title: “Bulk artwork upload”

Bulk artwork upload

Add many artworks at once from a CSV: Artwork Catalog → Bulk upload.

The file

Download the template from the dialog. Columns (only Title is required):

Title, Artist, Year, Medium, Medium Detail, Category, Dimensions, Height (in), Width (in), Depth (in), Price, Status, Image URL

• Artist is matched by exact name against your artists; a name that doesn’t exist yet is created. Leave it blank for a gallery-owned piece.
• Size — fill Height (in) and Width (in), and Depth (in) for a 3-D piece, in inches. Each takes a whole number, a decimal or a fraction: 24, 7.5, 1 1/4, 1-1/4, 7/8. When those three are blank, the Dimensions column is read instead, Height first, in any of these forms: 24x30, 30 x 30 in, 24" x 36", 1-1/4x1/2, 7.5x3/8, 9x7x7. Every size is saved and shown as the standard 24 × 30 in (fractions as 1 1/4 × 1/2 in, a depth as 9 × 7 × 7 in). A Dimensions value that cannot be read as inches (centimeters, words, a typo such as 10-1.2x7/8) is kept exactly as typed, the row still imports, and the report notes it; fix it on the piece or with Fix dimensions. A Height, Width or Depth that is not a size (zero, negative, words) skips that row with the reason. Leave all four blank for a piece with no size.
• Category is one of your gallery’s own categories, written as its name (for example 2D or Print). They are the Category list in Settings → Taxonomy, and the Bulk upload dialog lists them under the column names. Capitals and spaces around the name do not matter: print and PRINT are both Print. A name that is not on the list skips that row, and the report names the categories you can use; nothing is ever added to the list by an import, and there is no “Other”. A gallery’s import only ever uses its own list. Leave Category blank for no category on a new piece; on a piece being updated, blank keeps the category it has. Once your gallery has Category rules (Settings → Taxonomy), every uploaded piece gets its Category from the rules, and the Category column is only for exceptions: a name that matches what the rules give is simply the rules’, and a name that differs is kept as an override for that piece (recorded in Settings → Recent Activity, and kept until someone presses Use the rules again). Only an Owner, Admin or Treasurer can set a Category this way; from anyone else the row imports without it, and the report says so.
• Support, Format and Medium Notes are optional columns (the export writes them last). Format is a name from your Format list (for example Original or Sleeved Art), in any capitals.
• When Structured medium is on (Settings → Taxonomy), Medium and Medium Detail are names from your lists (any capitals), and the detail (and any Support) must be one that Medium offers. A row naming anything else is skipped, in the preview too, and the report says which name and why. A new piece needs a Medium, and a Medium Detail when that Medium offers any (a Medium with no details, such as Print, takes none); an update that has no Medium, Medium Detail or Support column leaves the piece’s medium as it is. The export writes these names for pieces already converted, so an export uploads straight back.
• Price accepts 450 or $1,200.50.
• Status is one of available, reserved, sold, on_loan, not_for_sale, archived (blank means available).
• Image URL may point at any public https image (JPEG, PNG or GIF, up to 10 MB) on the open internet. A picture in another format (WebP, for example) is not stored, because Square cannot take it: the row is created and says This picture needs to be a JPEG or PNG. A link to an address on a private or internal network is refused, and so is a link that redirects to one. The image is fetched by the server and stored in your gallery’s own storage — the public site can only render images we host, so the copy is what your site uses. A solid white band along an edge of the picture (a photo padded to a square) is cut off as it is copied in; a thin white edge, and a cream, grey or black border, are kept. That goes for a picture copied from your own export too: the new work gets the trimmed copy, and the work it was copied from keeps its picture as it was.

Re-importing an export

Safe to open. Values that would run as a spreadsheet formula (one starting with an equals sign, plus, minus or at sign) are saved as text, with a leading apostrophe, so they show as text and never run. A price or other number is still a number. The file opens correctly in Excel, including symbols like × and accented names. Bulk upload takes the apostrophe off again, so uploading an export you did not change changes nothing.

Artworks → Export writes a file (CSV or Excel (.xlsx)) in the same column order, so it can be edited and uploaded again with Bulk upload. Its Category column holds each piece’s category name (blank when it has none). Its Dimensions column holds the standard 24 × 30 in and Height (in), Width (in) and Depth (in) hold the numbers; on upload the three numbers are used. Its Image URL column holds each work’s picture as a link to your gallery’s own storage. The link opens the picture for about an hour after the export; after that it stops opening in a browser, but it still imports. On upload the picture is copied straight from your gallery’s storage — nothing is downloaded, and the link’s age does not matter. Each imported work gets its own copy, so deleting the original work later does not remove the new one’s picture. The picture has to still be in storage when you upload, though: a deleted work’s picture is removed with it when the work is removed for good, 7 days after it was deleted, so upload the file before then.

Only your own gallery’s pictures can be copied this way. A storage link from another gallery, or one that does not point at an artwork picture, imports the row without its image, and the report says why. So does a link to a picture that is no longer in storage.

Giving existing pieces a category

With Category rules set up, the quicker way is Artwork Catalog → Apply category rules, which gives every piece its Category from the rules; use the file below only for exceptions.

To set Category on pieces you already have: in the sidebar choose Artwork Catalog, then the Artworks tab, and press Export, then CSV or Excel (.xlsx). Fill in the Category column with names from your Category list, leaving a piece blank to keep it as it is. Then press Bulk upload, tick Update existing works when a row matches, and choose the file. The preview shows how many works would be updated and lists any row that would be skipped, such as one with a category name that is not on your list; press Apply to write. Rows are matched by the SKU column the export includes, so leave it in. Uploading an export without changing it changes no category.

What happens per row

Each row imports independently — one bad row never fails the batch:

• Imported — artwork created, image fetched and stored.
• Imported without image — the artwork exists, but its image URL was unreachable, not https, not an image, too large, on a private or internal network, or a storage link that is not one of your gallery’s pictures. The report says which and why; add the image later from the artwork form.
• Skipped — the row itself was invalid (missing title, unparseable price, unknown status, a category not on your list, a Height, Width or Depth that is not a size). The reason is in the report.
• Note: Dimensions kept as typed — the row imported, but its Dimensions text could not be read as Height × Width in inches, so it prints as typed until someone enters the size.

Every imported piece gets its SKU automatically.

Finding the pieces that never got an image

After an import, the Artworks list can show you exactly which works are missing an image: filter the list by Missing image, and every work without one carries a badge so it stands out while you scroll. It is a view of your catalog, not a change to it — a work’s status is untouched, and adding the image clears it from the filter. You can add an image straight from the list rather than opening each piece.

The pieces to photograph

A member adding a piece in the member portal can tick Ask the gallery to provide the image, or press Ask the gallery to photograph later on a piece with no picture in their My Artwork list (and Cancel request to take it back). The gallery can also send pieces that already have the artist’s picture, from a show: open Exhibitions & Shows, then the show, tick the pieces on its Artworks tab and press Send to Gallery to photograph (n). The artist’s picture stays on the piece, your website and Square until the gallery photo replaces it. All of these pieces have their own tab in the Artwork Catalog, Gallery to photograph, next to Artworks, with a count bubble while anything is waiting. Each row shows the piece’s current picture (or an empty square), the title, the artist, the label ID, when the piece was added and the show it is in, with Add image (or Replace image when it has a picture) right there. Show pieces are always listed here, whatever the Artworks tab’s Exclude show pieces box says. A new photo replaces the old picture everywhere, Square included. Adding the photo is what takes the piece off the list: the request clears itself the moment an image lands, whoever adds it, so there is no separate step to remember. On the Artworks list such a piece carries a Gallery to photograph badge (in place of Image missing when it has no picture). To take a piece off the list without a photo, press Take off the list on its row, or untick Gallery to photograph on the piece’s Edit form (it is there with or without a picture).

Until a piece has a photo it is not on your website at all, and its card in the Artwork Catalog says Not on the website yet - waiting for a photo. The artist sees the same line in My Artwork. Adding the photo puts it on the website by itself.

Dragging a picture onto a piece

In the sidebar open Artwork Catalog, then Artworks, and press Edit on the piece’s row. Drag a picture file from a folder on your computer onto the Edit artwork window. While you drag, the screen shows Drop to upload; let go and the picture is added exactly as Upload image adds it, with the same types, size limit and messages. A PDF or another file that is not a picture is refused with the same message as Upload image, and nothing changes. Drag away from the window, or press Esc, to cancel.

Dropping works once the piece is saved, and only for the people whose role lets them change a piece (Owner, Admin, Editor, Curator). A Viewer, even with the Artwork Manager tick box, gets no drop zone, and neither does a piece whose artist’s membership has ended.

In Chrome and Edge, Upload image opens the picker in the folder you last took an artwork picture from (artist photos remember their own folder). Safari and Firefox open their usual picker.

Adding a picture from your phone

When the photo is on your phone, you do not need to move it to the computer first. In the sidebar open Artwork Catalog, then Artworks, and press Edit on the piece’s row. In the Image section of Edit artwork, press Use your phone (under Upload image or Replace image).

Use your phone is also right beside Add image wherever that appears without opening the piece: on the piece’s card in Artwork Catalog → Artworks while it has no picture, and on each row of Artwork Catalog → Gallery to photograph. That is the way to add a picture to a sold piece, whose Edit is closed. When the photo lands, the card shows it straight away, and a Gallery to photograph row leaves the list.

1. A window shows a QR code, the same link written out underneath, and the time left: the code works for 10 minutes.
2. Point your phone’s camera at the QR code and open the link. The page that opens needs no sign-in. It shows your gallery’s name and the piece’s title, and nothing else.
3. Press Take photo to use the camera, or Choose from library to pick a photo you already took. The photo is resized and turned into a JPEG on the phone if it needs to be, the same as Upload image does.
4. Within a few seconds the window on the computer closes by itself and the new picture is in the Image box. There is no need to refresh. It replaces any picture the piece had, and answers a Gallery to photograph request.

Each code works once. A second photo, or a photo sent after the 10 minutes, is refused on the phone with “This link has been used or has expired. Scan a new code on your computer.” Press Make a new code in the window, or Use your phone again. Making a new code does not stop an older one; each ends on its own 10 minutes.

A code only ever adds a picture to the piece it was made for, in your gallery. It is made in your name, so if you lose access to the Artwork Catalog before the photo is sent (your login is deactivated, or your role no longer lets you change artwork), the phone is refused. A Viewer cannot make a code.

Cropping, zooming and turning a picture (Edit picture)

Once a piece has a picture you can crop it, zoom in, move it and turn it without going back to the original file. In the sidebar open Artwork Catalog, then Artworks, and press Edit on the piece’s row. In the Image section of Edit artwork, press Edit picture (under Use your phone).

1. The window shows the whole picture with a frame over it. Drag the frame to move it, and drag a corner of the frame to crop. The part inside the frame is what is kept; a small preview beside the buttons shows it.
2. Move the Zoom slider to zoom in (on a phone or tablet, pinch the picture; with a mouse, scroll the wheel). The arrow keys move the frame and + and - zoom, once the frame is selected.
3. Choose the frame’s shape: Free (any shape), Original (the picture’s own shape) or Square.
4. Press Rotate 90° to turn the picture a quarter turn clockwise; press it again to keep turning.
5. Press Save. The edited picture replaces the piece’s picture everywhere: the Artworks list, your website, the catalog PDFs and labels, and the picture sent to Square the next time the piece is pushed (it replaces the picture on Square; it never adds a second one).

The original is kept. Press Edit picture again and the window opens on the whole original with your last crop, so you can change it. Press Reset to go back to the whole original picture, then Save to make it the piece’s picture again. Cancel closes the window and changes nothing.

Anyone who can change the piece’s picture today can edit it; a Viewer and the Treasurer cannot. Uploading a new picture (Replace image or Use your phone) starts again from that new picture.

When a piece last changed, and who changed it

Every piece in the Artworks list (sidebar, Artwork Catalog, then Artworks) says when it last changed and who changed it, on the line under its title: for example Last changed Oct 8, 2026, 12:05 PM by Mara Quill. The same line is at the top of the piece when you open it to edit. The time is in the gallery’s time zone.

Any change to the piece counts, whoever makes it and from wherever: an edit in the Artwork Catalog, an artist’s edit in the member portal, a sale, a layaway, a new picture, a delete or a restore, a change of place. A change CartonCrew made by itself, such as the online shop releasing a hold, reads by CartonCrew (automatic). A sale that comes in from Square by itself (rung up on the Square Register, bought online, or the payment that pays off a layaway) reads by CartonCrew (automatic, Square sale), never the person who connected Square. A Square payment that a staff member matches to a piece by hand names that staff member. Someone who has since left the gallery reads by Former user. Opening or listing a piece, saving without changing anything, and sending it to Square do not count, so the time never moves for those. It says when and who, not what changed. Artists do not see this line in the member portal.

Recently deleted

Deleting a piece does not destroy it, whoever deletes it. A piece you delete in the Artwork Catalog (one at a time, or several with Delete selected) and a piece an artist deletes in the member portal both move to Recently deleted, a tab in the Artwork Catalog (sidebar, Artwork Catalog, then Recently deleted, next to Gallery to photograph). The piece is hidden from the catalog, the public Works page and the shop straight away, and its Square item is archived. Its picture is kept, but it cannot be given a new one while it is in Recently deleted: Upload image, a dropped picture and Use your phone are all refused, and a Use your phone code made before the delete stops working. Restore it first, then add the picture. The spreadsheet’s Update existing works never matches a work in Recently deleted either: a row whose Label ID (SKU), or artist and title, belongs only to a deleted work is skipped, and its result says “Matches a piece in the bin (Recently deleted) — restore it first; not updated”. A live work with the same artist and title is still matched. Restore the work, then upload the row again.

Each row shows the title and the artist, then who deleted it and when, and the day it will be removed for good: for example Deleted by Mara Quill on Oct 6, 2026, removed for good on Oct 13, 2026. A piece deleted before CartonCrew recorded who deleted it shows only Deleted on and the date. Restore is beside each row.

Restore puts the piece back with the status it had before it was deleted, with its picture, and its Square item is brought back too. Seven days after it was deleted, a daily job removes the piece and its picture for good, and nothing can bring it back.

A piece with a sale or an artist payout can never be deleted; set its status to Archived instead. An artist can delete only a piece with no history at all, and can restore only the pieces they deleted themselves: a piece the gallery deleted is listed in their own Recently deleted, with who deleted it, but only the gallery can restore it.