Item images

Item images are saved on S3 and delivered using CloudFront, a CDN service by AWS. CDN is short for Content Delivery Network. CDN allows completely scalable delivery of item images. CDN makes it possible to only save the original image. A specified dimension of the original image is created when the image is displayed on screen. This dimension is then saved in the CloudFront CDN cache.

Learn which settings can be configured for item images and how to upload images via FTP.

1. Setting up item images

In the Setup » Item » Images » Settings menu, carry out the following settings for item images:

Import and export
Placeholder images
Size of attribute images
Image names

Carrying out settings for item images:

Go to Setup » Item » Images » Settings.
Carry out the settings. Note Table 1.
Save () the settings.

Table 1. Image settings
Setting	Explanation
Settings
Export item image position	Select the item image position for the image export, for example to a market. The position is defined in the item’s Images tab.
Image import using FTP	Select whether imported images should be added (default setting) or whether the old images should be deleted before importing the new images.
Image names of the FTP import	Select whether the file names of images imported via the FTP server include the item ID or the variation No..
URL of placeholder image	Enter the URL of a placeholder image. This image will be shown if item images cannot be displayed. Upload the placeholder image in the menu CMS » Webspace.
URL of placeholder preview image	Enter the URL of a placeholder image for preview images. This image will be shown if preview images cannot be displayed. Upload the placeholder image in the menu CMS » Webspace.
Attribute images
Max. height in pixels	Enter the maximum height of attribute images in pixels. The value 40 is set by default.
Max. width in pixels	Enter the maximum width of attribute images in pixels. The value 40 is set by default.
Name
Original name; Item ID; Item No.; Name 1 - Name 3; Keywords; Model; Free text field 1 - Free text field 20; Own prefix	Select parameters to be included in the image name and define positions for the order of parameters in the name. Parameters are hyphenated in the image name. You have to specify the item ID or the item number. The image name is limited to a maximum of 32 characters.
Prefix	Enter a prefix to be inserted in the image name. *Note:* The prefix you enter is only inserted into image names if you selected a position in the Prefix drop-down list.

2. Saving own domain for image URLs

Item images are assigned the URL of the default CDN domain by default. This means that the URLs of item images contain the domain name "plentymarkets.com”. However, instead of the default CDN domain, you can also set up the domain of the client and save a custom subdomain for item images. Table 2 shows the differences between the default CDN domain and an individual CDN domain. You can set up an own CDN domain for domains hosted by plentymarkets and for domains hosted by an external provider. However, note the following limitations:

You can only save individual subdomains for the main domain.
You can only save one subdomain for each client.
The subdomain must not contain www.
The subdomain must not exist in the domain assistant.

Table 2. Own domain for image URLs
	Image URL with default domain	Image URL with own domain
URL pattern	The URL of item images is created as follows: Subdomain CDN1, CDN2 or CDN3 Domain plentymarkets.com Customer hash File path item/images Item ID Folder name of image size Name of image file with file extension	The own domain is specified instead of the default domain. The customer hash is not shown in the URL: Own subdomain. Domain of the client File path item/images Item ID Folder name of image size Name of image file with file extension
Example URL	https://cdn01.plentymarkets.com/ 1abcd2e3fghi/item/images/118/full/118-chair-Rio.jpg	https://yoursubdomain.yourstore.co.uk/ item/images/118/full/118-chair-Rio.jpg

Proceed as described below to save an own domain for the image URLs of a client.

2.1. A domain hosted by plentymarkets

Proceed as described below to save an own domain for the image URLs of a client if your domain is hosted by plentymarkets.

Activate the domain after the subdomain has been created

It can take several hours for the subdomain to be created. The creation process is complete when green checkmarks are shown in all three columns, i.e. SSL, DNS and Cloud status. Once the subdomain is created, activate the domain.

Saving own domain for image URLs:

Go to Setup » Client » Select client » CDN-Domains.
Click on Add ().
→ The New domain window opens.
Carry out the settings. Note Table 3.
Save () the settings.
→ The subdomain is created.
→ A SSL certificate is created for the subdomain.
→ A DNS record is created for the subdomain.
→ A CloudFront instance is created.
Note: This process can take several hours. The process is complete when green checkmarks are shown in the columns SSL, DNS and Cloud status.
Once all three checkmarks are shown, click on Activate in the Status column.
→ The domain is activated.

Table 3. Saving subdomain for image URLs
Setting	Explanation
Section	Select the type of subdomain from the drop-down list. Currently, only the type CDN1 is available.
Subdomain	Enter a custom subdomain. Valid characters are letters (a-z, A-Z), numbers (0-9), underscore (_) and hyphen (-). The first character of the subdomain must be either a letter or a number.
Domain	Select the domain from the drop-down list. You can only select the main domain of the client.

2.2. A domain hosted by an external provider

If your domain is hosted by an external provider, then first you’ll generate DNS entries in plentymarkets. Then you’ll have 72 hours to save these DNS entries with your external domain provider.

You have 72 hours to save the DNS entries with the provider

The DNS entries that were generated in plentymarkets need to be saved with the external domain provider within 72 hours. Otherwise the DNS entries will be invalid once the time is up.

If you’ve created a CDN domain but you didn’t save the DNS entries with the provider on time, then you’ll be missing one of the three check marks in the back end and it will not be possible to activate the domain.

What is DNS?

DNS is short for Domain Name System. DNS makes it possible to enter the domain name instead of the numerical IP address of your online store.

Saving own domain for image URLs for an external domain:

Go to Setup » Client » Select client » CDN-Domains.
Click on Add ().
→ The New domain window opens.
Carry out the settings. Note Table 4.
Save () the settings.
→ A DNS record is created for the subdomain.
In the row of the domain entry, click DNS info.
→ The DNS info window opens.
→ The DNS settings are shown.
Log into the service area of your domain provider.
Copy the DNS settings shown in plentymarkets into the relevant fields of the domain provider.
→ Check the documentation of the domain provider on how to do this.
Save () the settings.
→ A SSL certificate is created for the subdomain.
→ A CloudFront instance is created.
→ The DNS settings are updated.
→ The process is complete once green checkmarks are shown in the columns SSL, DNS and Cloud status of the Setup » Client » Open client » CDN-Domains menu in the plentymarkets back end.
Once all three checkmarks are shown in the Setup » Clients » Open client » CDN-Domains menu, click on Activate in the Status column.
→ The domain is activated.

Table 4. Saving subdomain for image URLs
Setting	Explanation
Section	Select the type of subdomain from the drop-down list. Currently, only the type CDN1 is available.
Subdomain	Enter a custom subdomain. Valid characters are letters (a-z, A-Z), numbers (0-9), underscore (_) and hyphen (-). The first character of the subdomain must be either a letter or a number.
Domain	Select the domain from the drop-down list. You can only select the main domain of the client.

3. Specifying item image sizes

In the Setup » Item » Images » Sizes menu, you select settings for each image size. The following sizes are available:

preview = The size of the preview image
secondPreview = The size of the second preview image
middle = The size of the medium image
full = The size of the full size image

Proceed as described below to specify the item image sizes.

Specifying item image sizes:

Go to Setup » Item » Images » Sizes.
Carry out the settings for each image size. Note Table 5.
Save () the settings.

Table 5. Setting the image sizes
Setting	Explanation
Name	Enter an internal name for this image size.
Folder name	The folder name for this image size. The folder name cannot be changed and is part of the item image’s URL.
Maximum height in pixels	Enter the maximum height in pixels for images of this size. If your item image exceeds this size, then the displayed image will be scaled down. The aspect ratio will stay the same.
Maximum width in pixels	Enter the maximum width in pixels for images of this size. If your item image exceeds this size, then the displayed image will be scaled down. The aspect ratio will stay the same.
Max. lifetime of cache in days	Enter the number of days that created images are saved in the CloudFront cache. The image’s lifetime begins once the image has been displayed on screen in this size, i.e. loaded into the cache.
Rotate the output image based on the EXIF Orientation tag	Decide whether you want to retain the original image orientation (image rotation of 90, 180, 270°). Activated = The original image’s rotation is retained for scaled images of this size.
Retain meta data (EXIF, XMP, IPTC) of the original image	Select if the meta data of the original image is to be retained. Examples of meta data are description texts, geo data (GPS), date and time. Activated = The original image’s meta data is retained for scaled images of this size. *Tip:* To optimise load time and data volume, it may be advisable to not retain meta data particularly for preview images.
Do not enlarge	Select if original images are to be enlarged. Not activated = Images are scaled to size if the original image is smaller than the maximum dimensions defined for this size.
JPG
Quality in percent	Enter a compression for original JPG images in percent. Compression reduces load times and can help you achieve better page speed values. *Tip:* Compressing images to 80 % results in no visible loss of quality.
Progressive	Select if images of this size are to be displayed instantly when the page is loaded. Activated = The image is available at low resolution as soon as the page is loaded. The quality of the image increases gradually during page load.
PNG
Compression level (0-9)	Select a compression level for PNG files. 0 = Lowest compression 9 = Highest compression PNG is a loss-free format. As such, PNG images are always decompressed and shown at the original quality. However, if you select a higher compression level, the browser needs more time to decompress the image.
Progressive	Select if images of this size are to be displayed instantly when the page is loaded. Activated = The image is available at low resolution as soon as the page is loaded. The quality of the image increases gradually during page load.

Invalidate CDN cache

It may be necessary to clear the image cache after changing settings in the Setup » Item » Images menu. Images may be displayed with old settings because these settings are still saved in the cache. Click on Invalidate CDN cache, to show the changes more quickly. The cache invalidation is done by CloudFront. After you invalidate the cache, each image size is created on the fly when the image is opened.

4. Uploading item images via FTP server

Every plentymarkets system has its own FTP server. This FTP server contains the folder upload_article_image_XXXX (XXXX = plentyID) to which you can upload item images. The folder is checked for changes every 60 minutes. New, correctly named images are assigned to the correct item automatically. To upload files, you need an FTP program and your FTP login details.

4.1. Naming of item image files for FTP import

Go to Setup » Item » Images » Settings and use the option Image names of the FTP import to choose whether the file names of the imported item images include the item ID or the variation No. Depending on this setting, you either name the files with the item ID or the variation number.

Valid characters for file names

The following characters are supported for image file names:

Letters (a-z, A-Z) excluding umlauts
Numbers (0-9)
Underscores (_)
Hyphens (-)

Spaces and special characters are not permitted. When you upload images, spaces and special characters are replaced by hyphens (-).

If you want to upload several images for one item, number the files by adding suffixes. You have to separate the image number from the item ID or variation No. with three hyphens, i.e. ---. You can upload up to 100 images per item by numbering them from 0 to 99.

Example:

You want to upload images for an item with item ID 4562 and the variation number AQ3957.

Table 6. Examples of FTP compliant naming of item images
Setting	Naming 1 image per item	Naming more than 1 image per item
Image names of the FTP import = Item ID	4562.jpg 4562.png 4562.gif 4562.svg	4652---0.jpg 4652---1.jpg 4652---2.gif
Image names of the FTP import = Variation number	AQ3957.jpg AQ3957.png AQ3957.gif AQ3957.svg	AQ3957---0.png AQ3957---19.png

4.2. Importing item images via FTP server

Proceed as described to import item images to the FTP server.

Importing item images using FTP:

Copy the item images that you want to upload using FTP to a folder on your hard drive.
Check the names of the image files.
Modify the names of the image files if they do not comply with the file name conventions.
Select the target folder upload_article_image_XXXX (XXXX = plentyID) in your FTP program.
In the Upload section of your FTP program, select the files to be uploaded.
Start the upload.
→ The images are assigned to the items and displayed in the online store after up to 60 minutes.

Take upload time into account

200 images are processed in each run, 2000 images if you have your own server. Depending on the data volume, the upload may take several hours, even if you have a powerful computer and a fast data connection. Therefore, schedule the file upload at a time when it will not interfere with your day-to-day business.