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Import Modes in B2C Commerce
For import processes, you can specify an import mode to define how to interpret the data within a feed. Some modes aren’t supported for some object types. The import mode, defined for the import process, applies to all objects within the feed. Import modes apply to all import files defined by B2C Commerce schemas.
The following table describes general import mode semantics. See Object Type-specific Import and Export topics for nuances and exceptions.
| Mode | Description |
|---|---|
| MERGE | MERGE mode creates an object if it doesn't exist and then performs an UPDATE on the object (see import mode UPDATE). When creating an object, some object attributes have preset defaults. |
| UPDATE | UPDATE mode modifies an existing object. The object isn't created if it doesn't exist.
|
| REPLACE | REPLACE mode means that an object is recreated with the data provided in the feed. The object doesn't have to exist. Existing attributes not provided in the feed are removed during the import. Technically, REPLACE mode equals a DELETE followed by a MERGE. |
| DELETE | DELETE mode means that an object is removed from the database. Only the object ID must be provided in the feed. The other object attributes are ignored. |
DELETE mode deletes objects in the feed. Likewise, REPLACE mode deletes and then re-creates objects in the feed. Performing a REPLACE import just to change one object deletes the complete object set.
Some imports support an attribute mode at the import element level. In this case, the only supported mode is DELETE, whereby the import mode for the process can be overwritten for a particular element. This capability is useful when feeding changed information to a B2C Commerce system. This capability allows a single import process to create, update, and delete objects.
Consider this example, where a specific product with product-id PN-00001 is deleted:
<product product-id="PN00001" mode="delete"/>
Salesforce recommends that you use delta feeds for production. Delta feeds contain only the changes from the previous feed. Delta feeds are smaller to archive, quicker to import, and easier to troubleshoot. However, for some schemas, some elements override the global import mode and always use the REPLACE mode. These elements can't be included in delta feeds, as they require the full set of objects to be included in each import feed.
List-Type Elements
The standard behavior for all list-type elements in the XML files is to replace the entire list in the database that is contained in the file, regardless of import mode MERGE or REPLACE.
If the list-element isn't contained in the import file:
- in MERGE mode, the database list remains
- in REPLACE mode, the database is deleted
Import Mode Processing Examples
We have provided examples of import mode processing.
The following example shows how objects are updated in the database depending on the import mode you choose to use.
The values represented in the feed are:
- A+a- an object with a new attribute
- B-a - an object with an attribute removed
- C - an object left unchanged
- D - a new object
- FΔa - an object with an attribute value that is changed
| XML File Objects | Pre-Import Database Objects | Import Mode | Post-Import Database Objects |
|---|---|---|---|
| A+a, B-a, C, D, FΔa | A, B, C, E, F | MERGE | A+a, B, C, D, E, FΔa |
| UPDATE | A+a, B, C, E, FΔa | ||
| REPLACE (except price books) | A+a, B-a, C, D, FΔa | ||
| REPLACE (price books) | A+a, B-a, C, D, FΔa | ||
| DELETE (except price books) | E | ||
| DELETE (price books) |
For MERGE and UPDATE, attributes not specified in the feed aren’t removed, which is why you see B, rather than B-a. If you wish to remove an attribute, sometimes you have to change the attribute value to none or blank, rather than changing the import mode. The correct value to specify differs, depending on the attribute. See the Framework section for more information on how specific attributes are processed.
For UPDATE, the object D isn't created.
The object "E" isn’t removed in any of the table scenarios, with the exception of price books. If you import a price book in REPLACE or DELETE mode, the entire price book is replaced or deleted, including data not specified in the feed. For other imports, there’s no mode that deletes objects not included in the feed. You must decide on a strategy to explicitly remove outdated objects.
When importing an inventory list in REPLACE mode, any inventory record that is not in the import file gets deleted. If the same inventory list appears multiple times in the same file, it will delete the previously imported elements as well.
