How to Create a “If Field A is Empty Then Get B” Rule?

Not all your products have the same fields filled in. Some may have a short description, some may not. This feature lets you set a backup rule — if the first field is empty, CTX Feed will automatically use the second field instead.

No product will be left with a blank value in your feed.

Before you start: This uses the Dynamic Attribute feature, which is only available in CTX Feed Pro. If you have not created a dynamic attribute before, read How to Create a Dynamic Attribute first.

Video Tutorial: Watch How to Set Up This Rule

Watch the video first, then follow the written steps below.

How It Works?

CTX Feed checks your first field for each product. If it has a value, it uses that. If it is empty, it moves to your second field and uses that instead.

Example — Short Description with Description as backup

Does this product have a Short Description?

• ✅ Yes → Use Short Description
• ❌ No → Use Description instead

How to Set It Up?

1. Create a new Dynamic Attribute

Go to CTX Feed → Dynamic Attributes and click Add New. Give it a name you will remember — for example DA_Description.

In the first row, choose your primary field (the one you want to use first — e.g. Short Description). In the second row, choose your backup field (the one to use if the first is empty — e.g. Description).

Click Save when done.

2. Clear the plugin cache

After saving, go to the CTX Feed dashboard and clear the plugin cache. This makes sure your new Dynamic Attribute appears in the feed settings.

3. Map your Dynamic Attribute to the feed field

Open your feed and go to the feed field list. Find the field you want to set — for example, description. Click the value dropdown on the right and look for the Dynamic Attributes group. Select your new attribute (e.g. DA_Description).

Feed mapping — “DA_Description” selected from the Dynamic Attributes group

Show the feed field dropdown open, with the “Dynamic Attributes” group visible and “DA_Description” selected. This confirms to the user that the attribute is now available and correctly mapped.

4. Save and update your feed

Click Update to save the feed. Then go to CTX Feed → Manage Feeds and click Update Feed to rebuild the feed file with your new rule applied.

💡You can use this for any two fields This is not just for descriptions. You can use the same rule for any field in your store — for example: use Sale Price if it exists, otherwise use Regular Price

⚠️ Both fields are empty? If neither field has a value for a product, the feed will still output a blank value for that product. Make sure your backup field is one that is always filled in.