Overview
When you import a product feed, some supplier-provided field names can be long, cryptic, or inconsistent.
To help you keep your data clean and readable, you can now edit or shorten these field (column) names directly during step 2 of the import process, before the feed is saved.
This is useful when you want to:
Shorten an overly long or messy field name so it's easier to work with.
Rename a field to something more meaningful (e.g. renaming
desctodescription), which also makes it easier to match against other systems.
How it works
In step 2 of the import flow, each column header in the data preview has a small pencil icon next to it.
Click the pencil icon to edit the name of that field.
Type your new name and confirm. The column will now display your custom name instead of the original one.
If you want to undo a change, use the reset button next to the field to restore the original supplier-provided name.
Naming rules
Field names can be between 1 and 255 characters long.
While you type, a live character counter and a colored border guide you toward a good length:
đ˘ Short â ideal, concise field name
đĄ Medium â still fine, but getting long
đ´ Long â works, but consider shortening for clarity
You're never blocked from using a longer name if you need it â the colors are just a guideline to help you keep names short and clean.
What happens on future imports
Once you rename a field and save the feed, that mapping (original name â your custom name) is stored for this feed and automatically re-applied every time the feed is re-imported.
A few things to keep in mind:
If a field you previously renamed disappears from a future import (because the supplier changed their file structure), the mapping for that field simply won't apply anymore.
If a new field appears that wasn't part of a previous import, it will show up under its original supplier-provided name. You'll need to rename it manually if desired â this is expected behavior, since Channel Pilot can't guess names for fields it has never seen before.
If you rename a field back to its original name and save, the custom mapping for that field is cleared.
Supported feed types
This renaming feature works for CSV, JSON, and XML feeds.
Summary
Action | Result |
Click pencil icon | Edit a field's display name |
Click reset button | Restore the original name |
Save the feed | Stores the renamed fields so they're applied automatically on future imports |
This feature gives you more control over how your product data looks inside Channel Pilot, without needing to change anything on your supplier's side.