With sales channels you offer your articles on marketplaces directly from X-Sitter. For each booked channel you decide in which categories your articles appear and where every field of the channel gets its value from – one of your attributes, a text in the channel's language, an image or a fixed value. X-Sitter then sends your articles to the marketplace with these values and keeps them up to date.

The setup has five steps: book the channel, enter the credentials, choose categories, map the fields, activate the channel. After that you choose per article whether it is offered on the channel.

![Screenshot: "My channels" page with two channel cards showing the setup checklist and the product counters](/sales-channels/images/categories-and-mapping-my-channels.png)

## Before you start

- Sales channels are activated for your company. Contact X-Sitter support to activate them. The menu then shows **Catalogue › Sales channels** (*Katalog › Saleschannels*).
- Your user needs the permissions for the sales channel pages (overview, booking, mapping, products) – ask your administrator.
- You have a merchant account on the marketplace and its credentials.
- Your attribute fields and languages are set up. See [Attribute fields](/products/attribute-fields.md) and [Article languages](/products/article-languages.md).
- For image fields: your company uses the S3 image storage and your images are uploaded in full size. See [Images for sales channels](#images-for-sales-channels).

## Step by step

### 1. Book channels

1. Open **Catalogue › Sales channels › Book channels** (*Katalog › Saleschannels › Kanäle buchen*).
2. Under **Available channels** (*Verfügbare Kanäle*), tick the marketplaces you want to sell on. Use **Search channels** (*Kanal suchen*) to find one. Channels marked **on request** (*auf Anfrage*) are set up on request – contact X-Sitter support.
3. If your plan limits the number of channels, the header shows **Included in your plan** (*In Deinem Paket enthalten*), booked and free. See [Billing and package](/administration/billing-and-package.md).
4. Click **Book selection** (*Auswahl buchen*) and confirm with **Yes, book** (*Ja, buchen*). The booking is binding; the order retrieval is switched on for every booked channel.

![Screenshot: Page "Book channels" with channel tiles, one ticked, the search field and the "Book selection" button](/sales-channels/images/categories-and-mapping-book.png)

### 2. Enter the credentials

1. Under **My channels** (*Meine Kanäle*), click **Credentials** (*Zugangsdaten*) on the channel card.
2. Enter the credentials of your merchant account on this marketplace. They are stored encrypted. Saved secret fields show "*gespeichert - leer lassen, um den Wert zu behalten*" – leave them empty to keep the value.
3. Click **Save**, then **Continue to categories & mapping** (*Weiter zu Kategorien & Mapping*).

![Screenshot: Credentials page of a channel with the fields of the merchant account and the "Continue to categories & mapping" button](/sales-channels/images/categories-and-mapping-credentials.png)

### 3. Choose the language and the categories

1. On the page **Categories & mapping** (*Kategorien & Mapping*), choose the **Channel language** (*Sprache des Kanals*) and click **Save**. Fields you map to language texts (title, descriptions) are sent in this language.
2. In the box **Channel categories** (*Kategorien des Kanals*), pick a main category under **Select main category ...** (*Hauptkategorie wählen ...*), filter the list and tick the categories in which you want to list products. Each category brings its own required attributes.
3. Click **Save categories** (*Kategorien speichern*).

![Screenshot: Left column of "Categories & mapping" with the boxes "Mapping for", "Channel language" and "Channel categories" with a main category selected](/sales-channels/images/categories-and-mapping-categories.png)

### 4. Map the fields

1. Under **Mapping for** (*Zuordnung für*), choose **General fields** (*Allgemeine Felder*) – they apply to every product of the channel – or one of your categories for its additional fields.
2. In the table **Attribute mapping** (*Attribut-Mapping*), choose a source for every field of the channel:
   - one of your **attribute fields** (grouped by attribute group),
   - **Fixed value** (*Fester Wert*) – then enter or select the value in the right column,
   - **Language texts** (*Sprachtexte*) – title, descriptions … in the channel language,
   - **Images (full size in the S3 storage)** (*Bilder (volle Größe im S3-Speicher)*) – main image or image 2 to 10.
3. Click **Apply suggestions** (*Vorschläge übernehmen*) to fill empty fields: image fields get the matching image, all other fields the attribute field with the same name.
4. Click **Save**. The message "*… Felder zugeordnet*" shows how many fields are mapped.
5. Repeat for every category. The progress bar shows how many required fields are mapped.

![Screenshot: Attribute mapping table with channel fields, requirement badges, source dropdown opened (attribute groups, Fixed value, Language texts, Images) and the "Apply suggestions" button](/sales-channels/images/categories-and-mapping-mapping.png)

### 5. Activate the channel

1. Go back to **My channels**. The card shows a checklist: **Credentials**, **Categories**, **Attribute mapping** (with required fields mapped) and **Order retrieval**.
2. As soon as everything is ticked, click **Activate** (*Aktivieren*). You can **Pause** (*Pausieren*) the channel at any time.

### 6. Offer articles on the channel

1. Open an article and switch to the tab with the channel's name. The tab is green when the article is listed.
2. Switch on **Offer on this channel** (*Auf diesem Kanal anbieten*) and choose the **Channel category** (*Kategorie des Kanals*).
3. Click **Save**. The message "*Gespeichert. Der Artikel wird mit der nächsten Übertragung gesendet.*" confirms that the article will be sent with the next transfer.
4. Check the **Transfer preview** (*Vorschau der Übertragung*): it shows every channel field with the value that will be sent. Fields marked **Missing** (*fehlt*) still need a mapping or a value at the article. Use **Edit mapping** (*Mapping bearbeiten*) to jump to the mapping.

![Screenshot: Channel tab in the article mask with "Offer on this channel" switched on, the channel category, the status badge and the transfer preview with one missing required field](/sales-channels/images/categories-and-mapping-article-tab.png)

### 7. Check all products of a channel

Open **Catalogue › Sales channels › Products** (*Produkte*). Filter by channel, status or item number/name. The list shows item number, name, channel, category, status, **Last transferred** (*Zuletzt übertragen*), **Last update in channel** (*Letztes Update im Kanal*) and the channel's **Response** (*Rückmeldung*) or error. Click the item number to open the channel tab of the article.

![Screenshot: Page "Products" filtered by one channel and the status "Error", with the error text in the Response column](/sales-channels/images/categories-and-mapping-products.png)

## Fields and options

### Where a field gets its value from

| Source | Value sent | If there is no value |
|---|---|---|
| Attribute field | Value of the attribute at the article | Field stays empty |
| **Fixed value** | The text or value you entered | – |
| **Language texts** | Text in the channel language | Field stays empty – never a text in another language |
| Image (main image, image 2 … 10) | Full address of the image in the S3 storage | Field stays empty |

Some required fields show "*Ohne Zuordnung wird die Artikelnummer übertragen.*" – without a mapping, the item number is sent.

### Requirement badges of the channel fields

| Badge | Meaning |
|---|---|
| **Mandatory** (*Pflicht*) | Must have a value, otherwise the article is held back |
| **Required for variants** (*Pflicht bei Varianten*) | Required for variant articles |
| **Conditionally required** (*Bedingt Pflicht*) | Required depending on other values |
| **Recommended** (*Empfohlen*) | Not required, but improves the listing |
| **Optional** | Can stay empty |
| **Not allowed** (*Nicht erlaubt*) | Cannot be mapped |

Fields may also show a description, an **Example** (*Beispiel*) and the **Allowed values** (*Erlaubte Werte*).

## Statuses

| Status of the channel | Meaning |
|---|---|
| *Einrichtung* (setup) | Booked, but not active yet |
| **Active** (*Aktiv*) | Articles and orders are transferred |
| **Paused** (*Pausiert*) | Temporarily stopped |

| Status of an article on the channel | Meaning |
|---|---|
| **Waiting for transfer** (*Wartet auf Übertragung*) | Will be sent with the next transfer |
| **Transferred** (*Übertragen*) | Sent to the marketplace, confirmation pending |
| **Listed** (*Gelistet*) | Online on the marketplace |
| **Error** (*Fehler*) | The marketplace reported an error – see **Response** |
| **Deactivated** (*Deaktiviert*) | **Offer on this channel** is switched off |

## Images for sales channels

Image fields receive the address of the image in **full size** in the S3 storage. The marketplace fetches the image from there.

- The S3 storage is set up by X-Sitter. Contact X-Sitter support if image fields stay empty.
- Upload the images in full size: **Catalogue › Import › Upload product images** (*Produktbilder hochladen*) with the option "*volle Größe zu S3 (Original bis 1400 px) + Thumbnail*". See [Article images](/products/article-images.md).
- Images that only exist as thumbnails (max. 400 px) are never sent.
- Only images of your own company or your logistician are used.
- A new image in full size, a deleted or replaced image automatically makes the article due again – it is sent with the next transfer.

## Good to know

- Changes to an article (attributes, texts, images) are picked up automatically: the article is sent again with the next transfer.
- If a mandatory field has no value, the article is held back and the missing fields are shown in the article's channel tab.
- **Remove booking** (*Buchung entfernen*) under **Book channels** deletes the credentials, categories, mapping and the product list of this channel.
- How orders from the channel arrive and what is reported back: [Marketplace orders](/sales-channels/marketplace-orders.md).
- Prices for the channel come from the attribute you map to the channel's price field: [Prices](/products/prices.md).

| Message | Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| *Das Mapping enthält ein unbekanntes Feld und wurde nicht gespeichert* | A field no longer belongs to the category, an attribute field was deleted or an image number is outside 1–10 | Reload the page and map again |
| *Der Kanal kann erst aktiviert werden, wenn Zugangsdaten, Kategorien und alle Pflichtfelder hinterlegt sind* | The setup is not complete | Finish credentials, categories and required fields |
| *Dein Paket enthält keine weiteren Kanäle* | Your plan has no free channel left | See [Billing and package](/administration/billing-and-package.md) |
| *Bitte mindestens einen Kanal auswählen* | No channel ticked | Tick at least one channel |
| *Für diesen Kanal sind noch keine Kategorien gewählt.* (in the article tab) | No category chosen for the channel | Choose categories (step 3) |
| *Die Liste der Kanäle kann gerade nicht geladen werden …* | The channel list is temporarily unavailable | Try again later |
| Image field arrives empty on the marketplace | The image only exists as a thumbnail | Upload the image again in full size to S3 |