Batch / Bulk Editing

Bulk editing lets you change the same fields on many records at once. Use it to set a custom profile field for a group of people, move a batch of events into a different scope, or fill in a value that was missed on a whole set of records.

Editing several records at once

1. Open the list page for the content type you want to edit, for example People → View all Profiles.
2. Tick the checkboxes on the left of the records you want to change. A bar appears showing how many are selected.
3. Click Actions to open the action sidebar, then choose Bulk edit N <items> (for example Bulk edit 24 Profiles).
4. The edit window lists every field that can be bulk edited. Use Search fields to find a field quickly, then tick the checkbox beside each field you want to change. Its input appears once it is ticked.
5. Enter the new value for each ticked field.
6. Click Continue in the top right corner. You'll be asked to confirm, with a list of the fields that will be updated.

Only ticked fields are changed. Every other field on the records is left as it is.

The update runs in the background as a batch, one record at a time, so you can keep working while it finishes. See Bulk Operations and Batch Progress for how to follow its progress, cancel it and read the results.

Single-value fields

A field that holds one value, such as a text box, a date or a single-choice dropdown, is overwritten on every selected record with the value you enter.

Multiple-value fields

When a field can hold several values, a Merge behavior option appears beside it so you can choose how your selection is combined with what each record already has:

• Add to existing values (the default) — your values are added to each record. Values the record already has are kept, and nothing is added twice. If a record holds ['eggs', 'milk'] and you add ['eggs', 'honey'], the result is ['eggs', 'milk', 'honey'].
• Replace existing values — intended to leave each record with exactly the values you chose.
• Remove from existing values — intended to take your values off each record and leave everything else.

Important: Replace and Remove on custom fields

Add to existing values works reliably on every multi-value field. Replace and Remove are less dependable:

• On the built-in multi-value fields of a content type (for example a record's scopes), Replace and Remove behave as described.
• On custom fields — fields from a custom fieldset, or fields you added to your own content type or form — bulk edit currently saves the new list by combining it with the values already on the record. In practice this means Remove may leave the existing values in place, and Replace may behave like Add.

Before relying on Replace or Remove for a custom multi-value field, try it on two or three records and open them to check the result. If the old values are still there, edit those records individually instead.

What can't be bulk edited

Read-only fields, and fields the content type has marked as not batch-editable, aren't offered in the edit window.

Permissions

The Bulk edit action only appears if you are allowed to edit records of that type (either any record, or records you own). Records you can't edit are left out of the batch, so the number processed may be lower than the number you selected.

Things to check before you run it

• A bulk edit saves each record exactly as an individual edit would, so automations that run when a record is updated run for every record in the batch. Check whether any would send emails or create follow-up work before editing hundreds of records.
• Test on a small selection first, then run the edit on the full set.
• There is no undo button. To reverse a bulk edit, run another bulk edit that sets the previous values, or restore individual records from their history — see History, Versions and Trash.
• Use a smart list or the filter builder to select exactly the records you mean before you start.