In Akeneo Activation, a catalog defines a set of products from a specific PIM Family and maps them to the requirements of a retailer or marketplace channel. Each activation channel can hold multiple catalogs -- one per Family you want to syndicate. Once a catalog is created, you configure the data mapping in your PIM to match the channel's attribute requirements.

This article explains how to create, map, rename, remove, and duplicate catalogs in Akeneo Activation, and how the Common Catalog works.

Before you start

• You must have connected your PIM to Akeneo Activation and added at least one activation channel. See Connect to an activation channel.
• You need sufficient permissions in Akeneo Activation to create and manage catalogs.

Create a catalog in Akeneo Activation

Each Akeneo Activation catalog corresponds to one PIM Family and one activation channel. Creating a catalog is the first step before mapping your product data for syndication.

1. In Akeneo Activation, open the channel you want to work with.
2. Click the Catalogs tab.
3. Click Create catalog.
4. Enter a Name for the catalog.
5. In the Family field, search for and select the PIM Family that matches the products you want to syndicate.
6. Click Save to create the catalog.

The Akeneo Activation Catalogs tab showing the empty state and the "Create catalog" button in the top right area.

The "Create a catalog" modal in Akeneo Activation, showing the Name field, the Family dropdown, and the option to copy initial mapping from an existing catalog.

Common Catalog

The Common Catalog in Akeneo Activation is a special catalog that holds shared attribute mappings across all Families in a channel. Any mapping you configure in the Common Catalog -- sources and transformations -- is inherited by every Family catalog of that channel, so you map attributes such as title, description, brand, or images once instead of repeating the work for each Family.

Create the Common Catalog

The Common Catalog is not created automatically. Create it once per channel, ideally right after your first catalog, so that the next catalogs you create start from the shared mappings.

1. In Akeneo Activation, open the channel and click the Catalogs tab.
2. On the Common catalog card, click Create common catalog. The card appears once the channel has at least one catalog.
3. In the confirmation modal, click Create.

The Common Catalog is named after the channel and appears at the top of the catalog list. The Family catalogs that already exist in the channel are linked to it too, not only the ones you create afterwards.

The Akeneo Activation Catalogs tab showing the Common Catalog entry at the top of the catalog list.

To configure its mapping, click Go to mapping on the Common Catalog row, as you would for any other catalog.

Key behaviors

Key behaviors of the Common Catalog in Akeneo Activation:

• Inherited mappings -- A target mapped in the Common Catalog (sources, transformations) is used by every Family catalog of the channel that does not map this target itself. Updating it automatically updates all these Family catalogs.
• Family mappings take precedence -- If a Family catalog maps a target that is also mapped in the Common Catalog, the Family catalog's mapping is used. The Common Catalog acts as a fallback, so you can override a shared mapping for one Family without changing the others.
• Mappings only, no export -- The Common Catalog does not export products itself. Product selection and export are handled by each Family catalog.
• Cannot be deleted -- The Common Catalog is permanent for the lifetime of the activation channel.
• Cannot be renamed -- The Common Catalog label always includes the channel name.
• One per channel -- Each activation channel has at most one Common Catalog.

The Common Catalog mapping screen in the PIM, showing shared attributes that are inherited by all family catalogs in the channel.

Map a catalog in Akeneo Activation

After creating a catalog in Akeneo Activation, you configure the attribute mapping from your PIM to the channel's requirements. This is done from the catalog mapping screen in your PIM, which is powered by the Catalogs for Apps technology.

If your channel has a Common Catalog, start by mapping it: the shared mappings are then inherited by your Family catalogs, and you only need to complete the Family-specific targets in each of them, and to override a shared mapping where a Family needs a different source.

1. In Akeneo Activation, open the channel and click the Catalogs tab.
2. Find the catalog you want to configure.
3. Click Go to mapping to open the catalog mapping screen in your PIM.
4. On the mapping screen, configure your product selection, map PIM attributes to the channel's targets, and apply data transformations as needed.
5. Enable the catalog and click Save in the top right corner when done.

The Akeneo Activation Catalogs tab showing a catalog entry with the "Go to mapping" button.

For full details on mapping and transformation options, see Select, map, and transform your product data.

Rename a catalog in Akeneo Activation

To rename an existing catalog in Akeneo Activation:

1. In Akeneo Activation, open the channel and click the Catalogs tab.
2. Find the catalog you want to rename.
3. Click the ... icon next to the catalog row.
4. Enter the new name in the modal and confirm.

The catalog rename modal in Akeneo Activation, showing the name input field.

The updated catalog name is also reflected in the catalog mapping screen in your PIM.

Remove a catalog from Akeneo Activation

Removing a catalog from Akeneo Activation permanently deletes its associated mapping in your PIM.

1. In Akeneo Activation, open the channel and click the Catalogs tab.
2. Find the catalog you want to remove.
3. Click the trash icon next to the catalog row.
4. Confirm the deletion.

View all catalogs in Akeneo Activation

To view all catalogs for an activation channel:

1. In Akeneo Activation, open the channel.
2. Click the Catalogs tab.

All catalogs for that channel are listed here. You can search by catalog name using the search bar, and sort the list by name (A–Z, Z–A) or by creation date (most recent or oldest first). To add another catalog, click Create catalog in the top right area of the Catalogs tab.

Copy or import a catalog mapping

When creating a new catalog in Akeneo Activation, you can copy the mapping from a previously configured catalog to avoid repeating mapping work for attributes shared across Families.

1. In the Create a catalog modal, check Copy initial mapping from an existing catalog.
2. In the Catalog source to copy field, select the catalog whose mapping you want to copy.

You can also import catalog mappings from a similar activation channel -- for example, importing the "Sandals" catalog mapping from an Amazon Seller USA 1 channel into a new Amazon Seller USA 2 channel.

1. In the Catalog channel source field, select the source channel.
2. In the Locale for the new catalog field, select a locale if prompted.

The "Create a catalog" modal in Akeneo Activation showing the "Copy initial mapping from an existing catalog" checkbox, the catalog source field, the channel source field, and the locale field.

Next steps

After creating and mapping your catalogs in Akeneo Activation:

• Select, map, and transform your product data -- Configure attribute mapping, product selection, and transformations for each catalog in your PIM.
• Export your products to the retailers and marketplaces -- Run a product export or a dry-run to validate your data before sending it to the channel.