The Catalog is a central component of GS. In an e-commerce context, it is used to group files by Reference in order to ensure that the Specifications defined by Product Categories are met in the Productions.

The Catalog can be updated in three ways:

1. By manually uploading an Excel file whose columns have predefined headers
2. By uploading a CSV file with the same headers to an SFTP server (ask support to enable this feature)
3. By using the GS API

Within the Catalog, a Reference corresponds to a product for which media are expected.

The number of References that the Catalog can contain varies according to the subscribed license. However, there is no limitation on the storage duration of the Catalog and the thumbnails of the associated media, so that you can navigate the Catalog without any time restrictions.

An important field in the Catalog is the Product Category: this field links to the Specifications that specify the expected number of media and their Format.

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You can use GS without populating the Catalog. The workflows remain functional, however you will not be able to track the progress of operations at the Catalog level.

Moreover, several features will be unavailable:

• Detecting references outside the Catalog (e.g., due to typos)
• Renaming functions that rely on Catalog data
• The Logistics module
• Organization of the Media Library

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