How a feed works
A feed is a spreadsheet inside Creatomate. Every row holds the content for one video or image. The feed renders all of them from a single template, so a hundred rows become a hundred videos in one go. A feed usually starts from a template. That gives it the right columns from the start. You can also fill it from a CSV file.
One row, one video
Take a template for a real-estate listing. It shows an address, a photo, and a price. Its feed looks like this:
| Address | Photo | Price |
|---|---|---|
| 1540 Harbor Drive | harbor.jpg | $685,000 |
| 22 Elm Street | elm.jpg | $412,000 |
| 9 Cliff Road | $1,250,000 |
This feed renders three videos, one for each listing. Each video is made from a fresh copy of the template. The template itself never changes.
The columns match the dynamic elements of the template: the parts you marked as changeable in the editor. The link between a column and its element is called the mapping. You set it up once for the whole feed. When you create a feed from a template, the mapping is already done for you.
The third row's Photo cell is empty, yet its video still has a photo: the one the template was designed with. An empty cell means the template's own value; you only fill in what should differ from the template. Deleting a column works the same way: the template's own value takes its place again.
A feed keeps your changes only once you save it. Creating renders saves the feed first, so your latest edits are always included.
What you can put in a cell
You type into a cell the way you would in any spreadsheet. What the text means depends on the element its column fills:
| The column fills | What you put in the cell |
|---|---|
| A text | The text as it should appear. Press Ctrl+Enter for a new line. |
| An image, video, or audio | A link to the file, or the file itself: click an empty cell to upload one, up to 100 MB. For a larger video, put it online and paste its link. |
| A color | A color value such as #ff5500. |
| Anything else | The value the template expects, such as a number of seconds for a duration. You can make any property dynamic, not only these four. |
One feed, several templates
You can connect more than one template to the same feed. Each row then renders with each of them. The same listings become a square post, a vertical story, and a banner.
Every template has its own mapping. Every row has a separate status for each template. The Template dropdown decides which template's statuses you see. It also decides which template you render with.
Whichever template you use, the feed always takes its published version. Changes you make in draft mode reach the feed when you publish them. What publishing does to rows you already rendered is explained under Rendering rows. How many rows your feeds can hold in total depends on your plan.