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Feedy McFeed Feed Help

Feed Formats Explained

Feedy McFeed Feed supports three output formats: XML, CSV, and TSV. Each has advantages depending on your platform and use case.

Format Overview

Section titled “Format Overview”
FormatBest ForFile SizeFlexibility
XMLGoogle Shopping, complex dataLargerHigh
TSVGoogle Shopping, MicrosoftMediumMedium
CSVFacebook, TikTok, PinterestMediumMedium

XML (Extensible Markup Language)

Section titled “XML (Extensible Markup Language)”

XML uses tags to structure data hierarchically.

Example

Section titled “Example”
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<feed xmlns:g="http://base.google.com/ns/1.0">
  <title>My Store Products</title>
  <item>
    <g:id>SKU123</g:id>
    <g:title>Blue Cotton T-Shirt - Medium</g:title>
    <g:description>Comfortable cotton t-shirt in blue.</g:description>
    <g:price>29.99 USD</g:price>
    <g:availability>in stock</g:availability>
    <g:image_link>https://example.com/images/tshirt-blue.jpg</g:image_link>
    <g:additional_image_link>https://example.com/images/tshirt-blue-back.jpg</g:additional_image_link>
  </item>
</feed>

Advantages

Section titled “Advantages”
  • Hierarchical structure — Good for complex, nested data
  • Multiple values — Easy to include multiple images, shipping options
  • Self-documenting — Tags describe the data
  • Widely supported — Works with most platforms

Disadvantages

Section titled “Disadvantages”
  • Larger file size — Tags add overhead
  • More complex — Harder to edit manually
  • Processing time — Can be slower to parse

When to Use XML

Section titled “When to Use XML”
  • Google Shopping feeds (especially with complex products)
  • When you need multiple values for attributes
  • When feed size isn’t a concern

TSV (Tab-Separated Values)

Section titled “TSV (Tab-Separated Values)”

TSV uses tabs to separate columns, one product per row.

Example

Section titled “Example”
id  title  description  price  availability
SKU123  Blue Cotton T-Shirt - Medium  Comfortable cotton t-shirt in blue.  29.99 USD  in stock
SKU124  Red Cotton T-Shirt - Large  Comfortable cotton t-shirt in red.  29.99 USD  in stock

Advantages

Section titled “Advantages”
  • Google’s recommended format — Preferred for Google Shopping
  • Compact — Smaller than XML
  • Spreadsheet compatible — Opens in Excel/Google Sheets
  • Fast processing — Quick to parse

Disadvantages

Section titled “Disadvantages”
  • Flat structure — No nesting
  • Multiple values tricky — Requires special handling
  • Tab sensitivity — Tabs in data cause issues

When to Use TSV

Section titled “When to Use TSV”
  • Google Shopping (primary recommendation)
  • Microsoft Shopping
  • When file size matters
  • When you need to edit feeds in spreadsheets

CSV (Comma-Separated Values)

Section titled “CSV (Comma-Separated Values)”

CSV uses commas to separate columns, similar to TSV.

Example

Section titled “Example”
id,title,description,price,availability
SKU123,"Blue Cotton T-Shirt - Medium","Comfortable cotton t-shirt in blue.",29.99 USD,in stock
SKU124,"Red Cotton T-Shirt - Large","Comfortable cotton t-shirt in red.",29.99 USD,in stock

Advantages

Section titled “Advantages”
  • Universal format — Supported everywhere
  • Easy to create — Simple structure
  • Spreadsheet compatible — Opens in any spreadsheet app
  • Compact — Smaller than XML

Disadvantages

Section titled “Disadvantages”
  • Comma sensitivity — Commas in data require quoting
  • Flat structure — No nesting
  • Encoding issues — Character encoding can cause problems

When to Use CSV

Section titled “When to Use CSV”
  • Facebook/Meta Catalogs
  • TikTok Catalogs
  • Pinterest Catalogs
  • General data exchange

Platform Recommendations

Section titled “Platform Recommendations”
PlatformRecommended FormatAlternative
Google ShoppingTSVXML
Facebook/MetaCSVXML
TikTokCSV—
PinterestCSVTSV
Microsoft/BingTSVXML

Handling Special Characters

Section titled “Handling Special Characters”

In CSV/TSV

Section titled “In CSV/TSV”
CharacterHandling
Comma (in CSV)Wrap field in quotes
Tab (in TSV)Escape or remove
QuotesDouble the quote ("")
NewlinesRemove or replace

In XML

Section titled “In XML”
CharacterEntity
&&amp;
<&lt;
>&gt;
”&quot;
’&apos;

Feedy McFeed Feed handles these automatically when generating feeds.

Multiple Values in Flat Formats

Section titled “Multiple Values in Flat Formats”

Some attributes support multiple values (like additional images).

Google Shopping TSV

Section titled “Google Shopping TSV”

Separate values with commas within the field:

additional_image_link
"https://example.com/img1.jpg,https://example.com/img2.jpg"

Facebook CSV

Section titled “Facebook CSV”

Use numbered columns:

additional_image_link,additional_image_link_2,additional_image_link_3
https://example.com/img1.jpg,https://example.com/img2.jpg,https://example.com/img3.jpg

Encoding

Section titled “Encoding”

All feeds should use UTF-8 encoding for international character support.

Feedy McFeed Feed always outputs UTF-8 encoded files with proper byte order marks (BOM) when required.

File Size Considerations

Section titled “File Size Considerations”

For large catalogs:

ProductsXML SizeTSV/CSV Size
1,000~2 MB~500 KB
10,000~20 MB~5 MB
100,000~200 MB~50 MB

Larger files may:

  • Take longer to generate
  • Take longer for platforms to process
  • Hit platform size limits

Changing Formats

Section titled “Changing Formats”

To change your feed format:

  1. Go to Feeds and select your feed
  2. Click Settings
  3. Change the Format dropdown
  4. Click Save
  5. Regenerate the feed

Note: Changing formats creates a new feed URL.

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