How to Bulk Upload Images (BIE)

How to Bulk Upload Images

Add and replace images on your store in bulk with a single zip file.

Steps

1. Select Upload from the left menu bar or from your Dashboard.
2. Select which type of images you want to upload (Product, Theme Asset, Collection, Blog Post, or Setting Files).
3. Click Choose File and select the zip file from your computer with the images you want to upload. Steps on how to create a zip file can be found here.
   1. Important: The images in the zip file must follow the file name formats from Table 1 below. Any images that do not follow the expected file name format will be skipped and not uploaded. More information on where to find each component of the required file names is given in the FAQ section.
4. If you are uploading Product images, select the upload method from the dropdown menu.
5. Click Start Bulk Editing to start uploading the images in your zip file to your store.

 Table 1: File Name Formats by Image Type

Upload Methods

The Upload task replaces and adds images from the zip file to your store based on a set of rules for each image type. Product images are the only type that provide a choice between upload methods.

Product Images: [product_id]-[image_position]-[file_name].[extension]

1. Replace matching images and add non-matching images

• If there is already an image for the given product_id at the given image_position, it will be replaced by the image in the zip file. If there is no matching image, the zip file image will be added to the end of the product’s images (at the next available position).

2. Replace matching images

• If there is already an image for the given product_id at the given image_position, it will be replaced by the image in the zip file. If there is no matching image, the zip file image will be skipped and not uploaded. 

Theme Asset Images: [theme_id]-[file_name].[extension]

• If there is an image in the given theme’s (theme_id) Assets folder with the same name as the file_name part of the zip file image, it will be replaced by the zip file image. If there is no matching image, the zip file image will be added to the theme’s Assets folder.

Collection Images: [collection_id]-[file_name].[extension]

• If the given collection (collection_id) already has a cover image, replace it with the image in the zip file. If the collection does not have an image, upload the zip file image as the collection’s cover image.

Blog Post Images: [article_id]-[file_name].[extension]

• If the given article (article_id) already has an image, replace it with the image in the zip file. If the article does not have an image, upload the zip file image as the article’s image.

Setting Files: [file_name].[extension]

• If there is already a Setting Files image in the with the same name as the file_name part of the zip file image, replace it with the zip file image. If there is no matching image, the zip file image will be added to your store’s Setting Files.

FAQ

Where can I find the IDs for each image on my store?

The IDs from the table above (e.g., product_id or collection_id) can usually be found in the page’s URL. Where to find each specific ID is explained below.

product_id

A product’s product_id can be found in the URL after the last slash on the product’s page.

image_position

The image_position is simply the position of the image in the product’s Media section as shown by the numbers below.

theme_id

To find an asset’s theme_id, first navigate to Online Store > Themes in the left-hand menu then scroll to your desired theme and select Edit code from the Actions dropdown menu.

This will open the theme editing window. The theme_id is the last part of this page’s URL after the last slash. The Assets folder can also be found on this page so you can see your existing asset files and images.

collection_id

A collection’s collection_id can be found after the last slash in the collection page’s URL.

article_id

A blog post’s article_id can be found after the last slash in the blog post page’s URL.

How does this task affect my monthly credit?

Uploaded images will use credit from your Monthly Image Edits based on your current plan. If an image in the zip file is skipped and not uploaded for any reason, it will not subtract from your monthly credit. In the case where the zip file image is replacing an image on your store, if the images are determined to be identical, then the image will not be replaced, and it will not consume credit.

What happens if the images in the zip file are already on my store?

Any images in the zip file that are identical to the images on your store that they are replacing will be skipped and not uploaded. In this case, these images will not use any of your monthly editing credit.

You can follow the video below for a step-by-step guide on how to do this.