Common problems

The upload was rejected

The message names the check that failed: merged cells, a password, several tables on one sheet, too little data. Files and links lists each check and the fix. For a link, the message says which sharing setting to change; a link that opens a login or preview page in your browser will not work for Portaim either.

The mapping is wrong or empty

• A column landed on the wrong field. Click the field’s column header and switch its source column, or click the column in the Source columns card. The correction is saved with the mapping for the next file.
• Variants were not grouped, or grouped wrongly. Portaim groups rows by a repeating code or name. If your file has no such column, add one before uploading, or map the product name as the handle. The guide Import Shopify product variants from a supplier file shows the layouts that group correctly.
• The model could not place the columns at all. Click Try AI mapping again. If it fails again, map by hand; a confirmed manual mapping is saved for next time like any other.
• A previous mapping was applied and it is wrong. The mapping page says when a saved mapping was used. Change the columns and confirm; the saved mapping is updated.

Rows were skipped

A chip in the imports list and a banner on the mapping page say how many rows were processed and how many were skipped. That is the monthly row allowance: the free plan processes 1,500 rows a month. Wait for the reset at the start of the month, or split the file. See Plan and usage.

An error will not go away

• The auto-fix did not apply. Some values have no single correct fix: a price written 1,234 could be one thousand or one and a bit. Those are flagged without a fix; edit the cell or use value mapping on the whole column.
• A value is not one of Shopify’s. Fields with a fixed list (status, inventory policy, weight unit, fulfillment service) accept only Shopify’s values. Value mapping translates yours; the dropdown shows the list.
• The category was not found. Pick one from the suggestions in the category group, or search the taxonomy. A product left without a category still exports; its attributes are then saved as custom metafields.
• Two variants have the same options. Shopify rejects a product whose variants repeat an option combination. Edit one of the rows, or delete the duplicate.

Every check, with what it looks for and the fix it offers, is in Validation rules.

Images did not import

Shopify downloads images from the URLs in your file at import time, on both the CSV and the direct path. An image that is missing in Shopify after a successful import almost always means the host refused Shopify’s request:

• the URL needs a login, or is a page rather than the image file;
• the host blocks requests that do not come from a browser (hotlink protection, usually an HTTP 403);
• the host was down during the import.

Open the URL in a private browser window: if it does not show the bare image, Shopify could not fetch it either. Move the images to a public host, or upload them to Shopify’s Files and use those URLs. Portaim probes one URL per host during a WooCommerce conversion and warns about blocking hosts before you export.

The store would not connect

• The domain must be the .myshopify.com address, not your custom domain.
• You must be an owner or a staff member with permission to install apps on that store.
• If Shopify shows a permissions screen about metaobjects, that is the one-time Permissions update for product attributes; approve it to continue.

Products are missing from the storefront

Products created by a direct export are in your Shopify admin but not on the Online Store sales channel yet. Select them in Shopify’s Products list and add the Online Store channel. Products imported as Draft are hidden until you activate them in Shopify.

The export stopped with failures

The export page lists each failed product with Shopify’s message. Export errors explains the messages. Fix the products and run the export again in Smart upsert (by Handle) mode; products that succeeded the first time are updated, not duplicated.

Still stuck

Email [email protected] with the import’s file name and what you expected to happen.