How to Master Advanced WooCommerce Import Export Filters?

Effective data management is crucial for WooCommerce stores, and using import/export tools makes it easier to manage large amounts of data. WebToffee’s Import Export plugins take this further by offering advanced WooCommerce import export filters that allow for precise control over your data. Discover how to utilize these filtering options for smooth data transfers and migrations.

Updating product information, managing customer details, and analyzing order data is quicker and more precise with the import/export functionality.

For instance, if you need to add hundreds of new products, importing them via a file is much easier than entering them manually one by one. Similarly, exporting customer data for email campaigns or order details for accounting purposes becomes much simpler with these tools.

WebToffee’s Import Export plugins take this functionality further by offering advanced filters that precisely control your data management. These plugins allow you to easily refine the data you want to import or export based on specific criteria.

Here, let’s examine closely the advanced filtering options available in our three specialized import-export plugins. Mastering their use can help ease the management of your store’s data during transfers or migrations.

With WebToffee’s Product Import Export plugin’s advanced WooCommerce import export filters, you can control the products you wish to export from your WooCommerce store. Rather than exporting your entire inventory, you can refine the data to concentrate solely on what matters most to you.

Product Import Filters

Here are the filter options for importing products into your WooCommerce store. These filters can be configured in the final step of the product import process.

– If the product exists in the store

If the product is already in your WooCommerce store, you have two choices: skip or update the product.

Skip: This keeps the existing product as it is. The import process will ignore it and make no alterations.

Update: This will refresh the existing product with the new details from the imported file.

Example Use Case: If your store already features a product named “Winter Jacket” priced at $50, and the imported file lists the same product with a new price of $45:

• Skip: The product will continue to be sold at the original price of $50.
• Update: The price will be adjusted to $45 during the import process.

– Match products by their 

When matching products for an import process, you can choose to identify and compare products using either an ID or SKU.

ID – The ID serves as the unique identifier for a product in your database. If the product in your input file has an ID that matches the product ID on the site, the plugin will update the existing product with the information from the input file.

SKU – If the product ID in the input file does not correspond with the product ID on the site, the system will search for a match using the SKU (Stock Keeping Unit). The SKU functions as an alternative product identifier for inventory and imports. If a product in the file shares the same SKU as the one on the site, the plugin will update that product.

– Skip import of new products

You can select “Yes” or “No ” to skip adding new items when importing products. This filter determines whether products that don’t correspond to existing items on your site (by ID or SKU) will be included as new products.

– Update even if empty values

The “Update even if empty values” filter decides whether to refresh your site’s product data when the input file contains empty values in specific columns.

By choosing this option, you ensure that even if some fields in the input file are left blank, the related fields for the product on your site will also be updated to reflect those blank or empty values.

Example Use Case: In cases where the input file does not include product fields like price and stock, and these fields already have values on your site, opting for “Yes” will clear the existing values, leaving them blank or empty. Opting for “No” will skip the missing fields in the input file and preserve the current values on your site.

– Use SKU to link up-sells, cross-sells and grouped products

When importing products, you can use the SKU to link up-sells, cross-sells, or grouped products. Enabling this filter ensures that products are correctly connected, even if their IDs are different or unknown.

Example Use Case: Let’s see in a cross-sell scenario if you are selling a Winter Jacket with SKU – WJKT001 and want to offer Thermal Gloves with SKU – WGVT002 as a complementary product.

Toggling this filter will link these products by their SKUs. In this case, the SKU WGVT002 will be listed as a complementary product for the SKU WJKT001.

– Delete non-matching products from store

The “Delete non-matching products from store” filter lets you tidy up your store by eliminating products not included in the input file during an import. This helps ensure that your store only has the items specified in your input file, allowing you to keep your product catalog current and organized.

Example Scenario: Let’s say your store has the following products before import:

• Winter Jacket (WJKT001) – ID 101
• Quilted Jacket (WJKT002) – ID 102
• Cashmere Muffler (WFRF001) – ID 301
• Beanie Cap (BCPE001) – ID 403

And your input import file contains the products:

• Winter Jacket (WJKT001) – ID 101
• Cashmere Muffler (WFRF001) – ID 301

When you enable “Delete Non-Matching Products” filter, the plugin checks the input file against the products in your store. Any products not found in the input file, such as IDs 301 and 403, will be removed from the store.

When you disable “Delete Non-Matching Products”, non-matching products, like the Quilted Jacket and Beanie Cap, will stay in the store. The products included in the input file will be updated or imported as they normally would.

Product Export Filters

Below are the filter options available for exporting products:

– Total number of products to export 

This filter allows you to choose the exact number of products to include in your export file. This is useful if you want to avoid exporting your entire product catalog at once or if you’re working with large data sets and need to break the export into smaller, manageable parts.

For example, if you set the total to 500, the plugin will export the first 500 products from your store.

– Skip first n products

With this filter, you can leave out a specific number of products from the start of your export file. This is particularly beneficial when you’re exporting products in batches or if you wish to skip the first few items in your catalog.

When to Use?

• Batch Exports: If you’re exporting products in smaller batches, this skip count filter helps prevent exporting the same products more than once. 

• Exclude Specific Products: If there are certain products (like older or less relevant items) that you want to leave out of your export, you can use the Skip Count to avoid including them.

Example Scenario: Imagine your store has 1,000 products. After exporting the first 200, you now want to export the next 300. By setting the skip count to 200, the export will begin from the 201st product.

– Export products by their type

The Product Types filter lets you narrow down your export by choosing specific product types from your WooCommerce store. This feature is especially useful for stores that sell a variety of product types, including simple, variable, or grouped products.

If necessary, you can also export multiple product types at once.

Example Use Case: If you’re running a promotion and must send your marketing team a list of variable products for an ad campaign. Using this filter, you can export only those products, leaving out simple or grouped ones, saving you time and ensuring everything is accurate.

Or, if you’re migrating products to another platform that only allows simple products, you can filter out the others and export just the simple products from your store.

– Products to include

The Products filter lets you pick and export certain products from your WooCommerce store. Instead of exporting your complete catalog, you can narrow it down to the items you need by entering their names. This is particularly useful when you want to concentrate on a specific group of products for tasks such as creating reports, analyzing sales, or migrating selected items.

– Export based on stock status

The Product Status filter allows you to export products according to their current status in your WooCommerce store. This is particularly advantageous for stores with a mix of active, upcoming, or draft products, helping you target the specific subset you need.

Example Use Case: You’re gearing up for a seasonal launch at your store. You’ve created drafts for new winter products, scheduled several to go live next week, and reserved some exclusive items for your loyal customers.

Using the product status filter, you can easily export each of these groups separately, which helps you manage and organize everything more effectively as you prepare for the launch.

– Export specific product categories

The product categories filter lets you export products from selected categories in your WooCommerce store. This feature is especially handy when focusing on a specific part of your inventory. You can choose one or more categories to include in your export file.

Example Use Case: You’re launching a clearance sale on Outerwear and Footwear in your WooCommerce store. By focusing on these two categories, you can easily export just the products you want to put on sale. After exporting, take a moment to check their prices and stock levels, make any needed changes, and then reimport the updated file back into your store.

– Export specific product tags

When exporting products from your online store, you can easily filter them using specific tags that you’ve assigned to each item. Product tags are labels or keywords you assign to your items to group them logically.

This filter enables you to export only those products that fit certain categories or characteristics, simplifying the process, particularly if you have a large inventory.

Example Use Case: If you’re running an online store focused on winter clothing and wish to export products tagged for a Winter Collection or On Sale, you can filter for the Winter Collection tag. This ensures that only the specific items, like coats, thermal wear, and snow boots, are part of the export file.

– Export based on product status

Filtering products based on their status (private, draft, pending, future) is an effective method for managing your inventory and determining which items are visible or available for sale at any moment.

This approach allows you to export or view only those products that fulfill specific criteria, depending on whether they are ready for public viewing, still in development, or planned for a future launch.

Example Use Case: If you’re overseeing a seasonal campaign and need to export a list of products that are ready for sale but haven’t been launched yet, you can filter for future and pending statuses. This way, you’ll only export the products that are set to go live in the coming weeks, allowing your marketing materials to highlight the right products at the right moment.

– Exclude products

The Exclude Products option is a useful feature that lets you remove certain products or groups of products from your export list. This is especially beneficial when you want to generate a custom export file without including every single product.

Rather than filtering products by tags or statuses, you can easily exclude those that are not relevant to your current task.

Example Use Case: If your store offers clothing for every season and you’re focusing on a report about summer sales, it’s important to exclude any winter items like jackets and snow boots, as they won’t be relevant to your analysis.

To do this, utilize the Exclude Products feature to filter out all winter-related items (for instance, those tagged with “Winter Collection”) from the export file.

– Sort columns & Sort by

The Sort columns filter enables you to organize your exported data by arranging it according to one or more chosen columns in a specific order. By default, the data is sorted by the ID column, but you have the option to customize this setting to focus on other columns like product name, product type, created date, and modified date.

Example Use Case: Let’s say you’re exporting your product list to share with your marketing team for a catalog and you might want to arrange the products alphabetically by their names to make it easier for them to review.

• Choose Product Name as the column to sort by.
• Set the sort by column to Ascending.

The exported data will display the products in alphabetical order (for example, “Beanie” will come before “Jacket”).

The Import Export WordPress Users and WooCommerce Customers plugin provides a range of robust filters that enable you to import and export user and customer data with precision. These filters are crafted to help you customize your import and export files according to your specific needs, saving you time and effort while ensuring you only include the necessary data.

Import Filters for Users and Customers 

– Update Only

The Update Only filter controls how your store handles the input file during an import. It gives you the option to either update only the products that are already in your store or to add new products as well.

If you select Yes, only the products that already exist in your store will be updated. Products in the input file that do not correspond to any existing product (by ID or SKU) will be ignored and will not be added to your store.

If you select No, the entire input file will be processed. Existing products will be updated, and new products (those not currently in your store) will be added as new records.

– Match users by their 

You can match users using various identifiers such as User ID, email, or username when you import user data into your site.

When we select an ID, the plugin will look for users based on their User ID from the input file. If the User ID is found, it will update that user’s information. If the ID doesn’t match any existing user, it will be treated as a new user.

– Existing user

This filter lets you choose whether to keep the current user information unchanged or to update it with the new data from the input file.

Example Scenario: Suppose you have a user in your site, “John,” with the ID – 102, and a user in the import file, “Mike” with the same ID -102.

• Skip: If you choose to “Skip” the existing users, the system will retain the user data as it is and will skip any users from the input file that match. User ID 101 (John) is already in your system. Since you are retaining this user, their name will still be Mike, and the plugin will ignore this user from the input file.

• Update: If you update the user, the system will replace the existing user data with the new information from the input file, even if the users match. User ID 101 (John) is already in your system, and their name will be changed to “Mike” according to the input file.

– Skip Guest User

This filter is intended to help you manage guest users who make purchases or interact with your store without creating a full account.

When importing user data, guest users are generally not registered customers, meaning they lack the same attributes as registered users, such as a username or password.

When you enable the “Skip Guest User” filter, the plugin will not include guest users in the import as registered customers. If a guest user is present in the input file, their information will be ignored and not added to the site as a registered user.

This filter keeps your customer records clean by ensuring only registered users with an account and login details are included.

– Email new users

Enabling the “Email New Users” filter lets you automatically send an email to all new users after they have been successfully imported into your system.

This is particularly beneficial when importing a list of users, as it lets you inform them about their successful registration or share their new account details.

Export Filters – Users and Customers 

Let’s examine each of these filters one by one:

– Total number of users to export

This filter lets you specify a limit on how many users or customers are included in your export file. This is particularly helpful when you have a large user base but only require a smaller group for your current task.

Rather than exporting your entire database, you can determine the exact number of users to include, making your file more manageable and targeted.

Example Use Case: To create a report on your most recent 100 customers for analyzing their buying behavior and trends, set the Total Number of Users to Export to 100. You can refine the export further by using additional filters like User Role, Date from, and Date to.

– User Roles 

The “User Roles” filter allows you to export customer information based on the roles assigned to them in your system.

You can choose specific user roles (Admin, Editor, Customer, Subscriber, etc.) to include or exclude users based on their role during the export process.

When you select the “Customer” role for exporting, the export will only include users marked as customers. This enables you to focus on particular groups of users for analysis, reporting, or marketing efforts.

– User Email

The “User Email” filter allows you to export data for specific customers based on their name or email address. You can enter the name or email address of one or more customers. The plugin will filter and export only the information related to those customers.

This filter is particularly useful if you want to analyze or target the information of certain users instead of exporting your entire customer list.

– Data From & To

The “Data From & To” option lets you export customer information based on their registration dates. With this feature, you can filter to export only those customers who registered during a specific period.

Example Use Case: Imagine you want to export customers who registered in September 2024.

• Set “Data From” to September 1, 2024.
• Set “Data To” to September 30, 2024.

This way, you will export only those customers who registered between September 1 and September 30, 2024.

– Sort Columns

This filter lets you arrange your exported customer data based on the selected columns. By choosing the columns and their order, you can influence how the data is formatted in the exported file, making it easier to analyze, present, or share.

Example Use Case: Let’s say you want to export customer data and sort it by Registered Users, ensuring that the most recently registered customers are listed first. Follow these steps:

• Select “user_registered” as the column to sort by.
• Choose Descending Order.

WebToffee’s Order Import Export plugin has different filters for importing and exporting specific data related to WooCommerce orders.

Let’s explore each of these filters for import and export separately in detail.

Order Import 

– Update Only

The Update Only filter allows you to update existing order data in your WooCommerce store without adding any new ones. If you choose “Yes,” only the orders in your store that correspond to the records in the input file will be updated. No new orders will be created.

If you choose “No,” all records in the input file will be processed. This means that matching orders will be updated, and new orders will be added.

– If order exists in the store

This filter lets you decide how to handle orders that already exist in the store.

By selecting Skip, the plugin maintains the existing orders in the store without any changes, disregards matching orders from the input file, and finds matches using Order IDs.

When you select Update, the plugin updates current orders in the store with details from the input file, matching the records based on Order IDs.

Example Use Case: For instance, your store has Order Number #5001 with Order ID 101, and its Status is Processing. Your input file has the same order number and ID with a change in status to Completed, along with a new order #5002 with order ID 102.

• Skip: The plugin identifies this order already exists in the store. It skips updating the order, and the status remains Processing. Order ID 102, being new is added to the store. 

• Update: The plugin updates the order in the store, changing the status from Processing to Completed. Order ID 102, being new, is added to the store. 

– Email customer on order status change

This filter lets you inform customers when there is an update to their order status during the import process.

Selecting “Yes” ensures that an email is sent to the customer whenever the order status changes during the import process.

If you select “No,” no email notifications will be sent, regardless of any changes to the order status during the import process.

Example Use Case: Email notification enabled.

The plugin updates Order ID 101 in the store from Processing to Completed. An email is automatically sent to alice@example.com, notifying her that the status of her order #5001 has been changed to Completed.

– Create user

The Create User filter allows you to automatically create a customer profile for imported orders in your WooCommerce store.

When you choose “Yes,” the plugin will create a new customer profile for any order that doesn’t already have an associated customer in the store. After creating the profile, you can opt to notify the customer through email using the Notify the customer option, informing them that their account has been created successfully.

Example Use Case: Suppose you’re importing an order, and the customer does not already exist in your store.

With Create user enabled, if john.doe@example.com doesn’t exist, the plugin creates a new account with the username “john.doe,” adding the email and shipping address and notifying John that his account has been created successfully.

– Link products using SKU instead of Product ID

This option determines how products in imported orders match those available in your WooCommerce store. If you choose Yes, the plugin will match the products in the imported orders to your store’s products based on their SKU (Stock Keeping Unit). If you choose No, the plugin will match products using their Product ID.

Example Use Case: Let’s say your store has two products

• Red Thermals (SKU – SKU123, Product ID – 301)
• Blue Thermals (SKU – SKU124, Product ID – 302). 

Your input file for order import has Order ID – 101, Product Identifier – SKU123 and Order ID – 102, Product Identifier – 502.

When “Yes” is selected, the plugin connects products in the input file to your store’s products based on SKU values, linking SKU123 to the “Red Thermals” in your store, no matter what its Product ID is.

If you selected “No”, the plugin matches products from the input file to the products in your store by using Product IDs. It successfully links one “Blue T-Shirt” to the order with Product ID 502.

– Update stock details 

The Update Stock Details feature enables you to automatically modify the stock levels and sales counts of products linked to the orders being imported. This helps keep your inventory precise and current throughout the import process.

• If enabled: The plugin updates the stock quantity for each product according to the quantities listed in the imported orders. It also adjusts the sale count to match the number of units sold as per the imported orders.

• When disabled: The plugin does not alter the stock quantity or sales count of the products, regardless of whether they are part of the imported orders.

Export Orders

– Filter by date

The Filter Orders by Date option lets you import only orders within a certain date range. This feature is especially helpful for focusing on a specific group of orders during the import process while leaving out the rest.

You can enter the date from and date to. This will define the period for which you want to filter orders or choose from predefined periods like weekly, monthly, or yearly. 

– Filter by order ID

The Filter by Order ID feature lets you focus on particular orders for export or import by inputting their unique IDs. This method is a fast and effective way to manage a specific set of orders without dealing with the entire dataset.

Enter the desired order IDs, separated by commas (e.g., 101, 102, 105). The plugin will only process the orders that match these IDs.

– Filter by order status

The Filter by Order Status function allows you to process orders selectively according to their status type, enabling you to focus on certain stages of the order lifecycle. You can also define multiple status types for a broader range of options.

You can choose the status types you want, like Completed, Processing, Pending Payment, etc., from the dropdown. The plugin will filter the orders that match these statuses.

You can list multiple statuses to include orders from different categories.

– Filter by product

The Filter by Product option allows you to export orders that include specific products by entering the product’s name, SKU, or ID. This ensures that only orders containing the specified products are processed, making it easier to focus on relevant data.

– Filter by product category

The Filter by Product Category option allows you to export orders that contain products from selected categories. Choose the product categories you want to filter (Clothing, Accessories, Electronics, etc.).

You can pick one or several categories to include in the export. 

– Filter by customer

The Filter by Customer option lets you export orders linked to specific customers by inputting their email addresses. This feature is particularly helpful for extracting order data for certain individuals or groups.

– Filter by vendor 

To filter orders by vendor and export data for specific vendors, simply enter the vendor’s email address in the appropriate filter field. This functionality is especially helpful for keeping track of orders associated with various vendors in a well-organized and efficient way.

The plugin will look for and identify orders associated with the given vendor email. After the filtering process, only the orders connected to the specified vendor(s) will be ready for export, ensuring precise data retrieval.

– Filter by coupons

This filter allows you to export orders associated with specific coupon codes. Simply enter the coupon codes you want to track, and the plugin will identify all orders where those codes were applied. 

After filtering, you can easily export a list of orders that used those coupons, no unnecessary information, just the essentials. You can also select multiple codes simultaneously, and the system will include orders redeemed with any of the selected codes.

– Filter by payment methods

The filter by payment method option allows you to export orders according to the payment methods. Simply select the payment method you want from the dropdown menu – direct bank transfer, check payments, credit/debit card, or any other available option. The plugin will quickly retrieve all orders that were processed with that method.

After filtering, you can export only the orders associated with your chosen payment method. This feature helps you save time and ensures your data remains organized.

– Filter by shipping methods

The option to filter by shipping method allows you to export orders according to specific shipping methods. You can choose the method you want to focus on, whether it’s flat rate, free shipping, or local pickup. The plugin will retrieve all orders that were shipped using that method. 

Once you’ve applied the filter, you can export only the orders linked to your selected shipping method. This way, you get the data you need without any unnecessary information.

– Filter by billing address

The option to filter by billing address allows you to sort orders based on the billing address details.

You can filter by either state or country in the billing address. Select the option that best suits your requirements. Determine whether you want to see orders where the billing address matches or does not match the state or country you’ve chosen. This provides you with the flexibility to include or exclude certain locations.

After applying the filter, you can export a list of orders that meet your criteria, ensuring you have accurate, location-specific data.

– Filter by shipping address

The filter by shipping address option lets you filter orders based on the shipping address.

You can decide whether to filter by state or country in the shipping address. This will help you focus on the locations that matter most to you. Specify whether the shipping address should match or not match the selected state or country. This gives you the flexibility to include or exclude specific areas easily.

Once you’ve applied the filter, you can export a list of orders that fit your criteria. It’s fast, accurate, and customized to your preferences.

– Total number of orders to export

This filter allows you to control the number of orders you export. This simplifies the management of large datasets, allowing you to focus on specific order ranges or divide exports into more manageable sections.

You can specify the exact number of orders you wish to export. For instance, if you input 500, the plugin will include 500 orders in the export. You can utilize the skip count feature if you prefer not to start from the very first order. For example, entering a skip count of 10 means the export will commence with the 11th order.

By combining these options, you can export precisely the orders you need. For example, 500 with a skip count 10 will give you orders from the 11th to the 510th position.

Data management can be straightforward and stress-free. With WebToffee’s Import Export plugins, you can enhance how you manage your WooCommerce store’s data.

The advanced WooCommerce import export filters enable you to target exactly what matters—products, customers, or orders. By learning to use these tools effectively, you can save time, minimize manual tasks, and maximize the efficiency of your data. 

Hope you find this article useful. If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to comment below, and we’ll get back to you at the earliest.