The so-called handle is one of the most important columns in the product import. It is the "parentId" of a product and is used to identify related variants as one product. You can think of the handle as a gripper arm that holds the different variants together to one product. 

If you want to offer a product with several variants (sizes, colors, etc.), a row must be created in the product import for each combination of variants. In order for our system to recognize that these variants must be grouped into one product, it needs the handle column, which must contain an identical value for each variant within a product. You can name these handles freely. Afile with the general instructions as well as an example can be found in the appendix. 

Please note that each row will be created as a single product if no handle has been stored. This cannot be undone afterwards and the products cannot be deleted. Please make sure to assign a handle to connected variants, i.e. rows.

Attention! No error message will appear in the test run if you create your products without a handle.

What is the difference to the "productID"?

The productID has a similar function as the handle. However, it is only assigned by our system after the initial creation of a product to identify related variants. If you create a new product via the product import, you must assign a handle and the productID column remains empty for the time being. In the case of a product that is created manually and exported later, a parentID already exists in the form of the productID. In this case, no further handle has to be assigned to the already created product during the revision and you can use the existing productID to add further variants to this product.

The productID can only be assigned by us. Please use the handle column to merge linked product variants.