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FTP – File Transfer Protocol

FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is a standard protocol for the transferring of files. Transfers via FTP are easy and supported by a range of free programmes.

You can send us catalogue updates (catalogue files, photos, etc.) exclusively via FTP.

FTP server access data

Server

FTP-Server

ftp.mercateo.com

FTP-Server-Port

21

FTP-Login

This information will be provided to you by the Mercateo catalogue management.

FTP-Passwort

This information will be provided to you by the Mercateo catalogue management.

Personal access data

You will receive the access data for the Mercateo FTP server from the Mercateo catalogue management as part of your registration at Mercateo. If you have not received any access data, please contact catalog@mercateo.com.

Data transfer

An FTP client is required for the data transfer via FTP.

Mercateo recommends using FileZilla. Filezilla is a free programme. A brief guide is available under FTP quick intro.

Subsequent to the successful installation, please enter the following information in the Quickconnect toolbar:

Address:

ftp.mercateo.com

User:

This information will be provided to you by the Mercateo catalogue management.

Password:

This information will be provided to you by the Mercateo catalogue management.

Port:

21

You create the connection by clicking on “Quickconnect”.

Data transfer information

A catalogue generally contains differing files:

  • Catalogues (BMEcat)

  • Images

  • Datasheets

You have to initially prepare these files in full (if available). For every additional update it is only necessary to transfer the files that have changed. All other files will be automatically adopted from the previous update.

So that Mercateo is able to assign your files correctly it is important for you to copy them in the suitable subdirectories upon their transfer:

Catalogues(BMEcat):

./CatalogID/catalog

Images:

./images

Datasheets(PDF):

./pdf

This structure can differ in individual cases. If you have any questions, please contact: catalog@mercateo.com

Should there be any problems with the character encoding during the data transfer please select “binary” for transfer method.

Illustration of FTP directories in Catalogue Management

Information concerning the directory in which a catalogue must be transferred can also be found in Catalogue Management. To access this, please go into the Catalogue menu and look for the corresponding catalogue:

Clicking on the 3 small blue squares on the right-hand side opens up further options and information relating to the catalogue:

If you click on display catalogue details , you gain an overview of the FTP directories that belong to the catalogue:

Additional data

For information on transfer of additional data (CSV) please check the corresponding bullet point.

Common mistakes - FTP upload

An FTP client is often used to transfer data via FTP. You can find error messages and possible solutions on this page. If you should have any errors that are not listed or the solutions listed below are unsuccessful, please contact your system administrator.

Problems establishing a connection

Solution

If you receive this error message, no response is being received from the FTP server.

  • This may be because the Mercateo FTP server is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later.

  • Tip: You can check the availability of the Mercateo FTP server via an external service, e.g. www.webftp.de. If you can log in easily there, the Mercateo FTP server is available.

  • Port 21 should not be blocked in the firewall or proxy configuration. Ensure that port 21 and the IP of the Mercateo FTP server are released.

Solution

The password or login name is not correct.

  • Please check your login details and ensure that no spaces are inserted when copying.

  • There is often also confusion between similar characters e.g. l, I and 1. We thus recommend copying the login details from the e-mail sent by Mercateo and pasting them into the FTP client input screen.

  • If you are unable to find a solution, please contact Mercateo Catalogue Management

Problems during data transfer

Files have been transferred via FTP that then only exist as a file with 0 bytes.

Solution

The user may lack access rights. Although the file is saved on the FTP server, it does not contain any information. This can also be due to passive mode.

The login to the FTP server is correct and the write permissions exist.

  • Please check that the user possesses all rights, particularly to amend the file.

  • Switch to active or passive mode in the settings and test the upload again.

Catalogue data was transferred via FTP, but then nothing happened.

Solution

Please check the following points:

  • Have you only transferred one catalogue file? Only one catalogue file should be transferred into the corresponding FTP subdirectory.

  • Have you saved your catalogue in the corresponding subdirectory prefix/catalogue? Catalogues in the top directories or within the images and pdf directory are not processed.

  • Have you renamed older catalogue files directly on the FTP server? Please do not rename older catalogue files at a later time. Our system considers a renamed file to be a new catalogue.

  • Have you saved your catalogue file in the correct format (BMEcat (XML) or Mercateo workflow (CSV))? Other formats, e.g. Excel tables, HTML files etc., are not processed by the system.