Shopify to iPaaS.com Product Category Mapping Documentation

This documentation covers importing Shopify product collections (categories) into iPaaS.com (transfer TO iPaaS.com). In Shopify, a Product Category is a Shopify collection — the two terms refer to the same record in this integration. Two mapping collections handle this direction:

Add Shopify Product Category TO iPaaS.com creates a new iPaaS.com Product Category when a Shopify collection is created.
Update Shopify Product Category TO iPaaS.com refreshes an existing iPaaS.com Product Category when its Shopify collection changes, and preserves the iPaaS.com category hierarchy.

Each Shopify collection is linked to its iPaaS.com Product Category by the Shopify collection id saved as the external id, so subsequent transfers update the same record rather than creating a duplicate. This direction is the inbound counterpart to iPaaS.com to Shopify Product Category Mapping Documentation (FROM iPaaS.com), which writes iPaaS.com categories back to Shopify as collections.

ID Format

Manual Sync ID: the Shopify collection (category) id (for example, 10), entered on the iPaaS.com Manual Sync page.
External ID saved after sync: the Shopify collection id is recorded as the external-id link, so later transfers update the same iPaaS.com Product Category.

Deleted Record Support

Deletion is not handled in this direction. The integration does not register a Shopify collection-deleted webhook, so a collection deleted in Shopify is not removed from iPaaS.com automatically. (iPaaS.com-side category deletions are propagated outward to Shopify by the Delete Shopify Product Category FROM iPaaS.com collection, documented separately.)

Mapping Collection Status

Status: Enabled (no mapping filter; every Shopify collection sent through either collection is processed).
Trigger Events: Shopify Collection Created (collections/create) routes to the Add collection; Shopify Collection Updated (collections/update) routes to the Update collection.

Duplicate or Conflicting Mappings

The Add and Update collections are complementary, not conflicting — Shopify's collection webhooks route creates and edits to the appropriate one. The opposite-direction writer is the iPaaS.com to Shopify Product Category collection, which writes iPaaS.com categories to Shopify. The custom fields captured here (collection description HTML, sort order, template suffix, image URL) are the same custom fields that the FROM-iPaaS collection reads back, so values round-trip without loss when both directions are configured.

To avoid duplicate iPaaS.com categories, the integration links by Name when no external id is saved yet (see Integration Flow). Keep iPaaS.com category names unique so this match resolves to the intended record.

Supported Child Collections

None. Both the Add and Update collections are standalone with no dependent child collections.

System Caveats

Shopify Caveats

Read access required. The Shopify connection must be authorized to read products and collections to import categories; without the appropriate scope the transfer fails with an authorization error.
Shopify is the source in this direction. These collections read Shopify collections and do not modify Shopify.
No category hierarchy in the Shopify API. Shopify collections do not expose a parent-child hierarchy through the API. No parent is imported from Shopify; the Update collection instead preserves the parent already defined on the iPaaS.com category. Category hierarchy is managed on the iPaaS.com side.

iPaaS.com Caveats

Name drives matching for unlinked categories. When no external id is saved yet, the integration matches an existing iPaaS.com category by Name and links it. Two iPaaS.com categories with the same name can produce an ambiguous match — keep names unique.
Categories without a parent are created at the root. When no iPaaS.com parent applies, the category is created at the root level.
Custom fields back the round trip. The Shopify-specific values (description HTML, sort order, template suffix, image URL) are stored on iPaaS.com Product Category custom fields so the FROM-iPaaS collection can return them to Shopify unchanged.

Setup Requirements

iPaaS.com Configuration

Enable the Add Shopify Product Category TO iPaaS.com and Update Shopify Product Category TO iPaaS.com mapping collections, and subscribe to the Shopify Collection Created and Collection Updated events in the subscription configuration's Inbound Data Flows section. No automatic transfers occur until those subscriptions are enabled. Categories can also be imported on demand from the Manual Sync page using the Shopify collection id.

If you sync collection metafields, replace the sample metafield key in the custom-field mapping (see the Mappings table) with the metafield key your store uses.

Shopify Configuration

The Shopify connection must be authorized with read access to products and collections. The Shopify-side webhook registration for the collection events is covered in the Shopify Installation Instructions.

Integration Flow

A Shopify collection is received via the collection webhook, or retrieved via the Shopify API on Manual Sync.
The integration matches the existing iPaaS.com Product Category by the saved external id (the Shopify collection id).
If no external id is saved, the integration looks up an existing iPaaS.com category whose Name matches the Shopify collection Title and links it by saving the external id, avoiding a duplicate. If a same-named category cannot be linked, the transfer fails rather than creating a duplicate.
The collection Title is written to the iPaaS.com Name, the Handle to the Description, and the Shopify-specific values are captured into iPaaS.com custom fields.
On Update, the existing iPaaS.com category parent is preserved unchanged.

Mappings

Add Shopify Product Category TO iPaaS.com

Mapping Type	Source Field (Shopify)	Destination Field (iPaaS.com)	Description
Field	Title	Name	Required. The Shopify collection Title, imported to the iPaaS.com Product Category Name. Also the key used to match and link an existing iPaaS.com category.
Field	Handle	Description	Recommended. Written to the iPaaS.com Product Category Description.
Field	BodyHtml	Shopify Collection Description HTML (custom field)	Captures the collection description HTML for round-trip back to Shopify.
Field	SortOrder	Shopify Collection Sort Order (custom field)	Captures the collection sort order for round-trip back to Shopify.
Field	TemplateSuffix	Shopify Collection Template Suffix (custom field)	Captures the collection template suffix for round-trip back to Shopify.
Dynamic Formula	`if(Image != null && !string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(Image.URL)) return Image.URL; return null;`	Shopify Image URL (custom field)	Captures the collection image URL when present, otherwise null.
Dynamic Formula	`return GetValueFromMetaFields(MetaFields, "custom.test_collection_custom_field_2");`	C5_Custom_Product_Category (custom field)	Placeholder value — replace during implementation. `custom.test_collection_custom_field_2` is a sample metafield key — replace it with the metafield key your store uses, or remove the mapping if you do not sync metafields.

Update Shopify Product Category TO iPaaS.com

Includes all of the Add mappings above, plus:

Mapping Type	Source Field (Shopify)	Destination Field (iPaaS.com)	Description
Dynamic Formula	`DestinationValue.ParentId`	ParentId	Preserves the existing iPaaS.com category hierarchy. Because Shopify has no category hierarchy in its API, the parent already saved on the iPaaS.com category is written back unchanged so an inbound update never clears it.

Error Handling

Unauthorized access — ensure the Shopify connection has read access to products and collections.
Ambiguous name match — if more than one iPaaS.com category shares the Shopify collection Title, linking may resolve to an unintended record. Keep category names unique.
Unable to link by name — if a same-named iPaaS.com category is found but the external-id link cannot be saved, the transfer fails rather than creating a duplicate.

Testing & Validation

Sync a new Shopify collection and confirm a matching iPaaS.com Product Category is created with the correct Name and Description, and that the Shopify collection id is saved as the external id.
Edit a linked Shopify collection and confirm the Update collection refreshes the same iPaaS.com category (no duplicate) and that the iPaaS.com parent is unchanged.
Sync a Shopify collection whose Title matches an existing unlinked iPaaS.com category and confirm it links to that category rather than creating a duplicate.
Confirm the captured custom fields (description HTML, sort order, template suffix, image URL) are populated for round-trip back to Shopify.

Additional Notes

This direction reads Shopify and imports collections into iPaaS.com as Product Categories. Writing iPaaS.com categories to Shopify, and deleting Shopify collections from iPaaS.com, are handled by the FROM-iPaaS collections (see Related Documents). Because Shopify has no category hierarchy in its API, a browsable hierarchy in Shopify is arranged manually in the Shopify navigation (Menu); the parent relationship lives in iPaaS.com.