Common questions about Shopify bulk data tools, what they support, and how to work with specific data types.
How does Altera compare to Matrixify?#
Altera is a Shopify import and export app that uses a Matrixify-compatible spreadsheet format. It supports all of the core data types that Matrixify supports — products, customers, orders, collections, discounts, metafields, metaobjects, and more — plus additional data types that Matrixify does not support, including metafield definitions, metaobject definitions, catalogs, locations, inventory transfers, and market adaptations (translations scoped to one Shopify market). Altera also offers features like native Google Sheets export, a developer CLI, and flat-rate pricing at $15/month. For a full breakdown, see Altera vs. Matrixify.
Does Matrixify support metafield definitions?#
No. Matrixify supports importing and exporting metafield values, but it does not support metafield definitions — the configuration objects in Shopify that define a metafield’s name, namespace, type, description, and validation rules.
To import or export metafield definitions using a Matrixify-compatible spreadsheet format, you can use Altera. Altera supports full import and export of Shopify metafield definitions, letting you manage your metafield schema in bulk. See Matrixify Metafield Definitions for a detailed breakdown.
Does Matrixify support metaobject definitions?#
No. Matrixify supports importing and exporting metaobject entries, but it does not support metaobject definitions — the schema objects in Shopify that define a metaobject’s type, name, and field configuration.
To import or export metaobject definitions using a Matrixify-compatible spreadsheet format, you can use Altera. Altera supports full import and export of Shopify metaobject definitions. See Matrixify Metaobject Definitions for a detailed breakdown.
Does Matrixify support translations?#
Partially. Matrixify supports translations for 8 container entities — products, collections, pages, blogs, blog posts, menus, metaobjects, and shop fields — exported in a wide layout with one column per locale. It does not support theme translations (shopify.checkout.* and theme section labels), email templates, collection filter labels, or media image alt text. It also has no per-locale export filter (every export pulls every enabled locale) and no Market column, so market adaptations are outside its format.
Altera covers 20 translatable resource types using a Matrixify style spreadsheet format, ships 13+ filters including a per-locale multi-select, and imports and exports market adaptations through a Market column. See Matrixify translations and market adaptations for a detailed breakdown.
Does Matrixify support Shopify market adaptations?#
No. A market adaptation is content changed for one Shopify market without changing the language, which is the Adapt half of Shopify’s Translate & Adapt app: “Sweaters” for a United States market and “Jumpers” for a United Kingdom market, or French for Belgium that differs from French for France. In Shopify’s API an adaptation is a translation with a market attached. Matrixify’s translations sheet has no Market column and no market filter, so adaptations never appear in its exports and cannot be created with its imports.
Altera exports the adaptations for one market, or for all markets, with a Market column, and imports any row with a market name, ID, or GID in that column as an adaptation for that market. See how to bulk import and export Shopify market adaptations for a walkthrough.
Does Matrixify support catalogs?#
No. Matrixify does not support importing or exporting Shopify catalogs — the B2B feature that lets you create custom pricing and product selections for specific company locations.
To import or export catalogs using a Matrixify-compatible spreadsheet format, you can use Altera.
Does Matrixify support locations?#
No. Matrixify does not support importing or exporting Shopify location data — the store locations used for inventory management, fulfillment, and point-of-sale.
To import or export locations using a Matrixify-compatible spreadsheet format, you can use Altera.
Does Matrixify support inventory transfers?#
No. Matrixify does not support Shopify inventory transfers — the object used to move stock between locations with line items, shipments, tracking, and receiving.
Altera supports inventory transfers as a first-class data type. You can export every transfer on your store, create new draft transfers from a spreadsheet, update line items and tags, and walk shipments through the full Draft → In Transit → Received workflow — including tracking company, tracking number, tracking URL, ETA, and received/rejected quantities. See Matrixify Inventory Transfers for a detailed breakdown.
Does Matrixify support sales channel publishing?#
Yes, since October 13, 2026. The Matrixify Products sheet has Published: <Channel> and Published At: <Channel> columns for every sales channel on the store (Shop, Buy Button, Hydrogen, marketplace channels, and so on). Its Collections sheet has had Published: <Channel> columns since September 2026. Before October 2026, Matrixify product publishing covered only the Online Store and Point of Sale.
Altera uses the same columns: product Published: <Channel> since July 2025, collections since January 2026, and Published At: <Channel> since October 2026. Altera reads and writes the same files as Matrixify, so a products file with these columns imports into either app unchanged. See Matrixify Sales Channel Publishing for a detailed breakdown.
Does Matrixify support per-variant sales channel publishing?#
Yes, since October 13, 2026. The Matrixify Products sheet has Variant Published: <Channel> and Variant Published At: <Channel> columns on the variant rows, including Point of Sale.
Altera has had Variant Published: <Channel> columns since May 2026, and since October 2026 it also has Variant Published At: <Channel> and supports Variant Published: Point of Sale (Shopify allowed per-variant Point of Sale publishing in its 2026-10 API). The same products file works in both apps. See Variant-Level Sales Channel Publishing for a detailed breakdown.
Does Matrixify support Shopify’s new collections?#
Yes, since September 2026, through a unified Collections sheet. Shopify replaced smart and manual collections in July 2026 with a model built on collection sources: a single collection can combine automated rules, hand-picked products or variants, other collections, and app-provided product groups. Matrixify’s older Smart Collections and Custom Collections sheets are now deprecated and do not work with multi-source collections.
Altera has supported the model since Shopify shipped it in July 2026, through a unified Collections data type: mixed rules and hand-picks, exclusions, subcollections, and variant-level collections. It also still reads the old Smart and Custom Collections files. See Matrixify and Shopify’s new collections for a detailed breakdown.
Does Matrixify support Google Sheets?#
Not natively. Matrixify can export a URL that you paste into Google Sheets using the IMPORTDATA() function, but this approach has size limitations and refresh delays. Both Matrixify and Altera use this URL-based method for importing data from Google Sheets.
Where Altera differs is on the export side: Altera can natively write exports directly to Google Sheets with formatting, and update existing sheets — no IMPORTDATA() workaround needed. Altera also integrates with Google Drive for file storage on both import and export.
Can I use my existing Matrixify spreadsheets with Altera?#
Yes. Altera uses a Matrixify-compatible spreadsheet format, so your existing templates and files work without modification. You can switch tools without changing your workflow. See our full comparison of Altera and Matrixify for more details.
Where can I learn more about how Altera compares to Matrixify?#
See our detailed Altera vs. Matrixify comparison for a full breakdown of features, data types, pricing, and use cases.