How does Catbuilder work?
Catbuilder is a database publishing software, it has its own database to be able to import, manage and publish data in the most efficient way possible. It is a client / server application, single or multi-user, which works on all modern versions of Windows.
Data import
Catbuilder has its own database but our philosophy is to avoid double encoding of data.
If your data is already encoded in your management system, we will make every effort to organize the replication of this data in Catbuilder.
Over the years, we have developed tools that make it possible to set up this replication in a completely transparent way.
The import module is one of these tools that allows you to easily configure the synchronization of changes to your data in the Catbuilder database.
If the structure of your data is different from that of Catbuilder, this is not a problem because it is possible to transform the import flow so that the two structures are compatible. It is therefore not necessary for you to adapt your database structure, Catbuilder will adapt.
If your database is not accessible or if you do not have a database, the import module is able to work on many other data sources. For example, the module is able to import XSLX, XML, JSON, CSV, TXT files or to connect directly to the Prestashop, Magento or Odoo web service or to a PIM/DAM like Akeneo and Keepeek to recover photos... and many others Again.
Our great strength is being able to adapt to all data sources by avoiding custom development but by integrating a new functionality into the module, so that what you need is probably already developed.
Data enrichment
The imported data is not always enough to produce a quality catalog, most of the time it must be enriched.
To enrich means to complete them. The data coming from an ERP is generally intended to establish an invoice and often lack descriptive attributes when it is necessary to make a catalog. Catbuilder allows you to enrich imported data without breaking the replication process.
Enriching also means structuring. The families / sub-families structure recovered by the ERP replication process is not always the one we want for a catalog. There too Catbuilder can manage several structures thanks to an exclusive mechanism of shortcuts which makes it possible to structure catalogs to infinity without altering the replication.
Catbuilder offers many functions to enrich data such as very powerful mass copy / paste to add characteristics or batch import of images locally or from the Internet.
Catbuilder's user interface is simple and intuitive and is used like a classic office program.
Layout
In Catbuilder you define yourself, in a very simple way, the layout of your catalog. The application allows you to create various graphic objects (presentation masks, headers, footers, page backgrounds, beginnings of chapters, etc.) which play the role of assembly plans in which you indicate the locations of your data (labels , descriptions, lists, tables, images, …) which must appear in your commercial support.
These graphic objects can be applied to all the products contained in your media (catalogues, prices, product sheets, etc.) and allow you to produce them in record time.
You can also create different objects by chapter, by product range or by product and adapt your graphic charter according to the target audience and/or the media used.
Catbuilder has advanced functions for managing texts, images and table definitions.
The result obtained is very dynamic, if you insert products or advertisements or if you change the order of products and chapters, Catbuilder will be able to rearrange everything without any manual intervention, including the adjustment of the cut out of tables.
Catbuilder also allows you to automatically generate different types of indexes and tables of contents.
In fact, you can manage everything in Catbuilder, including catalog cover and back cover.
Catbuilder authorizes language management and you can publish your commercial materials in the language you want in order to produce monolingual or multilingual documents, without losing the desired layouts.
Do you want to set up the "language change in the dark" printing technique for texts to save printing? Nothing could be easier with Catbuilder, which is able to take into account the language that takes up the most space in order to freeze the position of colored objects.
It is also very easy to manage a variable display of prices (with or without prices, in several currencies). In addition, it is possible to use calculation formulas with Catbuilder.
Printing
The printing finally is a simple formality.
With Catbuilder it is possible to generate the catalog every day, to send it for proofreading to the product managers, to correct it and then to regenerate it for a new cycle of reading / correction.
If this cycle is set up a few weeks before D-Day, the final printing will necessarily be good and without surprise.
At most, Catbuilder should provide some additional processing if the document is to be output in full color, but only on the latest version, the one that will be sent for the proof.
Catbuilder generates a PDF file, which will be transmitted to the printer or printed internally. This PDF can also be enriched with hyperlinks and bookmarks to facilitate internal consultation or create links to a product file to download or to the article on the online store. A PDF enriched in this way is an ideal basis for a flip book or for a mobile application.
Publishing
Publishing is supported by the Catsite module. It is a configurable module that allows you to publish in HTTP(S) or FTP, data by encapsulating it in languages as varied as HTML, Javascript, PHP, ASP or simply in XML, JSON, CSV, TXT file formats...
In fact there is no limit to the formatting of the publication because it is based on structures defined by the user in which we will insert the data, a bit like direct mail when we merge the addresses with an envelope template.
Whatever form you want your post to take, it's possible.
The publication is by default adapted to the publication of data on the Catbuilder Showcase online catalog with a SOAP type protocol.
Catbuilder Showcase is the ideal solution to set up a b2b intranet / extranet catalog and distribute all product information internally or to your partners and professional customers. This solution offers users access to products and optimized and rapid replenishment. It also offers the possibility of creating an offer for their own customers with the constitution of a technical file associated with the offer in the form of a catalog.
If you have your own online catalog and your own protocol, it is possible to develop plug-ins that allow you to integrate it into the publishing process.