Once a connector is saved, synchronizations follow a set of rules that help control how updates are processed and how the connector behaves during ongoing or interrupted exports.

Synchronization rules

Rule 01

In addition to following the item status, the connector will synchronize any item that has changes in Sales Layer, even if those changes come from related categories or variants.

Rule 02

The connector will not synchronize items that were already synchronized before and have not changed, or that are not relevant to the connector modification.

Rule 03

Editing a connector does not trigger its update automatically.

Rule 04

The connector can add new modifications to a synchronization that is already in progress.

Rule 05. About the Force refresh button

• Use this option when you need to launch a full synchronization, meaning all products, old and new, and all fields, whether modified or not.
• When the connector is refreshed using this option, deletions or deactivations of items are not exported.
• This feature is designed to send all visible content with the goal of completely restoring the catalog.
• It should not be used to make synchronization faster. Because it exports the entire catalog, the process takes significantly longer than a normal incremental synchronization.
• Forcing the connector does not guarantee immediate synchronization, since it depends on the existing process queue.
• Using this option triggers the export of the entire catalog, including multi-language fields, images, formulas, and similar content, which substantially increases synchronization time compared to a scheduled incremental synchronization.

Rule 06. Exclusion of unchanged items using data hash

To avoid unnecessary synchronizations, the connector uses a hash-based mechanism to detect actual changes.

For each item, the connector generates a hash representing all its relevant data in Shopify. During synchronization, it creates a new hash based on the item’s current state and compares both:

• If the hashes are identical, the item is excluded from synchronization because no real changes occurred.
• If the hashes differ, the item is exported as usual.

This mechanism helps reduce processing time and system load by avoiding redundant updates.

Rule 07

Do not change the connector filtering, such as tags or families, until the synchronization is complete and visible in the Activity Log.

Wait until the synchronization finishes, then deactivate the connector before changing the filtering.

Rule 08

If a synchronization is in progress and the user deactivates the connector, the process will not stop immediately.

The connector checks its active status periodically, specifically after processing small batches of items. Between two consecutive checks, some items may still be synchronized before the connector stops completely.

Rule 09. Reactivating a connector with a previously interrupted synchronization

When a connector that was deactivated during an ongoing synchronization is reactivated, the process resumes from where it left off, using the same configuration that was active at the start of that synchronization.

Rule 10. Synchronization of all connector items

• When the Parameters tab is configured to export items with status All, all items are synchronized as active.
• This behavior can be changed by mapping the Sales Layer status field in the connector and adding a new field for Products and/or Variants, using the Shopify status field.
• Items with visible status in Sales Layer will synchronize as active in Shopify.
• Items with draft status in Sales Layer will synchronize as draft in Shopify.
• Items marked as invisible in Sales Layer will synchronize as archived in Shopify.

Rule 11

For the first synchronization, and to verify the connector configuration, it is recommended to use a test environment.

Rule 12

At the beginning, it is recommended to set the option Only visible in the Parameters tab for exporting items with status, and to select only one visible item in the catalog. Also set Disable deletions to Yes.

You can also add a tag to the connector and to the product, category, or variant you want to test. This makes it easier to validate all errors before synchronizing all required items.

Once a successful synchronization has been completed, you can verify the results, make adjustments, and then expand the group of products to continue.

Best practices and considerations

• If you want to apply a new configuration after reactivating a connector that was interrupted, manually refresh the connector.
• When performing a manual refresh, only visible items marked for creation or update will be sent.
• Items previously marked for deletion will not be exported again during a manual refresh, because the refresh overwrites the pending queue with visible items only.
• For first tests, start with one visible item only and keep deletions disabled so you can validate the connector behavior safely.
• Use tags or narrow filtering for initial testing before expanding the synchronization to the full catalog.