How to Convert 2020 Design Files to Mozaik – Phill Anton Consulting

Q: Should I use the asterisk or the hashtag wildcard?

Use the hashtag (#) for most mapping. It matches only numbers (the size portion of a code), so one entry like B# covers a whole run of base-cabinet sizes precisely. The asterisk (*) matches any character at all, which is much broader and can pull in products you didn't intend.

To convert 2020 Design files into Mozaik, build a mapping table in a dedicated Mozaik product library that pairs each 2020 cabinet code with a real Mozaik product, then run File > Import > Import 2020 Design so Mozaik swaps every 2020 cabinet for its matching Mozaik product at import. The work is in the mapping: tell Mozaik which 2020 nomenclature codes correspond to which Mozaik products, and the import does the rest.

This guide follows Mozaik's official walkthrough. Watch the original on Mozaik's channel:

The short version

Mapping means matching: 2020 Design uses its own cabinet codes (its "nomenclature"), and Mozaik has its own products. You create a translation table so that when a 2020 file is imported, each 2020 code is replaced by the correct Mozaik product — with the right width, hinge direction, and interior parts. Once the table is right, importing is one click.

Four things to set up first

Before mapping anything, Mozaik recommends getting four things in order:

Install 2020 Design and Mozaik Enterprise on the same computer. This is not strictly required to map a catalog, but having both open side by side improves your odds of getting the mapping right — you can compare the 2020 product to the Mozaik product as you go.
Set up a new product library in Mozaik specifically for this mapping job.
Adjust your library parameters and save them to a new construction method. Every product imported through this library takes on the library parameters and construction method you saved to it — so set those first.
Learn to modify the Mozaik product library tree so you can add folders, subfolders, and extra products to the library menu as you build out the mapping.

Step 1 — Create a dedicated mapping library

Don't map into a generic library — make a copy you can safely customize.

Open the Mozaik folder on the C: drive, then go to Product Libraries.
Copy an existing library that matches your construction (the video copies a face-frame library) and paste it. If you already have your own framed or frameless library set up, copy and paste that instead.
Rename the copy something obvious for this job — the video names it after the source sample with "mapping" appended.

Path: C: drive > Mozaik folder > Product Libraries > (copy / paste / rename your library)

Step 2 — Start a job and point it at the mapping library

Launch Mozaik Enterprise and start a new job (the video names it "2020 mapping").
Go to Libraries tab > Products and select the mapping library you just created on the C: drive.
Go to Parameters, give your construction method a name, and save the method to your C: drive. You can fine-tune the actual parameter values later — the point now is that the method exists and is attached to this library.

Path: Libraries > Products > (your mapping library) > Parameters > name + save construction method

Step 3 — Understand the two wildcards

This is the heart of mapping. 2020 cabinet codes contain a fixed part (letters that identify the cabinet type) and a variable part (numbers for the size). Wildcards let one Mozaik mapping entry cover a whole range of sizes instead of typing every single code.

* (asterisk) stands for any character — letters, numbers, punctuation marks, or any special character.
# (hashtag) stands for numeric characters only (0 through n).

Most of your mapping will use the #, because cabinet codes usually vary only by their size numbers. Using a * is broad: it pulls in anything that matches, which is why the video's all-asterisk test brought in every product (and even imported wall cabinets as base cabinets). The # is precise — it matches only the numeric portion.

Step 4 — Open the mapping spreadsheet and name the catalog

Go to Libraries > Products > (your mapping library) > Cabinet Spreadsheet.
On the right side is the 2020 DL mapping area (DL = "design live") — this is your 2020 mapping panel.
At the top, find 2020 DL Catalog Name and type the catalog name exactly as it is spelled in 2020 Design (matching capitalization). This must match or the codes won't line up.

The mapping toolbar lets you add products, edit them, delete them, or copy an entry to duplicate it.

Path: Libraries > Products > (mapping library) > Cabinet Spreadsheet > 2020 DL mapping

Step 5 — Add a Mozaik product and give it a 2020 code

Each mapping row is a pair: a real Mozaik product on one side, and the 2020 code (with wildcards) on the other.

Click the plus (+) to add a product — this opens "Select products to add."
Pick the Mozaik product you want (for example, a single door).
In the code field, type the 2020 nomenclature with a wildcard. For a code that's a letter followed by size numbers, type the letter plus # (for example, B# for base cabinets that read B12, B15, etc.).

The product name comes from your Mozaik library; the code comes from 2020 Design.

Step 6 — Map hinge direction with separate entries

One Mozaik product can serve multiple 2020 codes that differ only by hinge. You handle left vs. right by making copies and setting each entry's hinge.

Add the Mozaik product, then copy the entry so you have two rows from one product.
On one row, build the 2020 code for the left-hinge variant and set the entry to left hinge.
On the other, build the right-hinge code and set it to right hinge.

In the video, a tray base maps to a single Mozaik tray-base product split into a left and a right entry (using the cabinet's letter code plus #, e.g. TB#). On import, Mozaik brings in the correct hinge, the correct width, and the matching Mozaik product — so the imported job reflects the tray-base left, tray-base right, and the various base widths automatically.

Step 7 — Pre-build cabinets that contain interior parts

This is the one rule that trips people up: wildcard mapping replaces a cabinet body, but it does not invent the interior.

If a 2020 cabinet has shelves, rollout trays, partitions, or other interior parts, you must first set up a specific Mozaik product that already contains those parts, then map to that product. In the video, two base cabinets that had a center divider (the narrator calls it a "style") were mapped to a plain Mozaik product and came in without that divider — while a different cabinet mapped to a product that already had the divider came in correctly. The lesson: map interior-bearing cabinets to a Mozaik product built to match.

To build one (the video makes a tall single-door pantry with four rollouts):

In Libraries > Products > (mapping library), find a base product (e.g., a tall single door), right-click, copy, and paste it back into the same heading in the library tree.
Rename it descriptively (the video names it to indicate four rollouts).
Open the Interior tab, clear it out, and build the inside the way it should import — for example, add a fixed shelf locked to center, add an adjustable shelf at the top, section the remaining space into equal sections for the trays, and set the bottom distance for the rollouts.
Save, then map this purpose-built product to the matching 2020 code (letter + #, with hinge entries as needed).

Step 8 — Import and read the unrecognized-codes report

Save your 2020 Design file first.
In Mozaik, go to File > Import > Import 2020 Design and select your mapping file.
After import, Mozaik shows Map Unrecognized Product Codes — a count and list of any 2020 codes it could not match. Zero means everything mapped. A number means those codes still need mapping (e.g., wall cabinets you haven't added yet).

Path: File > Import > Import 2020 Design > (select your file)

You can re-import the same job repeatedly as you add mappings, watching the unrecognized count drop each time (in the video it falls 20 → 14 → 10 → 7 → 0).

Step 9 — Map leftover codes on the fly

You don't have to go back into the spreadsheet for stragglers — you can map them straight from the report.

In the Map Unrecognized Product Codes dialog, choose View Map Product Codes to list every unmatched 2020 code.
For a code showing "Product: none," click the none to open Select Product, choose the correct Mozaik catalog, pick the matching Mozaik product, and confirm.
There is an Apply Rules Permanently checkbox — check it to make the mapping stick rather than apply just for this import.

After this, the product appears in your job, and the mapping is saved into your spreadsheet (Libraries > Products > (mapping library) > Cabinet Spreadsheet > 2020 DL mapping) where you can re-copy it or adjust hinging later.

A note on cabinet widths

Mozaik maps by nomenclature, but the imported cabinet uses the real width from the 2020 file. The video points out a cabinet whose code read "36" but whose actual measured width was 36-3/8 — checking the cabinet's attributes in 2020 Design showed the true width, and Mozaik imported it at the real dimension, not the rounded number in the code.

Related guides

Get it done-for-you

You can set this up yourself using the steps above. If you'd rather skip the setup, PAC's Mozaik training and done-for-you services can help — phillanton.com.

Full disclosure: this guide is published by Phill Anton Consulting.

FAQ

Do I need 2020 Design installed on the same PC as Mozaik to map a catalog?

No. You can map and import without having 2020 Design on the same computer. But Mozaik recommends it — being able to view the 2020 product and the Mozaik product on one screen at the same time makes it much easier to map everything correctly.

Should I use the asterisk or the hashtag wildcard?

Use the hashtag (#) for most mapping. It matches only numbers (the size portion of a code), so one entry like B# covers a whole run of base-cabinet sizes precisely. The asterisk (*) matches any character at all, which is much broader and can pull in products you didn't intend.

Why did my imported cabinet come in empty when the 2020 cabinet had shelves or rollouts?

Wildcard mapping replaces the cabinet body, not its interior. If a 2020 cabinet has interior parts (shelves, rollout trays, partitions), you must first build a specific Mozaik product that already contains those parts and map to that product — otherwise Mozaik brings in the plain body without them.