PDF to Catalogue · Your App Cloud
Make your product PDF an online catalogue
Upload the PDF your buyers already know. Decide where each printed piece goes: product blocks become products, size and color grids become variants, chapters become categories, and prices get a valid-until date.
From printed pages to products buyers can browse.
Mark out the products, group what belongs together, then hold a handful up against the PDF before a buyer sees them.
01
Mark where each product starts and ends
Attach the catalogue, and the current price list if prices live in a separate PDF. In the prompt, describe one product block as printed: picture, name, item code, short text, spec lines. Name the pages to skip, such as the cover, contents, index and terms.
02
Group variants and name the categories
Say which codes are one product in several sizes or colors, and which are separate products. List the chapters or ranges you want as categories, and the spec columns buyers filter by, such as width, finish or wattage.
03
Check five products against the page
Pick products from different chapters, including one with a variant grid and one marked 'call for price'. Compare code, price, specs and picture with the PDF. Then search for one item code on a phone.
What each part of the product PDF becomes.
Read each row across: the printed page, its place in the online catalogue, and the check that tells you it came through. Item codes, prices and page numbers are made-up samples.
| On the printed page | In the online catalogue | How to check it |
|---|---|---|
| A chapter or range, such as Pendants or Outdoor, often repeated in the running header | A category with its own browse page and filter | Check that a range printed across two chapters, or continued after an insert, is still one category. Then compare the product count per chapter with the count per category. |
| A product block: picture, name, item code and a few lines of text | A product record with its own page and address | On pages with two or three products side by side, check that none went missing or merged with its neighbor. On a multi-column page, read each description to its last line and make sure it stops where the printed one does. |
| A spec table with width, height, weight, material and finish | Fields with units, which buyers filter and compare | Decide whether to show inches, centimeters or both, and check that no value lost its unit. Where a table runs onto the next page, check that its repeated header row didn't become a product. |
| A size or color grid with one code per cell, such as LP-200-BR and LP-200-CH | Variants under one product, each with its own code and price | Open a product with a grid and count its variants. Make sure a dash or an empty cell meaning 'not made in this finish' isn't offered as a choice. |
| A price column, or a separate price list headed 'Prices valid until March 31' | A price in USD on each product or variant, with the valid-until date beside it | Compare ten prices with the PDF, including a quantity break such as $48.00 each or $42.50 for 12 or more. Note whether printed prices include tax and shipping, and say so on the page. |
| 'Call for price', 'Price on request' or an empty price cell | An inquiry button where the price would be | An empty cell is not zero. Open each product the PDF marks 'call for price' and confirm none of them shows $0.00. |
| Symbols explained in a key on another page, such as a leaf for recycled material or a star for new | Labels or yes-or-no fields that buyers can filter by | Copy the key into the prompt, because a symbol means nothing without its legend. Then open three products that carry each symbol. |
| Cross-references such as 'Matching shade, see page 41' | Links between products, such as accessories, spare parts or a replacement | Page numbers stop meaning anything once the pages are gone. Follow each link and confirm it lands on the item code the note meant. |
| Asterisks and small print: minimum order, lead time, 'while stock lasts' | Fields on the product, or one terms page linked from every product | Find each asterisk in the PDF and check that its note reached every product it applies to, and no others. |
Before you upload, settle what print left unsaid.
A product PDF was laid out for a printer and for someone turning pages. Some facts a buyer needs online never made it into the file, and some that did are out of date. Sort these out first and write the answers into the prompt.
Pictures sized for the page
Photos in a print layout are often small, cropped to fit a column, or shared by three products in one shot. Keep the original photo files, named by item code, so a weak picture on a product page can be swapped for the original.
Products you no longer sell
A print edition goes on listing items after they're dropped. Mark the discontinued codes before you upload. Decide whether each one disappears, or stays visible with a note that points to its replacement.
Which edition wins
With last season's catalogue, this season's price list and a page of corrections, a code can have three prices. Say which document is current for prices, and which for specs and descriptions.
Phrases that only work on paper
'Shown opposite', 'see the range overview' and 'prices on the back page' point at a layout that won't exist online. Find them and say what each should become, or ask for them to be left out.
An illustrative starting point
Products with addresses, not page numbers.
Category pages, a page per product with its variants and specs, spec filters, and an inquiry button where the PDF said call for price.
A page for every product
Each product gets a page for its picture, item code, text and specs, and a link you can paste into a quote. Ask for one search box that finds a product by name or item code, then try it with codes from the PDF.
Variants under one product
A pendant made in three finishes and two sizes is one product with six variants, not six products. On its page, pick each variant in turn and check that it shows its own code and price.
Filters from the spec tables
Width, finish, material or wattage can become filters on each category page. Show how many products match each option, so a finish spelled two ways in print turns up as two options you can merge.
A quote request on every product
A request form on each product page can carry the item code, the variant and the quantity. Saving requests and emailing them to you need a backend. Send yourself a test request before you share the catalogue.
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Good questions.
Can I use the product photos in my PDF?
Check whether each product page shows a picture, and the right one, before you rely on it. Print layouts crop photos to fit a column, put several products in one shot, and use images that look soft on a large screen. Where a picture is missing or weak, use the original file, matched by item code.
Can buyers order from the catalogue?
Start with inquiries: the buyer sends a code and a quantity, and you reply with a quote and a link to the payment page you already use. Settle prices, tax and shipping first, then test an inquiry from start to finish before going live.
How do I update prices when the next price list comes out?
The upload is a snapshot, so the catalogue won't follow a new PDF by itself. Edit prices in the catalogue from now on, or bring the new list in deliberately, match it by item code and compare a few prices afterward. A task on a schedule you set can email you the products whose valid-until date is near. Test that email, and review the list before changing any price.
How are sizes, colors and finishes handled?
Describe them in the prompt: which codes belong to one product, and which options vary, such as size, color, finish or pack quantity. Ask for one product page with a picker, then choose each combination and check its code and price. Make sure a combination the grid marks as not made isn't offered.
Can a model write descriptions the PDF doesn't have?
While you build, you can ask the building assistant in Studio for drafts written from each product's specs and category. Have a person read every draft before it's published. Check that no draft mentions a size, material or feature missing from the spec table, since a wrong detail costs more than a short description.
Can trade buyers see prices the public doesn't?
You can keep trade prices in a collection of their own that shows only to buyers who sign in, with the access you describe for each collection. Before sharing, sign in with a test trade account and check which prices it sees. Then sign out and confirm trade prices appear nowhere, including in search results.
What if I need the product data outside the catalogue?
You can export your app's data and code. Before you retire the layout files the PDF was made from, run an export and find a few item codes in it, with their variants, prices and valid-until dates. Keep the last PDF as a record of what buyers were quoted.
Which plan does an online catalogue need?
Quote requests that are saved or emailed and trade prices behind a sign-in all run on a backend, which makes the catalogue an app with data, and putting it live needs a paid plan. A catalogue that only shows products on one page can be a one-page site. Compare what each plan includes on the pricing page before you plan any of those.
Explore Pricing for plans, included capabilities, and usage details.
Keep exploring.
Explore customer apps ↗
See the outcome and the capabilities behind it.
PDF catalogue vs online catalogue ↗
Why prices and discontinued items go stale once a PDF is emailed, and when a dated PDF is still worth sending.
Understand data and context ↗
Give information the right place in your app.
Prepare to publish ↗
Check the experience you will share.
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