Smart Feed: Filtering Products in Sync Scope Settings

Smart Feed's Product Sync Scope settings control exactly which products sync to your ad channels — by variant (such as size, color, material, or style), by store visibility, and by stock status. This is useful for a targeted sync: for example, promoting only plus-size items first, keeping hidden listings out of your feed, or choosing whether out-of-stock items should still appear in your ads.

This guide explains how to add a Variant filter to your product sync scope, configure its options and operators, use it in Custom Label automation rules, exclude specific products by ID, and filter the Filtered products list by reason.

Prerequisites for Using the Variant Filter

Before adding a Variant filter, make sure the following are in place:

• You have Smart Feed set up in your store.
• Your feed's product sync scope is set to Partial Products. The Variant filter is only available when syncing a subset of your catalog.

Adding a Variant Filter to Your Product Sync Scope

To filter products by variant for a specific feed:

1. Go to Smart Feed > Manage channels > Manage feeds and open the feed you want to configure.
   
2. In the feed settings, locate Product Sync Scope and select Some products.
3. Under Select products, choose the filter condition panel.
   
   
4. Click Add filter condition and select Variant from the filter field dropdown.
5. Choose a Variant sub-option (see the table in the next section for details).
6. Select an operator: Yes or No
7. Enter the value you want to match. The system performs an exact match against your product data -enter the value exactly as it appears in your store.
8. If the Sync Method is set to API, click the Sync Now button on the page to apply the filter. If the Sync Method is set to XML, the system will automatically update the filtered results to the XML file approximately every two hours.

Variant Filter Options and Operators

When you select the Variant filter, choose one of five sub-options:

After selecting a sub-option, choose one of the following operators:

Using a Custom Variant Attribute

If your store uses a variant attribute that is not one of the four defaults (Color, Size, Material, Style), you can filter by it using the Custom option.

To add a custom variant filter:

9. Follow steps 1–4 in the section above to open the filter condition panel and select Variant.
10. In the sub-option dropdown, select Custom.
11. An input field appears. Type the exact name of the variant attribute as it exists in your store (for example, Scent or Fit).
12. Select an operator and enter the value to match.
13. Click Save.
     

Using the Variant Filter in Custom Label Automation Rules

The Variant filter is also available when setting up automation rules for Custom Labels. This lets you automatically assign labels to products based on their variants, which you can then use to organize and target your ad campaigns.

To add a Variant condition to a Custom Label automation rule:

14. Go to Smart Feed > Channel Management > Field Settings.
15. Open the Custom Labels section and click Add Automation Rule.
16. In the rule condition panel, click Add Condition and select Variant from the dropdown.
17. Choose a sub-option (Color, Size, Material, Style, or Custom), select an operator, and enter the value to match.
18. Finish configuring the rule and click Save.

Supported Channels for Variant Filtering

The Variant filter is supported across all channels available in Smart Feed:

• Google
• Meta
• Pinterest
• Snapchat
• TikTok
• Criteo
• Microsoft
• Reddit
• Universal XML

Controlling Whether Hidden Products Sync to Your Feed

Merchants sometimes hide certain product listings in their store — for example, when splitting one product into several hidden listings to create dedicated SEO pages for different sizes or dimensions. By default, Smart Feed keeps these hidden or invisible products out of your ad channels. If you'd rather have them sync anyway, you can turn this off for a specific feed.

To control whether hidden products sync to a feed:

1. Go to Smart Feed > Manage channels > Manage feeds and open the feed you want to configure.
2. In the feed settings, find Sync visible products only. This option is checked by default.
   
   
3. Hover over the icon next to the option to see a description of what it does: Products hidden in SHOPLINE or by another app won't be synced
4. Leave the checkbox checked to keep hidden and invisible products out of your feed, or uncheck it to sync them to this channel as well.
5. Apply the change: click Sync Now if your sync method is API, or save your changes if it's XML.

Controlling Whether Out-of-Stock Products Sync to Your Feed (Limited Access)

By default, Smart Feed keeps out-of-stock products out of your ad channels when the product tracks inventory and its available stock is 0 or lower. Some merchants prefer to sync these products anyway — for example, to keep reviewing them in their ad channel alongside performance data when deciding what to restock, or to avoid a product being removed from the channel while out of stock and then re-added once it's back in stock, which can wipe out any changes made directly in the channel.

To control whether out-of-stock products sync to a feed:

1. Go to Smart Feed > Manage channels > Manage feeds and open the feed you want to configure.
2. In the feed settings, find Upload only in-stock products under Product Sync Scope. This option is checked by default.
3. Hover over the icon next to the option to see a description of what it does: when a product tracks inventory and its stock is 0 or lower, it's not synced to the channel.
4. Leave the checkbox checked to keep out-of-stock products out of your feed, or uncheck it to sync them to this channel as well. Their stock status will show as Out of stock.
5. Apply the change: click Sync Now if your sync method is API, or save your changes if it's XML.

Excluding Specific Products by ID

In addition to the Variant filter, you can exclude specific products from a feed's sync scope by uploading a file that lists their SPU and SKU IDs. This is useful when you need to remove a handful of specific products — for example, items pending a compliance review — without changing your broader sync scope conditions.

To exclude products by ID:

1. Go to Manage channels > Manage feeds and open the feed you want to configure.
2. Under Choose product sync options, select Some products.
   
   
3. In the filter panel, click Filter specific products to open the upload dialog.
4. Click Download template to get the CSV file.

5. Fill in the template. Both SHOPLINE SPUID and SHOPLINE SKUID are required for every row.

6. Save the file, then upload it in the dialog.
7. If any row is missing an SPU ID or SKU ID, the file will be rejected. An error message identifies the row numbers that need to be corrected — for example: “Row 1, 3, 5: SHOPLINE SKUID or SHOPLINE SPUID is missing. Both fields are required — please complete them and upload the file again.”
8. Correct the missing values in your file and upload it again.
9. Once the file uploads successfully, click Finish to apply it. Products listed in the file are removed from this feed's sync scope.

Filtering the Filtered Products List by Reason

The Filtered tab under Manage products lists every product that has been excluded from a feed, along with a Filter Reason column explaining why (for example, Out of stock, or 3 variants have 1 issue). You can add Filter Reason as a filter condition to narrow this list down to products excluded for one specific reason, instead of scanning through the full list.

To filter the list by reason:

1. Go to Smart Feed > Manage products and open the Filtered tab.
2. Select the channel Feed you want to review.
3. Click Product filters and add a filter condition.
4. Choose Filter Reason from the condition dropdown, then select the specific reason you want to isolate.
5. Apply the filter. The list now shows only products that were excluded for the reason you selected.