AbeBooks Help Center

HomeBase 3.2 – File Imports

HomeBase 3.2 can import most common, standard file formats, as well as custom delimited file formats.

Instructions for downloading your inventory from AbeBooks and importing into HomeBase 3.2 can be found here.

HomeBase 3.2 will recognize and import the following formats:

  • HomeBase 2 and 3*
  • Alibris
  • Amazon Standard Book Loader**
  • BookRouter
  • BookTrakker
  • UIEE
  • ZVAB

Notes:

* If you are downloading your inventory from AbeBooks for import into HomeBase 3.2, please go to your Members Menu and choose the ‘Request Inventory Report (for HomeBase 2.3 – North American format)’ option. Full instructions can be found here.

** If you need to import inventory downloaded from Amazon in a format other than Standard Book Loader, please contact Customer Support for assistance.

Important Note for HomeBase 2.3 Users:

If you are using HomeBase 2.3 and your account is configured to interpret the ‘On hold’ status as ‘unavailable,’ you will need to take the following steps before importing your listings into HomeBase 3.2. Since HomeBase 3.2 does not offer an ‘On hold’ status, these steps will insure that your ‘On hold’ listings will not appear as ‘For sale’ after import.

  1. Open HomeBase 2.3.
  2. Click ‘Catalogs.’
  3. Click ‘Edit’ > ‘Add.’
  4. In the ‘Add Catalog’ dialog box, enter a name for your ‘on hold’ catalog.
  5. Click [Save].
  6. Click ‘Books.’
  7. In the ‘Status’ box at the top, select ‘On Hold’ to display only your on hold listings.
  8. Open each listing and click [Attach] to attach your new ‘on hold’ catalog.
  9. [Save] your changes.

Once all on hold listings have been added to the catalog, proceed with the import steps below. After the import has been completed, you can multi-edit all listings in the on hold catalog to set the quantity to zero before sending any uploads to AbeBooks. As holds are removed, or as those listings sell, you can update the quantity or remove from the ‘on hold’ catalog accordingly.

Importing Your Inventory:

  1. Select ‘File’ > ‘Import’ to open the Import Wizard.
  2. Select the type of file you are importing:
  • Import from HomeBase 2 – select only if you are a current HomeBase 2.3 user migrating to 3.2.
  • Import from a different file type – select for all other file types, including HomeBase 2.3 files downloaded from AbeBooks.
  • I don’t have a file to import
  • Click the ‘Next’ button.

If you chose the ‘Import from HomeBase 2’ option:

  • HomeBase 3 will search the default location for your hbdata.hbd file.
  • If it does not find it, you will receive a message stating that a valid Homebase 2 file could not be found. Click [OK] to browse for your hbdata.hbd file.
  • Use the [Browse] button to find and select the hbdata file you would like to import.
  • Click the [Next] button.

If you chose ‘Import from a different file type’ option:

  • You will be asked whether you want to import Listings or Wants. Choose Listings and click [Next].
  • Browse to the file you want to import and click [Next].

Selecting the File Format:

NOTE: If you chose the ‘Import from HomeBase 2’ option, you will be taken directly to ‘Choosing Your Import Options’, see below.

Select the format of your file from the list provided or, if it isn’t there, select ‘File format not listed’, and click [Next].

If you are importing a file format from the list, the import will proceed automatically.

If you are importing a format not listed, before the import proceeds, you will be asked:

  • If the first row of data includes field headers.
  • How your fields are separated (delimited): (Tab, comma, tilde, or pipe.)

Once the above selections have been made, your file will import automatically.

When the import has completed, you will asked to map your file’s fields to the Related HomeBase Fields.

Notes:

  • If you cannot find a HomeBase field that matches one in your inventory, simply leave it as ‘Select One’ – that field will be ignored.
  • You can map multiple fields from your file to a single Related HomeBase Field (eg. If you had a description and a comments field, you can map them both to the HomeBase Description field).

Choosing Your Import Options:

You will be asked whether you want to use the existing Book IDs in your inventory, or if you want HomeBase to renumber your books.

  • Click [Next].

You will be asked whether you want to merge your listings with the existing listings or whether you want to delete any listings already in HomeBase and replace them with the contents of the file you are importing.

  • Click [Next].

If you have used any custom attributes, you will be asked to map them to corresponding Search Attributes on Abebooks. For example, if you have included ‘hc’ as one of your binding descriptions, HomeBase will ask you to map ‘hc’ to ‘hardcover’.

  • Click [Next] to continue.

Confirm Import Options:

A confirmation window will open, confirming whether book IDs are being overwritten and whether existing inventory is being purged.

  • To change these actions, use the [Back] button.
  • To continue, click [Next].

An ‘Importing Listings’ progress bar will appear, followed by a ‘Success! Your data has been imported’ message.

  • Click [Finish].

Viewing Your Imported Listings:

You can now view your Listings by clicking on the ‘Listings’ tab at the top of the screen.

  • Check the ‘AbeBooks Valid’ column at the far right of your listings. Any books that say ‘Invalid’ will NOT be uploaded to Abebooks when you send your lsitings.
  • If a listing says ‘Invalid’, double-click on the listing to open it. A red X will indicate the fields that are rendering the listing ‘invalid’.
  • Update the listing to correct those fields and click [Save].