Uploading Listings with FTP

NOTE: FTP is a great tool to upload listings and photos in bulk. This article will tell you everything you need to know about setting up and managing your FTP upload process.

What is FTP?

"FTP" simply stands for "File Transfer Protocol" and is a method of uploading that supports very large files.  You can always upload inventory files and book image files to BIBLIO via FTP, regardless of the file size.

To upload via FTP, you will need to have an FTP "client" (program) on your computer.  There's more than one FTP client, and many of them are available to download and use for free.

Is There a Recommended FTP Program?

We like to recommend FileZilla for Windows or Cyberduck as excellent FTP solutions for uploading to Biblio. They are intuitive, easy to work with, and they're free!

What is my FTP Login Information?

All BIBLIO sellers are automatically set up with an FTP account. Your login information for your BIBLIO FTP account consists of a host address, a username, and a password.

TIP: Your FTP host name (sometimes called a file path, server, or directory will always be ftp.biblio.com

Your Biblio FTP username and password are specific to your BiblioDirect bookseller account.  All FTP usernames and passwords are case sensitive and must be entered just as they appear.

You can always view your FTP username, and change your FTP password if you wish, from your bookseller menu. From the menu, navigate to Inventory > Upload Settings. You'll see your FTP credentials on that page.

How do I upload deletes using FTP?

There are two ways you can upload your sold books for removal to BIBLIO using FTP:

1.) Upload a single file which contains both additions and deletions. Make sure there is a column or separate field in the file which denotes each record as sold or available (or otherwise distinguishes the action to take with the record).

or

2) Send your records for deletion in a separate file. Simply make sure that the filename contains the word "deletes" somewhere in it. (For example, "upload-09022003-deletes.txt")

How do I upload book photos via FTP?

You can upload multiple photos to individual listings by FTP.  Please let us know what file naming convention you will be using in advance, as we'll need to set up your account to process those images correctly.

IMPORTANT: Your image file names still have to match your inventory numbers exactly in order to get them assigned to the correct books.

When uploading multiple images to individual listings, the file name will also include an indication of which images are second, third, etc. Here's an example of the most common file naming convention, for book inventory number 123:

• 123.jpg
• 123_1.jpg
• 123.2.jpg
• 123.3.jpg

We will do our best to work with the file naming convention a bookseller wants to send, including some custom naming conventions that booksellers have set up to work with their own websites. We will customize your account to handle the image naming conventions that you are already using.

Troubleshooting

If you are having trouble uploading or connecting to your Biblio FTP  account, please check the following:

• The first thing to do is make sure that your Biblio FTP username and password have been entered correctly.  Those are case-sensitive and need to be entered just as they appear.  To check this, go to the Upload Settings page of your bookseller menu.
• Make sure you are entering the FTP host/file path as "ftp.biblio.com".
• Make sure that you have either left your FTP account directory as either "./" (without the quotes) or blank.
• If this does not help, please contact [email protected] with details, including any error message you may be receiving and the time of day during which the problem occurred.