Shopify: control settings with product tags
Instead of setting shipping settings in ASM, you can write them as tags on your products in Shopify. ASM reads the tags every time a product changes. This suits stores that already manage their catalog in Shopify, with Shopify's bulk editor or an import app.
Before you begin
Tags mode is switched on by support. Contact support@advancedshippingmanager.com or 1-888-546-4932 (Mon–Fri, 9AM–5PM EST) to turn it on. Your existing ASM settings stay as they are when we switch, but read the warning below first.
In tags mode, every time a product is updated in Shopify, ASM rewrites all of that product's shipping settings from its tags, whether or not it has ASM tags. A setting with no tag is cleared. So before (or right after) the switch, tag every product that has ASM settings you want to keep.
How tags mode changes ASM
- Your tags are the only source of product shipping settings.
- The Import and export (CSV) section on the Products page is hidden.
- You can still open a product on the Products page, but don't edit it there: the next update of the product in Shopify replaces your edits.
- Tags are on the Shopify product, so they apply to all of its variants.
Steps
- Ask support to switch your store to Shopify product tags.
- In Shopify, open a product and add a tag for each setting, written as name: value. For example
dimensions: 10 12 15. - Save the product. ASM updates it within moments.
- Repeat for your other products, or use Shopify's bulk editor or a product import to add tags to many products.
Tag names and examples
Tag names are the same as the CSV column names. Values use the same format.
| Tag | Example |
|---|---|
dimensions |
dimensions: 10 12 15 |
ship-alone |
ship-alone: Yes |
number-of-boxes |
number-of-boxes: 2 |
multi-box-weights |
multi-box-weights: 3.5 8.2 |
multi-box-dimensions |
multi-box-dimensions: 5x2x3 16x12x15 |
origin-zip |
origin-zip: 90210 or origin-zip: AU:5500 |
free-shipping |
free-shipping: Yes |
free-ship-method |
free-ship-method: 1 |
flat-ship-rates |
flat-ship-rates: 1=5.99 |
markup |
markup: 4.5* |
global-free-ship-exclusion |
global-free-ship-exclusion: Yes |
invalid-ship-methods |
invalid-ship-methods: 2 3 |
exclude-states |
exclude-states: AK HI |
exclude-countries |
exclude-countries: CA MX |
Add-on settings work the same way: item-points, bundled-qty, bundled-weight, process-time, hazmat, options-weight-points, custom-1 (harmonized codes or perishable) and custom-2 (freight class). See Add-on product fields.
A full example. A product tagged:
dimensions: 24 18 6, free-shipping: Yes, free-ship-method: 1, exclude-states: AK HI
ships alone in a 24x18x6 box, ships free on method #1, and isn't offered to Alaska or Hawaii. All its other settings are empty.
Rules for tag values
- Yes/No settings:
Yesturns the setting on. Anything else, or no tag, means No. - Several values: separate them with spaces, as in
exclude-states: AK HI. - No commas. Shopify splits tags at commas, so a value with a comma becomes two broken tags.
- Dimensions turn on Ship alone, just as on the Products page.
- Flat rates: a space separates one method's rate from the next, and
~stands for a space inside one rate:flat-ship-rates: 1=5.99 3=15orflat-ship-rates: 1=19.99~3~30~6~45*. See Product markup and flat-rate syntax. - Markup: one rule per product, as in
markup: 2=5*. - Don't use a
bundled-dimensionstag. ASM reads it as the product'sdimensions. If you need bundled dimensions in tags mode, contact support.
Check that it works
- Save a tagged product in Shopify.
- In ASM, open the product on the Products page and check that its settings match the tags.
- Run a test cart in the Shipping Estimator.
If settings disappear, check that the product still has its tags. See My product settings changed or disappeared.