Help and Tutorials

Export Image Data as a CSV File

We have a feature that allows the artist to export all of the Gallery Image data to a CSV file.  A CSV file is a text file that contains a number of "records" about something.  In this case, each record is a line that contains information about a particular image.  We only include images that show up in Galleries so that auxiliary images (i.e., a headshot for your Bio, etc.) won't get mixed in. 

So you might ask "what can I do with this CSV file?"  This was implemented at the request of an artist who wanted to generate labels for all of their artwork.  It turns out that Avery has an online application that allows you to create labels and print them on labels to your own printer or have them print them on labels and send them to you.  The key thing you need to do this for a lot of items is have the basic data in a CSV file.

You can also load CSV files into most spreadsheet programs.  Some of our artists might find it useful to be able to see their image information in a spreadsheet format so you might find that useful. 

I imagine that there are other uses that artist might have for this information so if you have any ideas, please let us know.

To actually generate this CSV file, log into the administration system for your website and navigate to the Image Library tab.  There is a link near the top that says "Download CSV file containing all Images that appear in Galleries" near the top.  Clicking on that link will start the process of download the CSV file and will have the name "artwork.csv" or something close to that if you've done this multiple times.  While web browser dependant, in general, you should be able to click on the filename near the bottom of your web browser and it will open the CSV file into any application on your computer that can handle them.  If you have a spreadsheet program installed, it will likely load up into that.

What's in the CSV File

The first line of the file contains descriptive names of the fields in the following rows.  So for instance, the first field is "work_id" and that is our internal way to reference a work.  So each subsequent line starts with a number that is the work_id for that image.

Here is a list of the field names and what they contain:

Field Name Description
work_id Our internal identifier for the image.  Not particularly useful for the artists although we sometimes find it useful for troubleshooting.

title

 The title of the work.

work_url

 A URL that if put into a web browser will take you directly to this work.

image_url

 A URL that references the original image that was uploaded by the artist.

description

 This is the description about the work.  In our system the description is actually made up of HTML code but we have removed any HTML formatting and left only the text.

footer

 This is the "Extra Text" field but internally it is called a footer for obvious reasons.  It has HTML removed in the same way as the description has.

created

 This is the date that the work was originally uploaded to our software, not the date at which the work was actually created.

updated

 This is the date that the data associated with the work was last updated.

available

 This is either available or unavailable.

price

 This is either a price or blank.  It is not formatted with currency symbols, etc.

private_note

 The Private Note field that is never displayed on the public website.

 

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