Using bulk update

The bulk update functionality in Item Authoring allows you to update information on multiple items or item sets in your subject simultaneously.

When using bulk update in a subject, you can only update items and item sets in that subject.

You can also perform a bulk update in the Item Search and Item Lists screens after selecting some items. You have limited update options if you are updating items across multiple subjects.

This article explains how to use bulk update to update multiple items at the same time.

In this article

1. Open bulk update

You can open bulk update in your subject and the Item Search / Item Lists screens.

Opening bulk update in a subject

In your subject, select Bulk Update to open the Select update type dialog.

To learn more about working inside a subject, read Managing items in a subject.

Opening bulk update in Item Search and Item Lists

Either go to Item Authoring > Item Search and perform a search or go to Item Authoring > Item Lists and open a list to see the item grid. Choose the items you want to update and select Bulk Update .

For more information, read About the Item Search results table and Managing an item list.

2. Choose update type

Choose your update date in the Select update type dialog, refer to the following table for information about each update type.

Icon	Update Type	Description	Item Set Support
	Source Material	Adds or removes source material on multiple items.  Choose Add to items  or Remove from items .
	Media	Adds or removes media on multiple items. Choose  Add to items  or Remove from items .
	Tags	Adds or removes tags on multiple items. You can add and remove tags on up to 5,000 items at once using a spreadsheet import. Choose Add to items , Remove from items , or Upload CSV .
	Labels	Adds or removes labels to Multiple Choice and Multiple Response answer options. Choose Add to items  or Remove from items .
	Randomise	Enables or disables randomisation of answer options for Multiple Choice, Multiple Response, and Either/Or answer options. Choose Add to items  or Remove from items .
	Comments	Adds or removes comments on multiple items. Choose Add to items  or Remove from items .
	Status	Changes the workflow status for multiple items. Choose Continue .
	Owner	Changes the item owners of up to 5,000 items using a spreadsheet. Choose Continue or Upload CSV .
	Item Content	Exports or imports (to replace) item content using a spreadsheet. Choose Export Item Content  or Import Item Content .
	Unit Conversion	Updates units across multiple items. Choose Continue .
	Fix Item Set Order	Fixes or unfixes the order of item sets. Choose Fix Item Order  or Unfix Item Order .

3. Select items (updating from Subjects only)

After selecting your update type in a subject-based bulk update, you must choose the items you want to update in the Select items tab of the Bulk item update wizard. Select items in the left list and drag them to the right list. Use Shift to select multiple items.

You can find specific items using the search bar and the Filter menu.

When you have chosen all the items you want to update, select Next .

Configuring item set settings

Depending on the update type, item sets may not be available. Refer to the table in step ‘2. Choose update type’ for information on which update types support item sets.

If item sets are supported for your selected update type, you can configure how they are included in the update.

4. Select options

The Select Options tab of the Bulk item update wizard has different options for each update type. Read the relevant section to learn more.

Updating source material

Updating media

Updating tags

Updating labels

Updating comments

Updating workflow status

Updating item owners

Updating item content

Updating unit conversions

5. Finish the update

The Finish tab of the Bulk item update wizard displays a summary of the chosen update and asks you to confirm that you want to update the items. Select Yes, I want to update these items to enable the Confirm and Finish button.

Select Confirm and Finish to start the update.

Surpass performs the update process in the background, allowing to continue working in the system. You are emailed when the update is complete with a report on what items were updated and details on any issues if the update could not be performed.