How Ellie finds product images and descriptions

When you add a colorant to your pantry, Ellie doesn't make you hunt down a product photo. She goes looking for one herself, in the background, while you carry on with whatever's next.

Two ways the photo arrives

How a colorant gets its picture depends on how you added it:

• Added from the catalog — if you picked a catalog match while adding the colorant, the product photo comes in instantly, right along with the type, color family, and description. There's nothing to wait for.
• Free-typed (no catalog match) — if you typed in a custom or unrecognized colorant, there's no photo to copy, so Ellie kicks off the background image search described below.

The rest of this article is about that background search — what it looks like when Ellie has to go find a photo herself.

It happens after you save

The moment you save a new colorant, Ellie starts searching for its image and product details. You don't have to wait on her — the item is already in your pantry and ready to use. The picture just fills itself in once she finds it.

Heads up: This happens in the background and can take a little while. A blank or missing image right after you add an item isn't broken — Ellie's still looking.

The "finding images" banner

While she's working through newly added items, you'll see a banner letting you know she's finding images, with a count of how many are left to go. When it clears, she's caught up.

When Ellie comes up empty

Some products just don't have a findable photo. Those show a dashed Add image button — Ellie's way of telling you she looked and couldn't find one. That's your cue to step in.

Adding an image yourself

You can set the picture yourself any time, whether Ellie found one or not:

• Upload your own photo of the product.
• Paste a product link and let Ellie pull the image from it.

Either one replaces the placeholder, so the item looks the way you want it on the shelf.