Manual: Downloading Individual Product XML

This document describes how to download individual products XML from Icecat. Icecat provides customers with the ability to download XML product data. Other available interfaces are:

• Icecat LIVE (JavaScript) Interface
• Quick Guide for real-time data (xml, csv)
• Icecat URL Interface
• Manual for Icecat CSV Interface
• Manual: Product XMLs batch processing
• Complete Icecat XML manual

Access to Icecat

To obtain access to Open Icecat, you will need a login/password, provided to you by Icecat. If you don’t have these, please register online for Open Icecat. Open Icecat is free and contains millions of products.

NOTE: During the registration you need to choose for the URL or Data (XML) version. If you want to make use of XML, make sure that you choose the Open Icecat Data subscription. You can always change this afterwards, or create a second subscription for the URL (links to hosted data-sheets) method.

For Full Icecat, you need a separate contract. You can request this contract via the contact page.

Access to the product information of Full Icecat is protected. If you want to access the product information we need to unblock your IP address. Fill in the IP-address(es) of your server(s) and office in the “Allowed IP addresses” field. If you don’t know your office IP addresses, visit What is my IP to find your (office) IP. For you server IP address, please ask your system operator or provider.

You can fill in several IP addresses, separated by a space.

Please, note that some brands have a restrictive syndication policy, in which they allow access to certain digital assets or other product data only to authorized resellers. In general, it is therefore good to request authorization from brands with which you have established formal relations via the Icecat website.

Popular web shop software Add-ons

If you are looking for to connect your web shop look at several of the most popular Icecat Add-ons.

Building your own XML-download

Access

For access to the product information you need to setup server access. If you have no or little experience in setting this up, we advise you to make use of the URL (links to pictures and datasheets) or Icecat LIVE versions.  You can always contact us for assistance.

XML access works via basic HTTP authorization, also used for other HTTP requests.

In short:  requesting access in advance and then downloading the data.

Downloading individual Product XMLs

For smaller catalogs,  for testing XML or updating, in other words for small data-sets, it is handy to use of our realtime interface (URL2XML) for retrieving product XML from the Icecat.

The general format of the call is:

Requesting a product XML by Brand and Product_ID:

https://data.Icecat.biz/xml_s3/xml_server3.cgi?prod_id=<prod_id>;vendor=<vendor_name>;lang=<lang>;output=<output>

or

Requesting a product XML by GTIN (EAN or UPC):

https://data.Icecat.biz/xml_s3/xml_server3.cgi?ean_upc=<EAN or UPC>;lang=<lang>;output=<output>

Where:

prod_id	the manufacturer part number of the requested product
vendor_name	name of the manufacturer of the requested product
ean_upc	the GTIN, EAN or UPC code to identify a product
lang	the language code (INT – for the international/standardized repository, EN, NL, FR, … for local repository)
output	the type of the response. It can be productxml (the product xml file) and metaxml (the index or meta information on the Brand + ProdID/M_Prod_ID or EAN/UPC)

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For example, if you need to get an xml file of product ‘Compaq 6710b Base Model Notebook PC’, manufactured by HP, with product code RJ459AV and EAN 4960999358246 in English, the call will be as given below.

By brand and manufacturer part number:

https://data.Icecat.biz/xml_s3/xml_server3.cgi?prod_id=RJ459AV;vendor=hp;lang=en;output=productxml

prod_id	RJ459AV
vendor	hp
lang	en
output	productxml

By GTIN (EAN or UPC):

https://data.Icecat.biz/xml_s3/xml_server3.cgi?ean_upc=4960999358246;lang=en;output=productxml

ean_upc	4960999358246
lang	en
output	productxml

Explaining the product XML

Understanding the information in the XML is important before importing the data in your shop. It’s essential to match the product information in Icecat to your PIM (Product Information Management system) in the right way.

General

Product
Quality	Where QUALITY = Supplier only the original product data as imported from a manufacturer’s CMS is available, the respective data-sheet is not yet standardized by our editors. When it is standardized the parameter is changed to QUALITY = Icecat

ProductFeature

ProductFeature
Value	This is the international value. It is always in English and it is the bases of the other values.
Presentation_Value	This value is used to show the information on the website of icecat or your website. We do not recommend you use it for import in your PIM or backend.
LocalValue	This value is the local language value for your country/language (locale).
Sign	You can find the measurement sign in the CDATA.
Translated	If the feature is translated in your local language or not.
Mandatory	If the feature is mandatory, it will always be filled.
Searchable	Used by Icecat