Files and links
The file formats, size limits and link sources Portaim accepts, what a Google Drive, Google Sheets or Dropbox link needs, and the structural checks a file must pass before it is read.
Formats and limits
| Accepted | |
|---|---|
| File types | .csv, .xlsx, .xls |
| File size | up to 50 MB |
| Rows | up to 100,000 |
| Columns | up to 100 |
| Sheets | any number; you pick one per import |
| Header row | any row, or none |
| CSV delimiter | comma, semicolon, tab or pipe, detected automatically |
| CSV encoding | UTF-8 with or without a byte-order mark, and UTF-16 with one; anything else is read as Latin-1 |
Rows beyond your plan’s monthly allowance are skipped with a note, not rejected; see Account and settings.
Links
| Source | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Google Drive | A share link with access set to “Anyone with the link”. |
| Google Sheets | A share link with access set to “Anyone with the link”. The whole workbook is fetched, so you pick the tab in the sheet picker. |
| Dropbox | A link shared for public download. Portaim turns the preview page into a direct download. |
| Any other URL | A public URL that returns the file itself. A URL that answers with a login page or a preview page is refused with a message naming the problem. |
The download has 30 seconds to complete and the same 50 MB cap as an upload. Files behind a company login, a private Drive, or a password-protected share cannot be fetched; download them and upload from your computer instead.
Structural checks before parsing
Portaim inspects the raw file before it reads any product data. These stop the upload. For a workbook with several sheets the checks run on each sheet, and the file is refused only when none passes, so a cover or notes page in front of your products does not matter:
| Check | Why |
|---|---|
| Fewer than two rows or two columns | There is no table to import. |
| Merged cells (Excel) | The grid is ambiguous; unmerge and save again. |
| Password-protected workbook | Portaim cannot open it; remove the password. |
| An Excel file that unpacks to more than 200 MB | An XLSX is compressed; one this large unpacked is refused before it is read. Save it as CSV, or split it into smaller files. |
| Corrupt or binary content | The file is not a spreadsheet, or it is damaged. |
| Several tables on one sheet | Portaim cannot tell which block is the product list; move one table to its own sheet. |
| Very few filled cells, or a sheet that is mostly empty | The sheet holds no usable data. |
| Most rows have a different number of columns than the rest (CSV) | Usually a delimiter or quoting problem in the export. |
These only warn, and you can continue:
- some rows have a different number of columns than the rest;
- the sheet is sparsely filled.
WooCommerce and Shopify-format files
A WooCommerce product export and a file in Shopify’s own column layout are both recognised on upload and handled before mapping. A Shopify export’s unit price columns (Unit Price Total Measure, Unit Price Total Measure Unit, Unit Price Base Measure and Unit Price Base Measure Unit) are mapped by name with the rest, so a catalogue priced per kilo or per litre keeps its unit prices through to the store. See Upload a file and WooCommerce conversion.