How to Use Feed Rules to Fix Catalog Product Data

A feed rule fixes product data on the way in, so you don’t have to re-export your file or touch hundreds of rows by hand. You write the rule once on a data feed or partner integration, and Meta applies it to every future upload or sync from that source. Meta suggests rules for formatting problems, for making data meet its specifications and for bulk changes.

What do you need first?

You need full control of the catalog. Rules change product data that comes from a data feed or a partner platform, so you add each rule to one of those data sources.

How do you add a feed rule?

1. Go to Commerce Manager and select your catalog.
2. Open the Catalog tab and go to Data sources.
3. Select the data feed or partner integration you want to apply rules to, then open its Settings tab.
4. Find the Data feed rules or Product data rules section and click + Add rule.
5. Pick the rule type from the dropdown menu.
6. Choose the field the rule applies to, enter what should change and click Create.
7. Repeat for any other rules you need.
8. Click Apply rules and confirm.

Which rule types can you use?

Rule	What it does	Meta’s example
Change capitalization	Sets a field to title case, sentence case, lowercase or uppercase	Turn all-caps descriptions into sentence case, since descriptions can’t be all capitals
Match a field	Maps your column name to a field Meta recognizes	Map a “sku” column to the id field
Find and replace	Swaps exact text for other text; case sensitive	Replace commas with periods in prices, so 10,50 EUR becomes 10.50 EUR
Set default values	Fills a blank or missing field	Set availability to in stock where it is empty
Regex replace	Finds and replaces using regular expressions	Replace both “color” and “colour” with one word

In what order do rules run?

Meta says rules are typically applied to your product details at the same time. The exception is when you add several find and replace or regex replace rules: those run in the order you added them. You can add multiple find and replace and regex replace rules per field, but only one rule per field for the other types.

Can rules be created for you automatically?

Yes, in two ways Meta describes. When you upload a new feed whose field names don’t match Meta’s, Commerce Manager may help you match them, and it creates data rules so the matching happens on every future upload. Separately, a rule marked “automatically applied” is one Meta added to fix an issue with your product data.

How do you edit or delete a rule?

1. Return to the data source’s Settings tab and find the Data feed rules or Product data rules section.
2. Select View next to the rule, then Edit, make your change and select Apply.
3. To remove a rule, open its menu, select Delete and confirm with Delete again.

FAQ

Do feed rules work with Shopify or another partner platform?

Yes. Meta says data rules can change product data from a data feed or a partner platform each time it uploads or syncs. You add the rule to the partner integration in Data sources, the same way you would for a feed file.

Do rules fix products already in my catalog?

Meta says that after you apply product data rules, they affect all future uploads of that data feed or syncs from your partner platform. Expect the change on the next upload or sync from that source.

Why didn’t my find and replace rule catch every value?

Find and replace is case sensitive. Meta’s example is that a rule replacing “red” won’t also replace “Red”. Add a second rule for the other spelling, or use a regex replace rule, which can match several variations at once.