---
title: New Field Groups and Column Names for Collections Data Type
date: 2026-09-07
description: The Collections data type uses a new set of columns and values that other apps can read. Files you exported before today still import.
tags: ["Collections","Imports"]
categories: ["Changelog"]
url: https://www.getaltera.com/changelog/2026-09-07-new-collections-file-format/
---
We've updated the structure of the Collections data type to keep it compatible with 'other apps'. Files you exported before today still import, but going forward this is the format that exports write and that the [Collection Fields](https://support.getaltera.com/en/articles/15945044-collection-fields) reference describes.

Additionally, now the 'Collections' data type is the recommended choice for managing both manual and smart collections in your store. Manual and Smart collections are still supported but are marked as deprecated as they cannot represent all the possibilities for collections in Shopify.

---

### What's New

- **New column names** - exports write `Source:`, `Inclusion:`, and `Condition:` columns, with rule fields and relations spelled the way the Shopify admin spells them (see the [Collection Fields](https://support.getaltera.com/en/articles/15945044-collection-fields) reference).
- **Published At per sales channel** - `Published At: Online Store` and its siblings export the publish date and import it, and a future date schedules the publication.
- **Linked Products group** - export one row per product in a collection with its position, and reorder a manually sorted collection with the `Sort:` columns.

### Heads-up

- **Blank `Published:` cells unpublish** - a blank cell unpublishes that sales channel, so remove the column when a channel should be left alone.
- **Previous column names** - `Source`, `Source Target`, `Must Match`, `Rule: Product Column`, `Rule: Mode`, `Product: Handle`, and the rest stay accepted on import, but exports no longer write them (see [Previous column names](https://support.getaltera.com/en/articles/15945044-collection-fields#previous-column-names)).