This article is specifically about Rheaply’s inventory management app, Visibility (root.rheaply.com), and may not be relevant if your organization is not using that functionality.
Create public photo URLs so you can add photos to your product import. Use the steps below to generate and verify a public image link.
This article is helpful if: You’re importing products in bulk using a spreadsheet and want to include images.
Who can do this?
This is currently only available for organizations and users with access to our Inventory product with the following inventory roles:
Global admins
Admins
Editors
Creators
Where is it done?
External photo hosting platforms (like Google Drive)
What is a public URL?
A public URL is a web address that allows anyone with the link to access the content directly, without requiring a login or special permissions. This is essential for the application to be able to retrieve and display your images correctly.
How to verify that a URL is public
Open a private or incognito browser window. This helps you check whether the link is truly public by simulating how it appears to someone who is not signed into your account.
Typically COMMAND + SHIT + N on Mac and CTRL + SHIFT + N on Windows.
Or on most browsers, you can click File, then New incognito tab/window.
Once you have the private/incognito window open, paste the URL into the address bar and press Enter. If the image loads without asking you to sign in or request permission, the URL is public.
If you’re using a service like Google Drive, make sure the file is set to “Anyone with the link” can view. This ensures that the image is accessible to anyone with the URL, including our system.
Note: this will not work for all image hosts. Please see our Limitations section below for more details.
Generate a public URL for an image
If your image files are not already available as public URLs, here’s how you can generate a public URL for your image in Google Drive. Many other services provide the same ability to store images and serve public URLs (Dropbox, Amazon S3, OneDrive, etc), but these instructions are for Google Drive specifically:
Sign in or sign up to Google Drive: drive.google.com
Upload the Image: Click on the “New” button (usually located in the top-left corner), then select “File upload” from the dropdown menu. Choose the image file from your computer and upload it.
Share the Image: After the upload is complete, find the image in your Google Drive. Right-click on the image file and select “Share.”
Make the Link Public: In the sharing settings, click on “Change to anyone with the link.” Ensure that the permission is set to “Viewer” so that others can view the image but cannot edit or delete it.
Copy the Link: Once the link is public, you’ll see a URL in the sharing settings. Copy this URL, as this is what you will use in your data upload.
Please refer to Google Drive’s help documentation if you’re having issues: Share files from Google Drive.
Limitations
This feature only works if the file is an image file (.jpg, .png) and may not work for specific hosting providers.
Hosting providers that may cause known issues include:
Google Photos
If you’re having issues with any specific image hosting provider, please feel free to email help@rheaply.com for support.