Join the Odoo Inner Circle to view the premium video below.
Import Images into Odoo using CSV

Import Images into Odoo using CSV

Odoo Inner Circle Only

Learn how to import product images into Odoo using the standard CSV import. This is useful for installations such as Odoo Online where you have limited access or must use the CSV import to bring data into Odoo.

Video Length:   9 Minutes
Free With Odoo Inner Circle

Guide to importing Images into Odoo using CSV

Importing images into Odoo is easy once you know how

In this short Odoo video course we demonstrate how you can import images into Odoo using Odoo's standard CSV import method. This means you can import images into Odoo Onlilne, Odoo.sh, and other Odoo cloud platforms. Even if you have the community editon of Odoo running on your own server, you can use this maybe a more effective way to get batch images into Odoo than writing XML-RPC or using other methods. So what gets covered in the video?

Export a record to get the correct import format. We begin by selecting a record and then exporting the data out into a CSV file. This gives us a template for how the data needs to be arranged to be properly imported. CSV stands for comma delimited. This means that fields are separated by commas. 

Images must be converted to base64. Next in the course we show how to covert the images into base64 so they can be included in the CSV file.  When you see the data converted it will look like a long series of random characters. The larger the image, the more characters are going to be in the converted data.  In the video we demonstrate step-by-step how this is handled. 

Include the image and any other data fields in the CSV file. Once you have the image converted you will simply paste this data into the proper place in the CSV template for the image. You would also want to include any other data.  Overall its a pretty easy process. When I imported the data I needed to strip some of the meta data off the front of the image data. This is demonstrated in the video.

Upload the CSV file and validate the data. Once you have the file prepared you can import it into Odoo. Odoo will provide you feedback on any problems in the data before it imports it. Typically when importing images the validation will fail because the image is not properly encoded into base64.

Automating the process of importing images. If you follow these steps you can get your data imported from CSV into Odoo. To automate this process you would of course need to create a CSV file with the data and automate the base64 conversion. While that is outside the scope of this video there are several videos below that have additional information. Particularly you should take a look at the video on importing pictures into Odoo using XML-RPC.  Even though the video is for Odoo 8 the process of importing data into Odoo is the same.

Other tips on importing data into Odoo

While this video tutorial specifically addresses importing images into Odoo, here are a few other helpful tips on importing data into an Odoo database instance.

Plan for multiple data imports. It is common to believe that you can spin up a new database, import your data, and then be done with it. In reality you can often expect to import data multiple times to get it right. This is even more the case if you are bringing data in out of a live production system. As soon as you get your data imported, you have new changes in your live system that must either be re-imported or keyed in manually. So it is best to go into any data import project with the expectation you will have to do the operation more than once.

Document the process. Your best strategy for minimizing the efforts required to perform data imports in the future is to thoroughly document the import process once you get it successfully completed the first time. Notes you keep should include the fields you are importing, any required data translations, and any one off records or problems that you encountered during the import process.

Clean the data before importing. Like any other database driven business application the quality of your system is going to be directly related to the quality of your data. Before importing data into a new system take time to clean it of any bad information. This can include old demo data, incomplete customer or product data, or any other data from your previous system that doesn't had value to your business. 

Consider alternate purposes for existing data.  Often times data that has been in a live production system has value that you may not consider. For example, perhaps consider importing your old customers you have not done business with in 2-3 years as a lead or opportunity... that gives you a chance to feed your new CRM system with highly qualified leads to folow up on rather than them just coming into the system as standard 'active' customers.

Use XML-RPC to integrate with existing platforms. Sometimes it is better to have a more live integration with an existing system rather than a simple export/import process. A common example would be a long standing legacy application that is involved with many processes in the company. Rather than attempting to export/import data that will have a lot of volatility in the legacy system you can create a set of processes  using XML-RPC that syncs the information from the legacy system with Odoo. These sorts of solutions can allow you to leverage existing investments in company knowledge and resources while methodically deploying Odoo.

Need assistance importing data into Odoo?  If you are a developer or integrator that needs assistance importing data into Odoo or upgrading Odoo from one version to another, please contact us and we can put you in contact with professional Odoo consultants that will assist you with your project.