Guide to Managing Your Product List & Publishing

Welcome to the final article in our series! Now that you know how to import (Article 2) and edit products, including AI content generation (Article 3), let's focus on managing your overall product list and the crucial step of publishing your changes to your Shopify store. These features are primarily found on the app/templates/products/list.html page and involve logic from app/routes/product_routes.py.

1. Navigating the Product List Page

The product list page (list.html) is your central hub for viewing and managing all products you've imported into the tool.

[Imagine a screenshot of the Product List page here]

It would show filter options, a table of products, bulk action tools, and pagination.

Key Elements:

1. Total Product Count: Usually displayed prominently, showing how many products are in the tool.
2. Import Products Button: As covered in Article 2.
3. Filter and Sort Section: Allows you to narrow down and organize the product list.
4. Bulk Actions Bar: Appears when you select products, allowing you to perform actions on multiple items at once.
5. Product Table: Displays your products with key information.
6. Pagination: If you have many products, they'll be split into pages.

2. Searching, Filtering, and Sorting Products

Efficiently finding products is key. The list.html page provides several tools for this, handled by query parameters in the URL and processed in the list_products function in product_routes.py.

2.1. Search

A search bar allows you to find products by keywords. You can typically search by:

1. Title
2. SKU
3. Handle
4. Tags
5. Parts of the description

Type your search term (e.g., "t-shirt") and press Enter or click an "Apply Filters" button. The list will update to show matching products.

2.2. Filter by Status

A dropdown menu lets you filter products by their current status within the tool:

1. All Products: Shows every product.
2. Published: Shows products that are marked as published to Shopify (is_published == True).
3. Modified: Shows products that have been edited in the tool but not yet published (is_modified == True, is_published == False).
4. Imported: Shows products that were imported but haven't been modified or published yet (is_modified == False, is_published == False).

Selecting a status usually auto-submits the filter.

2.3. Sort By

You can sort your product list by various criteria, usually with a dropdown for the field and another for order:

1. Sort By Field: Last Updated (default), Title, SKU, Price.
2. Sort Order: Descending (↓ Desc - e.g., newest first) or Ascending (↑ Asc - e.g., oldest first).

Changing sort options typically auto-submits and refreshes the list.

2.4. Applying and Resetting Filters

There's usually an Apply Filters button if changes aren't automatic and a Reset button to clear all search, filter, and sort options back to their defaults.

3. Understanding the Product Table

The main part of the page is the table listing your products. Each row represents a product and typically shows:

1. Checkbox: For selecting products for bulk actions.
2. Product Details: Often includes a thumbnail image, the product title (clickable to edit), and the handle.
3. SKU / Price: Key variant information.
4. Status: Indicates if the product is Published, Modified, or Imported.
5. Actions: Quick links/icons for each product:
6. Edit: Takes you to the Product Edit page (Article 3).
7. History: (If available here) might link to a dedicated history page or the edit page's history section.
8. Publish: A quick way to publish this single product to Shopify.
9. Delete: Deletes the product from this tool (often with a confirmation).

4. Performing Bulk Actions

Bulk actions save a lot of time by letting you apply an operation to multiple products at once. This is handled by the bulk_action route in product_routes.py.

4.1. Selecting Products

1. Use the checkboxes in the first column of the product table to select the products you want to act upon.
2. There's usually a "Select All" checkbox at the top of the table (or in the bulk actions bar) to select all products currently visible on the page.

4.2. Choosing a Bulk Action

Once products are selected, a bulk actions bar typically appears (often above the product table). It will have a dropdown menu with available actions, such as:

1. Bulk Actions Publish to Shopify Delete ApplyPublish to Shopify: Attempts to publish all selected products to your Shopify store.
2. Delete: Deletes all selected products from this tool (you'll usually get a confirmation prompt).

After selecting an action, click the "Apply" button.

4.3. Bulk AI Generate

A very powerful feature is the Bulk AI Generate button. This opens a special modal (bulk-ai-modal in list.html) to generate AI content for multiple selected products and multiple content types simultaneously.

[Imagine a screenshot of the Bulk AI Generation Modal here]

It would show selected products, content type checkboxes (Title, Description, etc.), prompt selectors for each type, and a start button.

Steps for Bulk AI Generation:

1. Select Products: First, select the products in the main list. The modal will confirm how many are selected.
2. Select Content Types: Check the boxes for the content types you want to generate (e.g., Title, SEO Description, Tags).
3. Select Prompts: For each selected content type, a dropdown will appear allowing you to choose a specific prompt (from your available prompts list). You MUST select a prompt for each content type.
4. Review Summary (Optional): The modal might show a summary of operations and credits required.
5. Start Generation: Click "Start Generation". This will process each selected product for each selected content type using the chosen prompts. This consumes credits.
6. Progress & Results: You'll see a progress bar and then a detailed results view showing which products/content types succeeded or failed, along with any error messages.

Credits & Time: Bulk AI generation can consume a significant number of credits and may take some time if you select many products and content types. Proceed with awareness.

5. Publishing Products to Shopify

After editing your products and generating content, the final step is to make these changes live on your Shopify store. This is a critical function handled by the publish_product and parts of the bulk_action routes.

5.1. Prerequisites for Publishing:

1. Complete Required Fields: Ensure all mandatory fields (often Title, Description, Handle, SKU, Price, SEO fields, Image Alt Text) are filled for the product(s) you intend to publish. The system will usually prevent publishing if these are missing and provide a warning. (See edit.html where fields have a *).
2. Working API Connection: The tool must be able to communicate with your Shopify store.
3. Admin Account: If you are using an admin account in the tool, ensure it has valid Shopify credentials configured. Admin accounts without their own Shopify store details usually cannot publish.

5.2. How Publishing Works:

When you publish a product from our tool to Shopify:

1. Existing Products (with Shopify ID): If the product in our tool has a shopify_id, the system attempts to find and update that existing product in your Shopify store. It updates fields like title, body_html (description), handle, tags, variants (SKU, price for the first variant), and metafields (for SEO title/description). It also attempts to update image alt text.
2. New Products (No Shopify ID or by SKU match):
3. If the product in our tool does not have a shopify_id but has a SKU, the system first searches your Shopify store for a product with that matching SKU. If found, it updates that product.
4. If no matching SKU is found (or no SKU was provided for the new product in our tool, which would be an error for creation), it creates a brand new product in your Shopify store with the details from our tool. The new shopify_id is then saved back to the product in our tool.
5. Metafields: SEO Title and SEO Description are typically saved as metafields (e.g., global.title_tag, global.description_tag) on Shopify.
6. Image Alt Text: The image_alt field from our tool will be applied to the images of the product on Shopify.
7. Status Update: After successful publishing, the product in our tool will be marked as is_published = True.

5.3. Methods to Publish:

1. From the Edit Page: Click the Publish to Shopify button on the edit.html page for a single product.
2. From the List Page (Single): Use the "Publish" quick action icon/link in the product row.
3. From the List Page (Bulk): Select multiple products and use the "Publish to Shopify" bulk action.

You will usually receive a success or error message via a flash notification or, if using AJAX (like quick publish links), a JSON response.

Confirmation: For actions like delete or bulk publish, you'll often be asked for confirmation to prevent accidental changes.

6. Congratulations!

You've now covered the main features of the Shopify AI Content Manager! From importing and meticulously editing products to leveraging AI for superior content and efficiently managing your product list, you have the tools to make your Shopify store shine. Remember to refer back to these guides as needed.

Keep Exploring: Don't forget to check out other features like user settings, prompt management (if you're an admin or have permissions), and subscription details to make the most of the tool.