Domain Data Transfer: Import & Export

Introduction

Managing domain data across catalogs has been a manual and repetitive process, especially since domains are Catalog specific and could not be easily reused or transferred. This often meant rebuilding the same domain structure including its values, constraints, and relationships from scratch when replicating it across catalogs. This often led to time consuming and error prone manual rebuilding of domains.

To eliminate this redundancy, the Domain Import/Export feature allows you to seamlessly transfer domain master data across catalogs. Domains can now be exported as a structured set of excel files and these files can directly be imported into another catalog without modification and no loss of detail or consistency.

A domain is composed of multiple entities and complex relationships; the exported data is broken down into multiple files such as Domain, Domain Property, Domain Header Value, Domain Value Relationship, Domain Digital Asset. Domain Header Value Digital Asset.

This functionality ensures consistency, improves reusability, and dramatically reduces time spent on repetitive configuration, while maintaining the integrity of complex domain setups. For more details refer to Domain Import/Export File Structure.

Export Domain Data

Let’s look at how to export an existing domain:

1. To export domain you can either -

   1. Go to Exports > Domain Exports > +New Export.

      

      OR

   2. Go to Catalogs > Domains > select the catalog

      You can view the list of domains as shown in the screenshot below:

2. To export a specific domain click on the (Export) icon under the Actions column next to the domain name.

   To export all the domains click Export icon at the top as shown in the screenshot below:

You’ll land on the Export Domain Data screen.

3. Export Name-> Enter a name of the export.

4. Select Catalog-> The catalog field will be pre-filled based on your earlier selection. No changes are needed unless you wish to export from a different catalog.

5. Export Scope- Select one of the following options:

   1. All Domains- Select this option to export all the domains in the catalog.

      OR

   2. Specific Domain- Select this option to choose specific domain. A list will appear on the right side, allowing you to select one or more domains to export.

6. View File Structure (Optional)- To understand the format and structure of the exported files, click the link provided.

7. Choose Digital Assets-> Under this field you can choose whether to export:

   1. All digital assets, or

   2. Only those that match saved filter condition(s).

8. If you choose match saved filter condition(s) option, then a list of save condition as shown in the screenshot below gets displayed:

9. Click Export and you’ll see the below pop-up:

10. Click Ok and you’ll land on Domain Exports screen.

    You can see the list of domains that are exported.

11. Initially, the status of the export is shown as Ready to Process.

12. Once the files are processed and ready to download the status is updated to Completed.

    You can view the generated files on the right as shown in the screenshot below.

13. Click  to retrieve the exported files.

14. Go to Downloads folder in your local drive where you can find all the exported files.

The exported data is broken down into the following files:

File Structure Overview

• Domain –> Captures core domain Metadata such as name, restriction settings, and display configuration.

• Domain Property –> Lists the domain’s properties (e.g., Brand Name, Manufacturer), including data types, constraints, LOVs, and validation rules.

• Domain Header Value –> Represents the actual values for each domain (e.g., Apple, Nike) along with associated property values and effective dates.

• Domain Value Relationship –> Defines how values from one domain relate to values in another (e.g., Manufacturer A creates Brand B).

• Domain Digital Asset –> Associates digital assets (images, documents, videos) directly to a domain.

• Domain Header Value Digital Asset –> Associates digital assets with specific domain header values (e.g., logo for Brand X).

Note: Only files relevant to the available data will be included during export. For example, if a domain has no digital assets, the corresponding files will be omitted. However, the core four files Domain, Domain Property, Domain Header Value, and Domain Value Relationship will always be generated when applicable.

For more information on the layout & structure of the files you can refer to Domain Import Export File Structure & Layout.

Import Domain Data

After reviewing the data in the exported files, you can proceed to import the domain into another catalog.

Steps to import domain:

1. Go to Import menu > Domain Import.

   You’ll land on the Domain Import screen.

2. Click on +New Import.

   You’ll land on New Domain Import screen.

3. Import Name- Enter the name of the import.

4. Select Catalog- Select the catalog into which you want to import the domain.

5. Now under import file types you can see the file type for which you need to upload the file which would one of the following:

   • Domain,

   • Domain Property,

   • Domain Header Value,

   • Domain Value Relationship,

   • Domain Digital Asset,

   • Domain Digital Asset Header Value

6. For each file, click the upload link in the Files column and upload the corresponding file from your system.

7. Enter the corresponding First Row of Data as an integer (e.g., 2 if headers are present).

   This indicates the row in your file where the actual data begins.

   

   Please note that the file(s) will function correctly even without the header row.

8. Once all the files are correctly uploaded, click Add Import.

   You’ll see following pop-up as shown below:

9. Click OK.

   You’ll land on the domain import page.

10. Like any other import once the file is uploaded, the Status changes to File(s) Uploaded against the name of the file uploaded.

11. Click    to process the import.

Once the import is successfully processed, and if it includes digital assets, you’ll receive a notification email as shown below:

12. In case of an error, the Status is updated to Complete but you can see error log file (shown in the screenshot below). You can download this file to review detailed error message, correct the issue, and re-import the updated file.

13. Once the file is successfully processed without any errors and the Status is updated to Complete.

14. Go to Catalogs > Domains and select the relevant catalog.

    The imported domain will appear under that catalog, as shown in the screenshot below: