Altera allows you to import and export custom metafields for your Shopify products, variants, customers, and other resources using spreadsheet files. This enables bulk management of additional data fields beyond Shopify's standard properties.

Column Placement

When you export data from Altera, metafield columns appear at the end of the spreadsheet, after all standard Shopify fields. This consistent placement makes it easy to locate and work with your custom metafields.

Column Naming Format

Metafield columns use a specific naming convention: Metafield: [namespace].[key]

Examples:

Metafield: custom.warranty_length
Metafield: inventory.supplier_code
Metafield: seo.meta_description

The namespace and key combination uniquely identifies each metafield in your Shopify store. If no namespace is provided in the column header, Altera defaults to using the global namespace.

Specifying Metafield Types

You can define the metafield type by adding it in square brackets at the end of the column header: Metafield: [namespace].[key] [type]

Examples:

Metafield: specs.weight [number_decimal]
Metafield: specs.is_featured [boolean]
Metafield: specs.related_product [product_reference]

If no type is specified, Altera will automatically detect the type from existing metafield definitions in your store.

All Supported Metafield Types

Altera supports all Shopify metafield types. Here's the complete list:

Basic Types:

boolean - True/false values
Example: true or false
color - Color values
Example: #ff0000 or rgb(255, 0, 0)
date - Date values
Example: 2024-12-25
date_time - Date and time values
Example: 2024-12-25T14:30:00
dimension - Measurement dimensions
Example: {"value": 25.0, "unit": "cm"}
json - JSON objects
Example: {"size": "large", "material": "cotton"}
json_string - JSON formatted as strings
Example: "{\"size\": \"large\", \"material\": \"cotton\"}"
link - URL links
Example: {"url": "https://example.com", "title": "Example Link"}
money - Currency amounts
Example: {"amount": "19.99", "currency_code": "USD"}
number_decimal - Decimal numbers
Example: 19.99
number_integer - Whole numbers
Example: 42
integer - Whole numbers (alternative)
Example: 42
decimal - Decimal numbers (alternative)
Example: 19.99
rating - Rating values
Example: {"value": 4.5, "scale_min": 1.0, "scale_max": 5.0}
string - Text strings
Example: "Cotton blend fabric"
url - Web URLs
Example: https://example.com
volume - Volume measurements
Example: {"value": 500.0, "unit": "ml"}
weight - Weight measurements
Example: {"value": 2.5, "unit": "kg"}

Text Types:

multi_line_text_field - Multi-line text
Example: "This is a multi-line\ntext field with\nline breaks"
rich_text_field - Rich formatted text
Example: "Bold text with emphasis"
single_line_text_field - Single line text
Example: "Product care instructions"

Reference Types:

metaobject_reference - References to metaobjects
Example: gid://shopify/Metaobject/123456789
file_reference - File references
Example: gid://shopify/MediaImage/123456789
product_reference - Product references
Example: gid://shopify/Product/123456789 or product handle
variant_reference - Product variant references
Example: gid://shopify/ProductVariant/123456789
collection_reference - Collection references
Example: gid://shopify/Collection/123456789 or collection handle
page_reference - Page references
Example: gid://shopify/Page/123456789 or page handle
mixed_reference - Mixed type references
Example: Any valid Shopify resource GID

List Types: All basic and reference types can also be used as lists by prefixing with list.. List values are formatted as JSON arrays:

list.boolean - Example: [true, false, true]
list.color - Example: ["#ff0000", "#00ff00", "#0000ff"]
list.date - Example: ["2024-12-25", "2024-12-26"]
list.date_time - Example: ["2024-12-25T14:30:00", "2024-12-25T16:00:00"]
list.dimension - Example: [{"value": 25.0, "unit": "cm"}, {"value": 30.0, "unit": "cm"}]
list.json - Example: [{"size": "small"}, {"size": "large"}]
list.link - Example: [{"url": "https://example.com", "title": "Link 1"}]
list.money - Example: [{"amount": "19.99", "currency_code": "USD"}]
list.number_decimal - Example: [19.99, 24.99, 29.99]
list.number_integer - Example: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
list.single_line_text_field - Example: ["Care instruction 1", "Care instruction 2"]
list.string - Example: ["Cotton", "Polyester", "Wool"]
list.url - Example: ["https://example1.com", "https://example2.com"]
list.volume - Example: [{"value": 500.0, "unit": "ml"}]
list.weight - Example: [{"value": 2.5, "unit": "kg"}]
list.product_reference - Example: ["gid://shopify/Product/123", "gid://shopify/Product/456"]
list.variant_reference - Example: ["gid://shopify/ProductVariant/123"]
list.collection_reference - Example: ["gid://shopify/Collection/123"]
list.page_reference - Example: ["gid://shopify/Page/123"]
list.file_reference - Example: ["gid://shopify/MediaImage/123"]
list.metaobject_reference - Example: ["gid://shopify/Metaobject/123"]
list.mixed_reference - Example: ["gid://shopify/Product/123", "gid://shopify/Collection/456"]

SEO Metafields

Altera provides special handling for SEO-related metafields:

Metafield: title_tag - Sets the SEO title for products or collections
Metafield: description_tag - Sets the SEO description for products or collections

Important: Shopify has special behavior for these fields. If you set a value that exactly matches the product title or description, Shopify will store it as empty since it's redundant. Only values that differ from the default title/description will be saved.

Deleting Metafields

To delete a metafield from a resource, leave the corresponding cell blank in the metafield column. During import, empty cells will remove the metafield from that specific resource.

Working with Metafield Data

When editing metafield values, use the appropriate data format for your metafield type:

Text fields: Plain text values
Number fields: Numeric values
JSON fields: Valid JSON format
Reference fields: Shopify resource IDs or handles

Example

Handle	Title	Metafield: custom.material	Metafield: custom.care_instructions
shirt-1	Cotton Shirt	Cotton	Machine wash cold
shirt-2	Silk Blouse		Dry clean only
shirt-3	Linen Top	Linen

In this example:

shirt-1: Both metafields will be updated
shirt-2: Material metafield will be deleted, care instructions updated
shirt-3: Care instructions metafield will be deleted, material updated

Error and Warning Codes

Metafield Definition Fields

Shop Fields

How to Update SEO Meta Titles and Descriptions for Shopify Products

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)