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Mass Attributes Edit

Mass Attributes Edit

Update custom attributes for up to 15,000 assets at once using Mass Attributes Edit. This powerful feature streamlines large-scale metadata management across your entire DAM, allowing you to make sweeping updates efficiently from categories, search results, or collections.

Overview

Mass Attributes Edit enables users with Edit metadata permission to select and update attributes for thousands of assets simultaneously. The feature is designed to handle large-scale metadata operations while preventing conflicting updates and providing clear, real-time feedback throughout the process.

What You Can Do

  • Edit custom attributes for up to 15,000 assets in a single operation
  • Update the expiry date system attribute in bulk
  • Work from Categories, Collections, or Search results
  • Continue browsing your DAM while updates process in the background
  • Receive notifications when updates complete or fail
  • Rest assured that updates continue even if you close your browser or refresh the page

Getting Started with Mass Attributes Edit

Permission Requirements

Mass Attributes Edit is available to:

  • Users with Edit metadata permission for the targeted assets
  • Administrators

If you don't have Edit metadata permission, you won't see the Select All option for mass editing or the Edit attributes action for large selections.

Selecting Assets for Mass Attributes Edit

You can initiate a Mass Attributes Edit from three locations in your Library:

  1. Categories - Select all assets within a category
  2. Collections - Select all assets within a collection
  3. Search Results - Select all assets matching your search criteria

Using Select All

When viewing a set of assets, you can use the Select All option to quickly select assets for mass editing:

  1. Click the checkbox to select items on the current page
  2. A banner will appear offering to select all assets in the current scope
  3. Click to select all assets in that category, collection, or search result

The system will automatically determine how many assets are in scope and select up to 15,000 assets for editing.

 

15,000 Asset Selection Limit

The maximum number of assets that can be selected for Mass Attributes Edit is 15,000 assets.

How the limit works:

  • If your scope contains 15,000 assets or fewer: All assets in the scope are selected
  • If your scope contains more than 15,000 assets: Only the first 15,000 assets are selected, and you'll see a warning banner


 

The warning banner displays:

Selection limit reached
You've hit the maximum selection limit. Only the first 15,000 have been selected.

The banner includes a Clear selection action so you can reset and refine your selection if needed.

Important Note: If you deselect any asset after using Select All, the system will exit the mass edit mode and return to standard page-level selection. This means partial selections (like "all but one") are not supported for the mass edit flow.

Users Without Edit Metadata Permission

If you lack Edit Metadata permission, selecting a page of assets will not offer the option to select all assets in a category, search results, or collection. The mass edit functionality will not be available to you.

Performing a Mass Attributes Edit

Starting Your Edit

Once you have a valid selection (up to 15,000 assets), the Edit attributes option becomes available in the bulk action bar.

 

 

Note: When Mass Attributes Edit is active, all other bulk action bar options are disabled. A tooltip will explain this to you when you hover over disabled actions.

Supported Attributes

Mass Attributes Edit supports:

  • All custom attributes - Any custom metadata fields you've configured in your DAM
  • Expiry date - The only system attribute currently available for bulk editing

     

Making Your Changes

  1. Click Edit attributes in the bulk action bar
  2. The Edit Attributes modal will open
  3. Make your desired changes to the custom attributes or expiry date
  4. Click Save to initiate the update

Update Confirmation

Once you initiate the update, you'll receive an immediate confirmation toast message letting you know the process has started.

 

Key behaviors during updates:

  • Your selection remains visible in the UI (it is not automatically cleared)
  • The Edit attributes action is disabled while the job is in progress
  • You can continue browsing and working in your DAM while the update processes
  • The update continues running in the background even if you close your browser or refresh the page
  • You cannot accidentally cancel a running update by refreshing or closing the tab

Email Confirmation

When your mass attribute update completes, you'll receive an email confirmation with details about the operation.

 

 

This email provides a record of the update and confirms whether it was completed successfully or encountered any issues.

Important Limitations and Behaviors

One Mass Edit Job at a Time

You can only perform one Mass Attributes Edit at a time per user session. This prevents conflicting operations and ensures system stability.

Once a mass edit job is started:

  • You cannot start another mass edit until the current one completes
  • The Edit attributes option will be disabled during the operation
  • Your selection remains in place for potential future actions

Interaction with Metadata Import

Mass Attributes Edit interacts with the Metadata Import feature in specific ways:

If you start an update first, then attempt an import:

  • Both operations may run simultaneously (import does not check for existing updates)

If you start an import first, then attempt an update:

  • The update will be blocked and you'll receive a message that an import is in progress
  • You must wait for the import to complete before starting the mass edit

If you attempt multiple updates:

  • The first update continues running
  • The second update request is blocked with a message that an update is already in progress

Note: A persistent progress UI that survives page refreshes is currently in development and will be released in a future update.

Category Hierarchy Considerations

Important: Mass Attributes Edit applied to a category does not cascade to child categories automatically.

If you need to update assets in child categories as well:

  1. Run a search within the parent category (including children)
  2. Apply Mass Attributes Edit to those search results

This gives you precise control over which assets are updated across your category structure.

Best Practices

To make the most effective use of Mass Attributes Edit:

Plan Your Updates

  1. Review your selection carefully before initiating the update
  2. Consider the scope - Are you updating the right category, collection, or search results?
  3. Check the asset count - Verify you're working with the intended number of assets
  4. Refine if needed - If you hit the 15,000 limit, consider narrowing your scope with more specific search criteria

Manage Large Libraries

  • For categories with more than 15,000 assets, break your updates into smaller batches using search filters
  • Use date ranges, file types, or other criteria to create manageable subsets
  • Document your update strategy if you're making changes across multiple batches

Avoid Conflicts

  • Coordinate with your team to avoid simultaneous metadata updates
  • Check if a metadata import is running before starting a large attribute update
  • Wait for one mass edit to complete before starting another

Verify Your Results

  • After the update completes, spot-check some assets to verify the changes applied correctly
  • Review the email confirmation for any error messages
  • Keep the confirmation email as a record of the bulk update

Troubleshooting

"Selection limit reached" Warning

Solution: Your scope contains more than 15,000 assets. You can either:

  • Work with the first 15,000 assets selected
  • Clear the selection and refine your category, collection, or search to reduce the asset count
  • Break your update into multiple smaller operations

Cannot Start Mass Edit

Possible causes:

  • Another mass attribute update is already in progress - wait for it to complete
  • A metadata import is currently running - wait for the import to finish
  • You don't have Edit metadata permission - contact your administrator

Edit Attributes Disabled

If the Edit attributes option is grayed out:

  • A mass edit may already be in progress in your session
  • Check for a toast notification indicating an active update
  • Wait for the current operation to complete

Lost Progress After Refresh

If you refresh your browser during a mass edit:

  • Don't worry - the update continues processing on the backend
  • You won't see live progress anymore in this session
  • You'll still receive an email confirmation when the update completes

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