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Alva Digital Downloads

Bulk Product Mapping

Learn how to map files to multiple products simultaneously, saving time and ensuring consistency across your product catalog.

What is Bulk Product Mapping?

Section titled “What is Bulk Product Mapping?”

Bulk product mapping allows you to assign the same files or packs to multiple products at once, instead of mapping each product individually.

Time Savings

Section titled “Time Savings”

Traditional Method:

  • Map Product 1: 2 minutes
  • Map Product 2: 2 minutes
  • Map Product 3: 2 minutes
  • Total: 6 minutes for 3 products

Bulk Method:

  • Select 3 products: 30 seconds
  • Map once: 1 minute
  • Total: 1.5 minutes for 3 products

When to Use Bulk Mapping

Section titled “When to Use Bulk Mapping”

Use Cases

Section titled “Use Cases”

✅ Same Bonus Files for Multiple Products

  • Add “Bonus Pack” to entire product line
  • Consistent extras across catalog

✅ Product Lines with Common Files

  • All products in series include core files
  • Base templates + product-specific additions

✅ Promotional Bundles

  • Temporarily add free bonus to multiple products
  • Easy to add and remove

✅ License Files

  • Add same license.pdf to all products
  • Terms and conditions documents

✅ Documentation

  • User manuals common across products
  • Installation guides
  • Support information

Accessing Bulk Mapping

Section titled “Accessing Bulk Mapping”

From Products Page

Section titled “From Products Page”
  1. Navigate to Products in Alva app
  2. Click Bulk Mapping button (top toolbar)

OR

  1. Use checkboxes to select products
  2. Bulk Actions dropdown appears
  3. Select Map Files

Bulk Mapping Methods

Section titled “Bulk Mapping Methods”

Method 1: Select Products First

Section titled “Method 1: Select Products First”

Step 1: Select Products

Section titled “Step 1: Select Products”

Check boxes next to products you want to map:

Selection Tips:

  • Click individual checkboxes
  • Use Select All for all visible products
  • Hold Shift + click for range selection
  • Use filters to narrow down products first

Step 2: Open Bulk Mapping

Section titled “Step 2: Open Bulk Mapping”
  1. Click Bulk Actions dropdown
  2. Select Map Files to Selected
  1. Bulk mapping modal opens

Step 3: Select Files or Packs

Section titled “Step 3: Select Files or Packs”

Choose what to map:

Option A: Individual Files

  1. Click Files tab
  2. Check boxes next to files
  3. Multiple files can be selected

Option B: Pack

  1. Click Packs tab
  2. Select one or more packs
  3. All pack contents will be added

Option C: Mix Both

  1. Select files from Files tab
  2. AND select packs from Packs tab
  3. All will be added to products

Step 4: Configure Settings

Section titled “Step 4: Configure Settings”

Set mapping options for all selected products:

Download Type:

  • ZIP (bundle all files)
  • Individual Files (separate downloads)

ZIP Title:

  • Use product title (default)
  • Custom title (same for all products)
  • Custom per product (advanced)

Append to Existing:

  • Yes: Add to existing product mappings (keep current files)
  • No: Replace existing mappings completely

Step 5: Review and Apply

Section titled “Step 5: Review and Apply”
  1. Review summary:
    • Number of products: 5
    • Files to add: 3
    • Download type: ZIP
    • Action: Append to existing mappings
  1. Click Apply to X Products
  2. Mapping process begins
  1. Success notification appears

Method 2: Map from File/Pack

Section titled “Method 2: Map from File/Pack”

Map a specific file or pack to multiple products:

From File Details

Section titled “From File Details”
  1. Go to Files & Packs → Select a file
  2. Click file to open details
  3. In “Mapped to Products” section, click Add to Products
  1. Select multiple products from list
  2. Click Map to Selected Products

From Pack Details

Section titled “From Pack Details”
  1. Go to Packs → Select a pack
  2. Open pack details
  3. Click Map to Products
  4. Select products
  5. Apply mapping

Bulk Mapping with Filters

Section titled “Bulk Mapping with Filters”

Strategic Filtering

Section titled “Strategic Filtering”

Use filters before bulk mapping for precision:

Example 1: Map by Product Type

Section titled “Example 1: Map by Product Type”
1. Filter Products by Type: "Digital Courses"
2. Select All filtered products
3. Map "Course Bonus Pack" to all

Example 2: Map by Collection

Section titled “Example 2: Map by Collection”
1. Filter by Collection: "Winter Sale"
2. Select All
3. Map seasonal bonus files

Example 3: Map by Tag

Section titled “Example 3: Map by Tag”
1. Filter by Tag: "Premium"
2. Select All
3. Map exclusive content to premium products

Append vs. Replace

Section titled “Append vs. Replace”
Section titled “Append Mode (Recommended)”

What it does:

  • Adds new files to existing product mappings
  • Keeps current files intact
  • Products end up with old files + new files

Example:

Product A currently has: File1.pdf, File2.pdf
Bulk map: File3.pdf (Append)
Result: File1.pdf, File2.pdf, File3.pdf

Use when:

  • Adding bonus files
  • Including additional resources
  • Don’t want to disturb existing mappings

Replace Mode

Section titled “Replace Mode”

What it does:

  • Removes all existing files from products
  • Maps only the new files
  • Complete replacement

Example:

Product A currently has: File1.pdf, File2.pdf
Bulk map: File3.pdf (Replace)
Result: File3.pdf

Use when:

  • Products need to be completely remapped
  • Updating entire product line
  • Correcting wrong mappings

⚠️ Warning: Use carefully - this removes existing mappings!

Bulk Mapping Strategies

Section titled “Bulk Mapping Strategies”

Strategy 1: Product Line Approach

Section titled “Strategy 1: Product Line Approach”

For products in the same line:

Setup:

  1. Create “Core Files” pack with shared content
  2. Bulk map Core Files to all products in line
  3. Individually add product-specific files

Example:

Template Line:
- Core Files Pack: Fonts, License, Instructions
- Product A: Core + Template A files
- Product B: Core + Template B files
- Product C: Core + Template C files

Strategy 2: Tiered Bonus Approach

Section titled “Strategy 2: Tiered Bonus Approach”

Add different bonuses to different tiers:

Setup:

  1. Filter products by “Basic” tier → Map basic bonuses
  2. Filter products by “Pro” tier → Map pro bonuses
  3. Filter products by “Premium” tier → Map premium bonuses

Strategy 3: Time-Based Approach

Section titled “Strategy 3: Time-Based Approach”

Add promotional content for limited time:

Setup:

  1. Bulk map “Holiday Bonus Pack” to all products
  2. After promotion ends
  3. Bulk remove bonus pack

Strategy 4: Collection-Based Approach

Section titled “Strategy 4: Collection-Based Approach”

Map files based on product collections:

Setup:

Collection: "Video Courses" → Map video resources
Collection: "Templates" → Map template resources
Collection: "eBooks" → Map reading resources

Bulk Variant Mapping

Section titled “Bulk Variant Mapping”

Map Variants in Bulk

Section titled “Map Variants in Bulk”

If products have similar variant structures:

  1. Select products with matching variants
  2. Enable Variant Mapping Mode
  3. Map files per variant type across all products

Example:

Products: Printable Planner A, B, C (all have US/A4 variants)


Bulk Variant Map:
- US Letter variant → planner-us.pdf
- A4 variant → planner-a4.pdf


Applies to all 3 products

Requirement: Products must have identically named variants

Monitoring Bulk Operations

Section titled “Monitoring Bulk Operations”

Progress Tracking

Section titled “Progress Tracking”

For large bulk operations (50+ products):

**[Image: Progress modal showing:

  • Processing: 45 of 100 products

  • Progress bar: 45%

  • Estimated time: 2 minutes remaining]**

  • Operation runs in background

  • You can continue using app

  • Notification when complete

Bulk Mapping History

Section titled “Bulk Mapping History”

View past bulk operations:

  1. Go to Products → Bulk History
  2. See log of bulk operations:
    • Date/time
    • User who performed
    • Number of products affected
    • Files mapped
    • Success/failure status

Bulk Unmapping

Section titled “Bulk Unmapping”

Remove Files from Multiple Products

Section titled “Remove Files from Multiple Products”

Reverse a bulk mapping:

  1. Select products
  2. Bulk Actions → Remove Files
  3. Choose files to remove from all selected products
  4. Click Remove from Selected

Use Cases:

  • Remove expired promotional content
  • Delete outdated files
  • Clean up incorrect mappings

Validation and Errors

Section titled “Validation and Errors”

Pre-Mapping Validation

Section titled “Pre-Mapping Validation”

Before bulk mapping, the app checks:

✅ File Availability

  • All selected files exist
  • No deleted files

✅ Storage Capacity

  • Sufficient storage for new mappings
  • ZIP generation won’t exceed limits

✅ Product Compatibility

  • Products are active/draft (not archived)
  • Products are digital-compatible

Common Errors

Section titled “Common Errors”

”Some products failed to map”

Section titled “”Some products failed to map””

Causes:

  • Storage limit reached during operation
  • Some products archived
  • Permission issues

Solution:

  1. Click View Details to see which failed
  2. Fix individual product issues
  3. Retry failed products

”File not found”

Section titled “”File not found””

Cause: Selected file was deleted during bulk operation

Solution:

  • Verify file exists
  • Re-select files
  • Try again

”Too many products selected”

Section titled “”Too many products selected””

Cause: Exceeded bulk operation limit (usually 500 products)

Solution:

  • Split into smaller batches
  • Map 250 products at a time

Bulk Mapping Checklist

Section titled “Bulk Mapping Checklist”

Before performing bulk mapping:

Planning:

  • Identified which products need mapping
  • Files/packs uploaded and ready
  • Decided on append vs. replace
  • Considered testing on small batch first

Selection:

  • Applied appropriate filters
  • Selected correct products
  • Verified selection count

Configuration:

  • Chosen files/packs to map
  • Set download type
  • Configured ZIP titles (if applicable)
  • Selected append/replace mode

Execution:

  • Reviewed summary before applying
  • Applied mapping
  • Checked for errors
  • Verified random products received mappings

Testing Bulk Mappings

Section titled “Testing Bulk Mappings”

Sample Testing

Section titled “Sample Testing”

Test on subset before full bulk operation:

  1. Pilot Test: Select 2-3 products
  2. Perform bulk mapping
  3. Create test orders for each
  4. Verify downloads work correctly
  5. If successful, proceed with full bulk operation

Post-Mapping Verification

Section titled “Post-Mapping Verification”

After bulk mapping:

  1. Random Sampling: Check 5-10 random products
  2. View product mappings to confirm files added
  3. Create test order for 1-2 products
  4. Download and verify files

Bulk Mapping Performance

Section titled “Bulk Mapping Performance”

Speed

Section titled “Speed”

Bulk mapping is significantly faster:

ProductsIndividual MappingBulk Mapping
10 products20 minutes2 minutes
50 products100 minutes5 minutes
100 products200 minutes10 minutes

Limitations

Section titled “Limitations”

Recommended limits:

  • Up to 500 products per bulk operation
  • Up to 50 files per bulk operation
  • Large operations may run in background

Advanced Bulk Mapping

Section titled “Advanced Bulk Mapping”

Using API for Bulk Operations

Section titled “Using API for Bulk Operations”

For very large catalogs (1000+ products):

Use the Alva Digital Downloads API:

// Bulk map files to products
POST /api/bulk-mapping
{
  "productIds": ["prod_1", "prod_2", ...],
  "fileIds": ["file_1", "file_2", ...],
  "options": {
    "downloadType": "ZIP",
    "appendMode": true
  }
}

See: API Documentation

Bulk Mapping Best Practices

Section titled “Bulk Mapping Best Practices”

1. Start Small

Section titled “1. Start Small”

Test bulk operations on small batches before scaling:

  • Map 5 products first
  • Verify success
  • Scale to 50, then 100+

2. Use Filters Strategically

Section titled “2. Use Filters Strategically”

Narrow down products before mapping:

  • Filter by product type
  • Filter by collection
  • Filter by tags
  • More precise = fewer errors

3. Document Bulk Operations

Section titled “3. Document Bulk Operations”

Keep records of:

  • What was mapped when
  • Which products were affected
  • Purpose of bulk operation
  • Who performed it

4. Schedule During Low Traffic

Section titled “4. Schedule During Low Traffic”

For large bulk operations:

  • Perform during off-peak hours
  • Avoid during active sales
  • Reduces server load

5. Keep Backups

Section titled “5. Keep Backups”

Before major bulk replacements:

  • Export product mapping data
  • Document current state
  • Can restore if needed

Troubleshooting

Section titled “Troubleshooting”

Bulk Operation Stuck

Section titled “Bulk Operation Stuck”

Issue: Operation shows “Processing…” indefinitely

Solutions:

  1. Wait 5-10 minutes (large operations take time)
  2. Refresh page and check if completed
  3. Check bulk history for status
  4. Contact support if stuck over 30 minutes

Inconsistent Results

Section titled “Inconsistent Results”

Issue: Some products mapped, others didn’t

Cause: Individual product issues (archived, storage limits, etc.)

Solution:

  1. View detailed results
  2. Fix individual product issues
  3. Re-run bulk operation on failed products only

Wrong Files Mapped

Section titled “Wrong Files Mapped”

Issue: Accidentally mapped wrong files to many products

Solution:

  1. Immediately perform bulk Remove Files
  2. Select same products
  3. Remove the wrong files
  4. Re-map correct files

Next Steps

Section titled “Next Steps”