Bulk Changes with Matrixify
Changing many products at once without losing anything — and the backups that make it safe.
The rule that prevents almost everything going wrong
Export first, edit that file, import it back. Never build an import from scratch. The export carries the exact column names, the exact identifiers, and a copy of the data as it was before you touched it.
Matrixify does far more than this guide covers. Their own documentation is thorough and worth reading before anything unusual: https://matrixify.app/documentation/
Back up before you change anything
Two different backups matter, and they are not the same thing.
| Backup | When | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The narrow export of what you are about to change | Every single time, before editing | Restores the exact fields you touched |
| A full product export, all columns | Before any large or unfamiliar job | Restores anything you did not expect to touch |
For a full backup: Apps → Matrixify → Export → Products, all columns, Metafields enabled. Save the file somewhere it will still be there in six months.
The method
- Export what you intend to changeApps → Matrixify → Export
Filter to just those products. Include the columns you plan to edit and enable Metafields if you are changing any.
Export downloaded
- Save an untouched copyYour computer
Duplicate it and name the copy clearly, e.g. before-2026-08-26.xlsx. Edit the other one.
An untouched copy exists
- Delete the columns you are not changingThe working file
Matrixify only updates columns present in the file. Keeping just the identifier and the columns you are editing makes the import far harder to get wrong.
Only identifier plus edited columns remain
- Make the editsThe working file
Edit values in place. Do not reorder or rename columns, and do not touch ID or Handle.
Identifier columns untouched
- Import five rows firstApps → Matrixify → Import
Cut it to five products, import, and check those five on the live site. Most import mistakes are systematic — five rows show the problem as clearly as five hundred.
All five correct on the live site
- Import the restApps → Matrixify → Import
Matrixify shows a summary before it commits. Read it and check the row count matches what you expect.
Row count matches, no failures
- Read the results fileMatrixify → Import history
It lists every row and what happened to it. Failures are reported there, not in the admin.
No unexpected failures
The columns
Checked against a real Matrixify export rather than assumed. Products live on a sheet named Products.
| Purpose | Column |
|---|---|
| Which product this row is | ID — Shopify's own number, most precise. Comes from the export |
| Which product this row is | Handle — the web address stub, readable and reliable |
| Which product this row is | Variant SKU — useful when working from the master file |
| What to do with the row | Command — usually UPDATE. Also NEW, REPLACE, MERGE, DELETE |
| Title and description | Title · Body HTML |
| Placement | Type · Vendor · Tags |
| How tags are applied | Tags Command — MERGE or REPLACE. See the warning below |
| Publishing | Status · Published · Published Scope |
| Identifiers | Variant SKU · Variant Barcode |
| Images | Image Src · Image Position · Image Alt Text · Image Command |
| Any Jessar field | Metafield: jessar.<key> [<type>], e.g. Metafield: jessar.romance [multi_line_text_field] |
Starter files
Five starter files ship alongside these guides, in a folder named matrixify-starter. Their metafield columns were generated from this store's own field definitions, so the namespace, key and type in every header are correct.
| File | For |
|---|---|
| jessar-specs-update.csv | Filling in specification fields across a category |
| jessar-copy-update.csv | Title, description, romance copy, bullets and meta beam |
| jessar-retag.csv | Adding shelf tags — pre-set to MERGE so nothing is wiped |
| jessar-publish.csv | Changing status and publication in a batch |
| jessar-images.csv | Adding or replacing product images |
If a fresh export ever disagrees with a starter file's column name, the export is right — Shopify and Matrixify both change over time. Tell RevShift so the starter file can be corrected.
When something goes wrong
- Stop importingMatrixify
Do not try to correct a bad import with another import until you know exactly what the first one did.
- Read the results fileMatrixify → Import history
Establish how many products were actually changed, and how.
- Re-import the untouched copyMatrixify → Import
The file you saved before editing restores the previous values for the columns it contains.
- Tell RevShift if web addresses were affectedOutside Shopify
Restoring data does not restore links. If handles or statuses changed, redirects may be needed.