Projects and the Shop: making a Shop product from a project or variant

Projects in SimplyPrint lets you make a Shop product from a project, or from one of its variants, so every order prints the right parts on the right printers. This guide covers what a product can be made from, mapping a product and each of its variants to a project, and what happens when the project changes or an order is released.

When you sell what you print through the Shop, each product needs to say what makes it. A project is the natural answer: one project with Size and Color options can make every variant of a product. This guide explains how products and projects connect. Mapping products in full, including CSV import, is covered in the guide to mapping store products in the Shop. It is part of the Projects documentation.

Table of contents

• What a product is made from
• Mapping a product to a project
• Mapping each variant
• Making a project from a file
• When the project changes
• What happens when an order is released
• Deleting a project a product uses

What a product is made from

A product's page has a Made from section. A product, or each of its variants, is made from either:

• a project, or one of the project's variants; or
• a file, such as an STL, 3MF or G-code. Uploaded here, "It is kept with this product, not in Your files. Make it a Project later if you want sizes or print settings."

A project is the better choice when the product has sizes or colors, or when you print it on more than one kind of printer.

Mapping a product to a project

1. Open the product and click Choose a Project or file (Map variants on a product with variants). The dialog asks What makes (product)?
2. Search under Search your Projects, files and SKUs, or Browse. SimplyPrint suggests Best matches.
3. Pick the project from the list, or from the Choose a Project or file browser that Browse opens.
4. Click Save.

See: Shop products: map store products to Projects, variants and CSV import

Mapping each variant

For a product with variants, each variant says Which variant of (project) prints for it: "What gets printed when someone orders this variant." Pick the project's variant, such as Medium · Terracotta. Giving the project's variants SKUs helps match them.

• Also use for the (N) other unmapped variants saves the same choice for the rest.
• Save and next moves on to the next variant.
• Each variant shows Mapped, Needs review or Not mapped.

Making a project from a file

If the product's model is only a file so far, pick the file and choose Make a Project from it. SimplyPrint creates the project and selects it: "Project created and selected. Save to use it." You can then add setups, sizes and colors to it.

See: Creating a project in SimplyPrint and importing STL, 3MF and sliced files

When the project changes

A mapping is approved against what the variant printed at the time. "Changing what that variant prints in Projects asks you to approve this mapping again." Until it is approved again, orders for it aren't released, so a change to the project can't silently change what every order produces.

What happens when an order is released

When you release an order, each order line made from a project is handed to Projects. The release uses the ready print files of each of the variant's plates for the printers that fit them, and adds them to the print queue. A plate still waiting for its print file is queued and waits until the file is sliced.

Each item then follows its item workflow, if you use Workflows in the Shop.

Deleting a project a product uses

Deleting a project names any Shop product made from it, and deleting it unmaps the product. A project named by a Shop order's item can't be deleted.

See: Downloading, exporting and deleting a project

Related articles

Projects

• Projects: everything for one thing you make, from parts to print files
• Sizes, colors and variants in a project: options, variants, sets and SKUs
• Plates, printer setups and slicing in a project
• Printing a project: Add to print queue, Start print and AutoPrint
• Downloading, exporting and deleting a project

The Shop

• The Shop: run your 3D printing orders from store to shipped
• Shop products: map store products to Projects, variants and CSV import
• Shop orders: store orders, manual orders, review and release
• Shop production work: the Work page, clearing plates, trays and finishing steps

Workflows

• Workflows: the stages and tasks work follows after it prints
• Workflows in the Shop: order and item workflows, accepted pieces and moving on by itself

Updated on: 06/11/2026