# Automatic XML layout detection

No field mapping screen. The app fingerprints your supplier's XML structure and recognises titles, prices, stock, images, variants and more, so a new feed is ready in minutes.

Canonical: https://productxmlimport.com/features/xml-auto-detection
Last updated: 2026-09-08

- Works with generic, Google Merchant, RSS and Atom XML
- Profiles for 190+ supplier domains
- Nested and flat variant structures
- Custom layouts configured by our team

## Why is there no mapping screen?

Most XML import tools ask you to pick, for every field, which tag in the feed to use. That works until the supplier renames a tag or nests a price under a different element. Product XML Import takes a different route: it reads a sample of the feed, scores it against a library of known layouts and picks the best match. Merchants paste a link and see products; the mapping happens underneath.

## Which layouts are recognised?

- Generic product feeds with one element per product and child elements for fields.
- Google Merchant Center style XML with `g:` prefixed tags, including sale prices and GTIN or MPN identifiers.
- RSS 2.0 and Atom catalogues where each item is a product.
- Feeds where variants are nested under the product, and feeds where each variant is its own item that shares a parent code.
- Multi-file setups where one XML holds the catalogue and another holds stock or prices, configured on request.

## What happens with an unknown feed?

The app still imports what it can identify and flags the feed for review. Our team looks at the structure, adds a profile, and the next run uses it. Since launch this has grown the library to feeds from more than 190 supplier domains.

## FAQ

### What does the app look at when it detects a feed?

The element that repeats once per product, the tags that carry identifiers, prices and quantities, where images live, and whether variants are nested inside the product or listed as separate items sharing a parent code. The result is a mapping profile that is reused on every run.

### What if my supplier changes the XML?

The app compares each run with the previous successful one. A structural change that makes products disappear stops the run and alerts support instead of updating your store with wrong data.

### Can I still control the mapping?

Yes, through support. Tell us which element holds the price you want to use, which images to skip or how variants should be grouped, and we adjust the profile for your feed.