm indicator lowercase | pm |
| %l | Hour in 12 hr format, padded (01-12) | 09 |
| %H | Hour in 24 hr format, padded (01-23) | 09 |
| %M | Minute | 38 |
| %S | Second | 56 |
| %Z | Time zone abbreviation | UTC |
| %z | Time zone as hour and minute offset from UTC | +0900 |
| %W | Week number in the year (Week starts on Monday (00-53)) | 36 |
| %U | Week number in the year (Week starts on Monday (00-53)) | 36 |
Important things to note:
- You can use any combination of all the input names presented in this article to customize export file names to your needs.
Examples of customized product export files
Below are example pairs of input names and the generated file name:
| Input name (placeholder) | Generated file name |
| %{entities}-%Y-%m-%d | Products-2022-08-30 |
| %{shop_subdomain}_%Y-%m-%d_%^b | ablestar-store_2022-08-30_AUG |
| %{shop_name} %{entities} %Y-%^B-%-d | Ablestar Store Products 2022-AUGUST-30 |
