Activate Products using Rules

This article explains how to use rules in Xada to bulk activate products belonging to one or multiple suppliers. This is commonly used when onboarding a new supplier or reactivating a large product range efficiently.

When to use this rule

Use this bulk action when you need to:

  • Activate all products from a specific supplier
  • Activate supplier products with conditions such as specific categories
  • Avoid manually activating thousands of products one by one

Creating a Bulk Activation Rule

Step 1 – Create a New Rule

  1. Go to the Rules page
  2. Click Create Rule
  3. Enter a clear and descriptive name

Step 2 – Define Conditions

Conditions determine which products will be activated.

Common setup:

  • Supplier = Trends

Optional additional conditions:

  • Include only specific categories
  • Exclude certain categories (e.g. Category is none of these → Pens & Pencils)
  • Brand does not equal
  • Name does not contain
  • Product first listed date (before/after)
  • Custom fields or specific SKUs (to exclude certain products)

Use AND / OR logic carefully when combining conditions to ensure accurate targeting.

Key notes:

  • Categories must already exist and be active in Xada
  • OR logic can be used to combine multiple exclusions
  • Well-defined conditions allow precise control over which products are affected

Step 3 – Set the Action

In the Actions section:

  • Select Activate Product

This will activate all products that match your conditions.

Step 4 – Create and Review

  1. Click Create
  2. Review the Products Matched section. This step is important to confirm the rule is targeting the correct products before running it.

Step 5 – Run the Rule

  1. Click the arrow down, and then Update & Run

All matched products will be activated in bulk.

Ongoing Rule Behaviour

If the rule remains active, it will automatically run after each product import.

What this means: If you manually deactivate products later, the rule may reactivate them again during the next run.

Best Practice

If the rule is only needed for a one-off activation:

  1. Run the rule
  2. Set the rule to Inactive

This prevents products from being automatically reactivated and returns full manual control.

Summary

  • Rules enable fast bulk activation of supplier products
  • Conditions allow precise inclusion and exclusion of products
  • Active rules run automatically after imports
  • Disable rules after one-off use to prevent unintended reactivation