Facebook Product Feed

The Tool Box

When creating a data feed, you should see a black box on the right of your screen. The Facebook Product Feed extension includes that tool to help you configure your feed and see what is wrong.

The toolbox is inevitably a very useful tool. This will help you to configure your data feed more quickly.

Below are the different options for the toolbox.

Library

Preview

Report

You can get reports on the errors and warnings of your data feeds.

Errors and warnings will be displayed differently:

• in orange will be displayed the warnings:

  Missing recommended attribute: brand

• in red will be displayed the errors that you must correct to be able to submit your data feed:
  

  Missing required attribute: fb_product_category

Next to these errors or warnings, you should see the number of items that are concerned.

By default, the reports will give the 10 first examples (SKU) that are concerned with each error and warning. You can change that by editing the Items in preview in:
Stores › Settings › Configuration › Wyomind › Facebook Product Feed › Core Settings

Configuration

In that first tab is the main configuration of the data feed. To customize your feed, you'll find several fields to fill in.

• Name
  You can add a name to your data feed. 
  

  Facebook feed

• Filename
  Enter a name for the file.
  

  FacebookShopping_basics.xml

• Path
  Define the path where you want the data feed to be generated. 
  

  /feeds/

• Store View
  Define the store view that is concerned.
  

  Default Store View

• Website URL
  Add your website URL.
  

  http://www.example.com

• Title
  Add a title to your feed.
  

  Full data feed for Facebook

• Description
  Add a description to your data feed.
  

  Main feed for Facebook.

• XML pattern
  This is probably the most important field as this is where you will configure your pattern.

Categories filter type

You can filter your categories according to two different ways:

• Exclude all products from the selected categories.
• Include all products from the selected categories.

You are able to include or exclude your categories depending on:

• Parent categories only
  In the case where you have a configurable product with simple variants associated. The configurable has a category assigned but not the variants.
• Product categories only
  If you have categories assigned to simple variants but not to the configurable product.
• Product and parent categories
  In the case where you have both situations.

Include

For example, if you wish to include only products of the Gear category, you can check the Include option that will allow you to include all categories that you have selected.

Exclude

You can also check the Exclude option that will exclude all categories that you have selected.

Category selection and mapping

In that subtab, you can select and map your categories to Facebook ones. This step is very important so that Facebook can make a link between their product categories and yours.

What is the category mapping?

The Facebook product taxonomy is a tree of categories that will help you generate values for the Facebook product category attribute listing all possibilities.

Categories names you are using in your Magento aren't always the same as the ones used by Facebook to reference your products.

This means you have to find out which Facebook categories have the best matching with yours, according to the Facebook product taxonomy.

How to map your categories to Facebook ones? 

Facebook Product Feed provides you with an easy way to input Facebook product categories that are matching yours.

In your data feed configuration, go to the Categories tab. Then, in the Category selection and mapping section, you'll find a tree view of all your categories.

First, select the Facebook Taxonomy source on which the category mapping is based.

For each category, you have a little arrow followed by mapped as.

There, you'll be able to start typing a keyword in order to display a list of all categories including that keyword. You simply need to select the one you need.

Once all your categories are mapped, you can click on the Save button.

Here are a few guidelines for choosing the most appropriate category:

• Use the category that best describes your item. To do this, first determine the primary function of the products you are submitting. For specific items like MP3 Players, select the MP3 Players category. While some MP3 players can also serve different functions, like those that contain a clock, they are primarily MP3 Players.
• Use only one category. For some products, more than one category might be relevant. For example, an adapter to allow an MP3 player to be used in a car could be in both categories Motor Vehicles > Audio & Video and Electronics > Audio > Audio Accessories > MP3 Player Accessories. In such cases, choose the category that seems the most appropriate to you, but don't include more than one.
• Use the most specific category possible. Being specific will help improve your data quality and in turn ensure that offers are presented in the right category. When viewing the taxonomy, try to navigate to the most specific category that still covers all the products being submitted. For instance, if you are submitting MP3 player chargers use the category MP3 Player Chargers . Conversely, if you are submitting multiple types of chargers use the category Chargers.

How to add the Facebook category to the XML template?

Finally, so that the Facebook category is retrieved in your data feed, you must add the following attribute to the XML template:

<g:fb_product_category>{{product.fb_product_category}}</g:fb_product_category>

How to add a taxonomy file?

With Facebook Product Feed, you have the possibility to change the file on which the category mapping is based.

From that page, choose the language you want to use from the Facebook product categories by language section. Then, click on the Plain Text link that contains full category names.

Paste that file in:
Magento 2 Root Directory › app › code › WyominD › Facebook Product Feed › data › Facebook › Taxonomies

You'll then be able to choose that specific taxonomy from your data feed configuration.

Filters

Facebook Product Feed for Magento 2 also allows you to filter your products on several levels according to their attribute sets or their visibility for example.

Product Type

Include simple products only.

Attribute Set

Include all attribute sets.

Product Visibility

Include all products.

Advanced Filters

Include only products with a price higher than 0, and an SKU that is not null.

Here again, you have the possibility to configure your advanced filters according to several options.

• LIKE / NOT LIKE

a name like %shirt: will include all products which name ends with 'shirt'.
name like Apple%: will include all products which name starts with 'Apple'.
name like %women%: will include all products which name contains the 'women' character string.

name not like %shirt: won't include any product which name ends with 'shirt'.
name not like Apple%: won't include any product which name starts with 'Apple'.
name not like %women%: won't include any product which name contains the 'women' character string.

• IS NULL / IS NOT NULL

Special price is null: will include all products that don't have special prices. 

SKU is not null: will include all products which SKU is not null.

• IN / NOT IN

Size in S L: will include only products from these 2 sizes. 

Size not in S L: will include all products which size is not S or L.

Cron Schedule

Facebook Product Feed for Magento 2 provides you with a fully configurable schedule in the Cron Schedule tab of each data feed pattern configuration.

You just have to tick the days and hours when you want your data feed to be generated.

Note

Use the Note field to add any information you find useful. This is an internal note. 

Action History

In the Action History tab, you can find a history of your previous generations and configurations. 

You'll find: 

• ID
  It is the ID of the history line. 
  
• Version ID
  It is the ID of the data feed configuration version.
  
• Origin
  The origin of the action can be: Backend / Cron / CLI / API
• Username
  It is the name of the user behind the action.
• Action
  The available actions are: create / generate / update / delete
  
• Details
  If you click on More details, you can see the detail of the data feed update from a grid.
  

  

  If you click on a line of the above grid, you can check the detail in a popup.
  

  

• Date
  It is the date of the modification.

Generate the data feeds manually

Facebook Product Feed allows you to generate the data feeds manually or automatically. 

Manually

You can generate your data feeds manually from the action dropdown of the data feeds grid. 

You also have the possibility to do it from the data feed configuration panel by clicking on Generate. 

With the cron tasks

In order to automatically generate the data feeds through the cron tasks, you must first make sure that the main cron task is enabled on your server.

If not, you should see a warning message in Facebook Product Feed.

Then, you need to select a least one day and one-time frame from the Cron schedule tab for each data feed that must be updated.

Generate the data feeds through CLI

You can easily use the Command Line Interface to generate the data feeds.

To generate all the data feeds:

bin/magento wyomind:facebookproductfeed:generate

To generate one data feed from a given id:

bin/magento wyomind:facebookproductfeed:generate int DATA_FEED_ID

To generate several data feeds from a given list of ids:

bin/magento wyomind:facebookproductfeed:generate  int DATA_FEED_ID [, int DATA_FEED_ID] [, int DATA_FEED_ID]...

To list all data feeds including status, name, last update:

bin/magento wyomind:facebookproductfeed:list

Download the generated data feed

When a data feed is ready to be downloaded, the link is displayed in both, the data feed grid and the data feed page at the top of the page. To download the data feed, select Save link as after a right-click on the link. You should also find the file in your ftp client if the directory where the data feed is stored is not publicly accessible.

OBJECTS

In order to retrieve the value of an attribute, you need to define which object is targeted. Below are the different types of objects that you can use.

{{product.attribute_code}}

Retrieves the attribute for the product.

For example:

{{product.sku}}

{{product.color}}

{{parent.attribute_code}}

Retrieves the parent attribute value.

The parent value is retrieved only if the simple (item) product is associated with a parent product, if not, nothing is retrieved.

The parent product may be a configurable, a grouped or a bundle product. The first parent product that matches the simple product is used to get the attribute value.

For example:

{{parent.product_type}}

{{parent.brand}}

{{configurable.attribute_code}}

Retrieves the first configurable parent attribute value.

The configurable product value is retrieved only if the simple product is associated with a configurable product, if not, nothing is retrieved.

For example:

{{configurable.image_link}}

{{configurable.url}}

{{grouped.attribute_code}}

Retrieves the first grouped parent attribute value.

The grouped product value is retrieved only if the simple product is associated with a grouped product, if not, nothing is retrieved.

For example:

{{grouped.fb_product_category}}

{{grouped.url}}

{{bundle.attribute_code}}

Retrieves the first bundle parent attribute value.

The bundle product value is retrieved only if the simple product is associated with a bundle product, if not, nothing is retrieved.

For example:

{{bundle.sale_price}}

{{bundle.price}}

PRODUCT IDENTIFIERS

You'll find below the attributes most commonly used to identify the products in data feeds patterns.

{{object.sku}}

Retrieves the SKU of the product.

For example:

{{product.sku}}

{{object.brand}}

Retrieves the brand of the product.

For example:

{{product.brand}}

{{object.manufacturer}}

Retrieves the brand of the product.

For example:

{{product.manufacturer}}

BASIC INFORMATION

You'll find below the attributes that are generally used to define basic information of products in the data feeds.

{{object.name}}

Retrieves the name of the product.

For example:

{{product.name}}

{{object.description}}

Retrieves the description of the product.

For example:

{{product.description}}

{{object.short_description}}

Retrieves the short description of the product.

For example:

{{product.short_description}}

{{object.condition}}

Retrieves the condition of the product.

For example:

{{product.condition}}

{{object.weight}}

Retrieves the weight of the product.

For example:

{{product.weight}}

PRICES AND PROMOTIONS

Below is a list of the price attributes that you can use in your feed pattern. For most of them, you can add some parameters in order to define the currency used or the VAT to apply for example.

{{object.price}}

Retrieves the best price among all the prices defined.

If prices are exclusive of VAT and the product is liable to a unique VAT rate, the price retrieved will include this rate. Otherwise, the price exclusive of tax is retrieved.

For example:

{{product.price}}

You also have the possibility to use some parameters with this attribute:

• currency = automatically converts the original product price to a specified currency. It uses an exchange rate that you have already stored in your admin panel. By default, your local currency is used.
• vat_rate = is a floating value between 0.00 and 100.00 that represents an arbitrary VAT rate to apply. This parameter rewrites the VAT rule for the product except if the product doesn't have any tax class.

Here are some examples:

To convert the prices to EUR and apply a 20% VAT rate:

{{product.price currency=EUR vat_rate=20}}

To convert the prices to USD and not apply any VAT rate:

{{product.price currency=USD vat_rate=0}}

If the prices of your catalog are already including VAT:

{{product.price currency=USD}}

To use an ISO2 code corresponding to one of the countries for which you specified a VAT rate in your tax settings:

{{product.price currency=EUR vat_rate=FR}}

This code may also be completed by an area code:

{{product.price currency=USD vat_rate=US/NY}}

To deduce the VAT corresponding to a country/area:

{{product.price currency=GBP vat_rate=-GB}}

To retrieve prices including different price values for simple products associated to a configurable one:

{{parent.price currency=EUR vat_rate=20}}

{{object.normal_price}}

Retrieves the base price and ignores any other existing price value.

For example:

{{product.normal_price}}

{{object.special_price}}

Retrieves the special price if exists. If this price doesn't exist the value is null.

For example:

{{product.special_price}}

{{object.price_rules}}

Retrieves the price including the catalog price rules if indicated, if not, nothing is retrieved.

If prices are exclusive of VAT and the product is liable to a unique VAT rate, the price retrieved will include this rate. Otherwise, the price exclusive of tax is retrieved.

For example:

{{product.price_rules}}

{{object.sale_price}}

Retrieves the best promotional between price rules and special prices).

For example:

{{product.sale_price}}

{{object.sale_price_effective_date}}

Retrieves the sale price effective date as: 
2011-03-01T13:00-0800/2011-03-11T15:30-0800

If no date is defined or if the dates defined don't match with the current date, the value is null.

For example:

{{product.sale_price_effective_date}}

{{object.has_special_price}}

Retrieves either 1 if a special price exists or 0 if not.

You also have the possibility to use some parameters with this attribute:

• yes = value to retrieve if a special price exists. By default 1.
• no = value to retrieve if no special price exists. By default 0.

For example:

{{product.has_special_price yes="Special price" no="No special price"}}

{{object.has_sale_price}}

Retrieves either 1 if a promotional price exists or 0 if not.

You also have the possibility to use some parameters with this attribute:

• yes = value to retrieve if a promotional price exists. By default 1.
• no = value to retrieve if no promotional price exists. By default 0.

For example:

{{product.has_sale_price yes="Sale price" no="No sale price"}}

{{object.min_price}}

Retrieves the minimum price.

This attribute is used for configurable, bundle, or grouped products.

If prices are exclusive of VAT and the product is liable to a unique VAT rate, the price retrieved will include this rate. Otherwise, the price exclusive of tax is retrieved.

For example:

{{product.min_price}}

{{object.max_price}}

Retrieves the maximum price.

This attribute is used for configurable, bundle, or grouped products.

If prices are exclusive of VAT and the product is liable to a unique VAT rate, the price retrieved will include this rate. Otherwise, the price exclusive of tax is retrieved.

For example:

{{product.max_price}}

LINKS

Below are listed the attributes that are generally used to retrieve any kind of link.

{{product.url_config}}

Retrieves URL to pre-select the simple product attributes from its configurable.

For example:

{{product.url_config}}

{{object.url}}

Retrieves the product’s canonical absolute URL.

For example:

{{product.url}}

{{object.image_link}}

Retrieves the product’s main image.

You also have the possibility to use some parameters with this attribute:

• index = index of any additional images to retrieve. By default 0 (the main image).

For example:

{{product.image_link index=2}}

{{object.host}}

Retrieves the host url, for example https://www.website.com.

Example with the small_image attribute:

{{product.host}}/media/catalog/{{product.small_image}}

{{object.uri}} or {{object.url_key}}

Retrieves the product canonical relative url.

For example:

https://www.mywebsite.com/mystore_code/{{product.uri}}

CATEGORIES

To retrieve the categories of your products, you can check the below attributes.

{{object.categories}}

Display the category paths in which the product may be found.

All category paths are listed under the categories attribute from the shortest to the longest path as in the below example:

1. Default Category
2. Default Category › Sales
3. Default Category › Clothes
4. Default Category › Clothes › Men
5. Default Category › Clothes › Men › Pants
6. Default Category › Sales › Spring and Summer Sales

In order to display a specific category path you have the possibility to use some parameters with this attribute:

• nth: display the nth category path, if not specified the 1st category is used by default. Negative values are allowed.
• from: display a category path starting from the nth category level, if not specified the 1st category level is used by default. Negative values are allowed.
• length: display a category path limited to the given number of category levels, if not specified the whole path is displayed by default.
• separator: the character used to separate each category level.

For example:

{{product.categories nth="1"}}

Shows the first category path : Default Category

{{product.categories nth="-1"}}

Shows the last category path: Default Category › Sales › Spring and Summer Sales

{{product.categories nth="3" separator="-"}}

Shows the 3th category path and change the category levels separator to "-":  DEFAULT CATEGORY - CLOTHES

{{product.categories nth="-2"}}

Shows the before last category path: Default CategorY › Clothes › Men › Pants

{{product.categories nth="-2" from="2"}}

Shows the before last category path from the 2nd category level: Clothes › Men › Pants

{{product.categories nth="-1" from="-1"}}

Shows the last category path from the last category level: Spring and Summer Sales
   

{{product.categories nth="-2" from="2" length="1"}}

Shows the before last category path from the 2nd category level with only one category level: Clothes

{{object.category_mapping}}

Retrieves any new category that you have assigned (in the Categories tab) to the item’s own product category. If no mapping is assigned to the first category found, the second category will be used etc…

You also have the possibility to use some parameters with this attribute:

• index = index of the category mapping

For example:

{{product.category_mapping index=0}}
{{product.category_mapping index=1}}
{{product.category_mapping index=2}}
{{product.category_mapping index=3}}
{{product.category_mapping index=4}}

This will retrieve a maximum of 5 category mappings in 5 separate tags.

{{object.fb_product_category}}

Retrieves the Facebook category that you have assigned (in the Categories section) to the first category found for the product (index 0).

For example:

{{product.fb_product_category}}

AVAILABILITY

The below attributes are often used to retrieve the availability of your products, for example, the quantity.

{{object.qty}}

Retrieves the available quantity.

The quantity retrieved for configurable products is based on the sum of simple products.

You also have the possibility to use some parameters with this attribute:

• float = is the number of decimals.

For example:

{{product.qty float=2}}

{{object.availability}}

Retrieves either "in stock" if the product is in stock, "out of stock" if the product is out of stock, or "available for order" if the product is backorderable.

You also have the possibility to use some parameters with this attribute:

• in_stock = value to retrieve if the product is in stock
• out_of_stock = value to retrieve if the product is out of stock
• backorderable = value to retrieve if the product is backorderable

For example:

{{product.availability in_stock="In Stock" out_of_stock="No more Stock" backorderable="Can be ordered"}}

{{object.is_in_stock}}

Retrieves either "in stock" if the product is in stock, "out of stock" if the product is out of stock.

You also have the possibility to use some parameters with this attribute:

• in_stock = value to retrieve if the product is in stock
• out_of_stock = value to retrieve if the product is out of stock

For example:

{{product.is_in_stock in_stock="In Stock" out_of_stock="No more Stock"}}

PRODUCT VARIANTS

In the case where you're using product variations (color, size or gender) then you can use the following attributes. Attention, these attributes are examples and can differ according to the configuration of your Magento 2 store.

{{object.gender}}

Retrieves the gender of the product.

For example:

{{product.gender}}

{{object.age_group}}

Retrieves the age group of the product.

For example:

{{product.age_group}}

{{object.color}}

Retrieves the color of the product.

For example:

{{product.color}}

{{object.size}}

Retrieves the size of the product.

For example:

{{product.size}}

{{object.material}}

Retrieves the material of the product.

For example:

{{product.material}}

{{object.pattern}}

Retrieves the pattern of the product.

For example:

{{product.pattern}}

GENERAL PARAMETERS

Below are listed all the parameters that you can use with any attribute in your data feeds.

{{object.attribute prefix="value"}}

The prefix is what will be displayed before the attribute value only if it is not null, otherwise, nothing is retrieved.

Below are some examples:

To add the currency symbol before the price and not retrieve anything when the value of the attribute is null:

{{product.price currency=USD vat_rate=0 prefix="$"}}

To add the weight unit before the attribute value and not retrieve anything when that value is null:

{{product.weight prefix="LBS "}}

{{object.attribute suffix="value"}}

The suffix is what will be displayed after the attribute value only if it is not null, otherwise, nothing is retrieved.

Below are some examples:

To add the currency code after the price and not retrieve anything when the value of the attribute is null:

{{product.price currency=USD vat_rate=0 suffix=" USD"}}

To add the weight unit after the attribute value and not retrieve anything when that value is null:

{{product.weight suffix=" LBS"}}

{{object.attribute as="myVariable"}}

The as parameter allows you to store the value of a given attribute into a variable for a later use in one of your PHP script or in a condition (see if parameter).
Notice, the attribute call even if it uses the as parameter will produce an output in the data feed expect if you add the output attribute with the value null (see output parameter)

Here are a few examples:

Display the product name and store the value in a variable $name:

<!-- Product name is displayed and stored under a new variable "name" -->
<name>{{product.name as="name"}}</name>

$name can be then used in a PHP script latter in the template

<?php
/* If variable $name is equal to "Apple", then display "Apple" then display "Banana"
*/
if($name=="Apple") return $name;else return "Banana";
?>

Store the visibility of a product and use it in a condition for another attribute

<!-- Product visibility is stored under a new variable "visibility" and the attribute doesn't display -->
{{product.visibility as="visibility" output="null"}}
<!-- If the product is not visible individually (1) then we display the parent product url, otherwise we use the product url-->
<url>{{parent.url if="visibility==1" | product.url}}</url>

{{object.attribute if="condition"}}

The if parameter allows you to define one or more necessary conditions to display the given attribute in the data feed.

One condition is built with 3 items :

• the variable to check :
  a product attribute
  a variable previously stores thanks to the as parameter (see as parameter)
• the comparison statement
  == equal
  <= lower or equal to
  => hieght or equal to
  < lower than
  > higher than
  != different from
• the value
  

Example:

<!-- Product description will be displayed only if product brand is equal to "Apple" -->
<name>{{product.description if="product.brand==Apple"}}</name>

<!-- Product weight will be displayed only if the product is not virtual AND not downloadable-->
<weight>{{product.weight if="product.type_id!=virtual" if="product.type_id!=downloadable"}}</weight>

{{object.attribute output="functions"}}

The output parameter allows you to define the output format for a given attribute.

You can use the basic functions (see basic functions), the advanced functions (see advanced functions), or any PHP functions.

You must refer to the attribute by using the $self variable as the function's parameter.

Example :

<!-- Get the product name with the first letter of each word in uppercase -->
<name>{{product.name output="ucwords($self)"}}</name>

If you want to use several functions, those must be imbricated as you do with PHP:

Example :

<!-- Remove all html tags from the description and limit the description to the first 100 characters -->
<name>{{product.description output="substr(strip_tags($self),0,100)"}}</name>

You can also use null to display an empty string or you can use any string to display a specific message:

Example :

<!-- If product price is lower than $10 then display "Free Shipping"-->
<shipping_cost>{{product.price if="product.price<10" output="'Free Shipping'"}}</shipping_cost>

{{object.attribute php="functions"}}

The php parameter acts exactly like the output parameter.

BASIC FUNCTIONS

You can use any of the native PHP functions, as well as all of the following ones with the default attributes that are defined in your Magento 2 back-office and also any attribute you have defined for your products (eg: name, description, short_description, weight, size, color…) apart from those which generate XML.

The syntax to use in order to include PHP functions in the variables is:

{{object.attribute output=”function(parameters)”}}

You can also apply one or more functions to all of these attributes by using the following syntax:

{{object.attribute output=”function1(function2(function3($self,parameters)))”}}

All options are executed in the written order:

<title>{{product.name}}</title>
<title>{{product.name output="wyomind_strtoupper($self)"}}</title>
<title>{{product.name output="wyomind_strtoupper(wyomind_substr($self,20,'...'))"}}</title>

This will produce:

<title>Affirm Water Bottle</title>
<title>AFFIRM WATER BOTTLE</title>
<title>AFFIRM WATER...</title>

float($self,$decimal)

Converts a numeric value to a floating number.

You need to define some parameters:

• decimal = number of floating number. By default: 0

For example:

<g:shipping_weight> {{product.weight output="float($self,2)"}}kg </g:shipping_weight>

cleaner($self)

Removes all characters that don't belong to the UTF-8 charset.

For example:

<g:title>{{product.name output="cleaner($self)"}}</g:title>

inline($self)

Removes all EOL characters from the value.

For example:

<description> {{product.description output="inline($self)"}} </description>

IMPROVED FUNCTIONS

The improved functions are used in the same way as the basic PHP functions but offer more possibilities. They are a rewrite of the native PHP functions but have been improved for a specific use of the Facebook Product Feed extension.

wyomind_strtoupper($self)

Transforms the value to uppercase.

For example:

<g:title>{{product.name output="wyomind_strtoupper($self)"}}</g:title>

wyomind_strtolower($self)

Transforms the value to lowercase.

For example:

<tag>{{product.name output="wyomind_strtolower($self)"}}</tag>

wyomind_implode($separator,$self)

Joins all array elements in a string.

You need to define some parameters:

• separator = string used between each value. By default: ,

This function may be useful for multi-select attributes like climate, activity general...

For example:

<activity> {{product.activity_general output="wyomind_implode('-',$self)"}} </activity>

Will give: Outdoor-Running-Warmup-Lounge-Gym

wyomind_html_entity_decode($self)

Converts all HTML entities to their applicable characters.

For example:

<description> {{product.description output="wyomind_html_entity_decode($self)"}} </description>

wyomind_strip_tags($self)

Removes all HTML tags.

For example:

<description> {{product.description output="wyomind_strip_tags($self)"}} </description>

wyomind_htmlentities($self)

Converts all applicable characters to HTML entities.

For example:

<description> {{product.description output="wyomind_htmlentities($self)"}} </description>

wyomind_substr($self,$length,$end)

Truncates the value.

You need to define some parameters:

• length = maximum length of the value
• end = string that will be added at the end of the string. By default: ...

For example:

<description> {{product.description output="wyomind_substr($self,50,'...')"}} </description>

If there are HTML tags in your descriptions, you may need to use in combination with this function:

<description> {{product.description output="wyomind_strip_tags(wyomind_substr($self,50,'...'))"}} </description>

API coding standards

The Facebook Product Feed PHP API uses the exact same syntax and standards as any PHP coding.

Attribute calls

For performance reasons, Facebook Product Feed only loads in the collection of products the attributes that are explicitly required in the data feed template.
This means that only the attributes that are called using the template placeholders, {{scope.attribute_code}}, will be added to the collection of products.

As a consequence, when you try to access the value of an attribute from the $product object, you must be sure that the attribute has been added to the collection.
Most of the time when the returned value is null for a given attribute, it means the attribute is not loaded in the collection of products.

The best way to be sure that all the attributes you need are well loaded in the collection, is to add at the beginning of your template a simple script that lists all the attributes required.

<?php
/* list of required attributes
* {{product.attribute_1}} {{product.attribute_2}} {{product.attribute_3}} {{product.attribute_4}}...
*/
?>

Then you should be able to get the values of these attributes in your PHP script:

<?php
return $product->getAttribute1();
?>
<?php
return $product->getAttribute2()
;?>
<?php
return $product->getAttribute3();
?>
...

PHP functions in attribute calls

You can use any PHP function to apply in the attribute calls even if the function requires one or more additional arguments, for instance:

{{product.name output="str_replace('Apple','Banana',$self)}}

You can use several consecutive functions:

{{product.ean output="str_pad(str_replace('X','0',$self),10,'0',STR_PAD_LEFT)}}

Conditional values

To output values based on different conditions, use PHP conditional statements:

• if/else
  

  <?php
  /* attribute {{product.sku}} required */
  if ($product->getSku()=="abc")
  {
  return "Alphabetic";
  }
  elseif($product->getSku()=="123")
  {
  return "Numeric";
  }
  else{return "Mixed";
  }
  ?>

• switch/case
  

  <?php
  /* attribute {{product.sku}} required
  */
  switch($product->getSku()){
  case "abc":
  return "Alphabetic";
  break;
  case "123":
  return "Numeric";
  break;
  default:
  return "Mixed";}
  ?>

Opening and closing tags

When using the PHP API inline directly in your data feed template, you must use the opening and closing PHP tags (<? php ... ?>)

<?php
if($product->getData('size')=="X-Large") {return "XL";
}
?>

Outputting a value

Return
Any value that you want to output in your data feed, must be returned with the return instruction.

<?php
return "Don't miss! ".$product->getTitle();
?>
/* This script adds for each product in data feed  a new ouput line
*  Don't miss! Iphone 5
*  Don't miss! Galaxy note 7
*  ...
*/

Variables scope

All variables available in PHP scripts have a local scope, this means they can't be shared between several scripts.

If you wish to share a variable with different scripts all along the data feed generation process, then the variable must be set as a global variable.

<?php global $increment;$increment++;return $increment;
/* This script will output a incremental $variable* 1* 2* 3* ...*
/?>

API Objects, Variables and Methods

Object $product

$product is an instance of Mage_Catalog_Model_Product. It contains all methods available by default and some other specific to Facebook Product Feed.

The list below includes the main methods available to use:

• $product->getCategoriesArray()
  Retrieves an array of arrays that describes the categories to which belongs the products
• $product->getCategoryIds()
  Lists all category ids in which the product may be found
  
• $product->getVisibility()
  Returns the visibility of the product (1 = not visible individually, 2 = catalog, 3 = search, 4 = catalog and search)
  
• $product->getStatus()
  Returns the status of the product (1 = enabled, 2 = disabled)
  
• $product->getData($attributeCode)
  Returns the value of the given attribute code
  
• $product->getAttributeText($attributeCode)
  Returns the textual value of the given attribute code

Object $this

$this is an instance of Wyomind_facebookproductfeed_Model_Feed.

It provides a few useful methods: 

• $this->hasParent($product, $type="parent")
  Returns a Boolean value whether a product has a parent from the give type (parent, configurable, grouped, bundle) or not
  
• $this->getParent($product, $type="parent", $strict=false)
  Returns a product object of the given parent type (parent, configurable, grouped, bundle) if available or the product object passed as 1st parameter when $strict parameter is set on false. 
  
• $this->skip()
  Skips the current product, useful to filter out some products based on specific condition