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Update metadata at scale: export, edit, and re-import

A faster alternative to Multiple Edit when you need to update hundreds or thousands of existing assets at once

When you add a new property, or need to fill in a value across a large number of assets already in QBank, the Multiple Edit dialog works well for smaller batches, but it is a manual, click-through tool. For hundreds or thousands of assets, the faster and more reliable approach is to export the current data to a file, edit the values in a spreadsheet, and import the file back in. QBank matches each row back to the correct asset using an identifier column, so the whole batch updates in one pass.

Step 1. Find and select the assets
Use search and filters to narrow the result list down to the assets you want to update (for example, assets missing a value in the new property). Select all of them, then open the More menu.

QBank_KB_export

Step 2. Export the data

  1. Choose a file format. CSV works well if you are editing in Excel.
  2. Select the fields you want included in the export. Make sure to include a field that can act as a unique identifier, such as ID (safest) or Filename.
  3. Click Export and save the file.

QBank_KB_export2

Step 3. Edit the values
Open the exported file in Excel (or similar). Leave the identifier column untouched, and fill in the value you want in the relevant property column. This is where you can set the same default value across every row in one go, or vary it row by row. Save the file, keeping it as CSV and UTF-8 encoded.

Step 4. Import the file

  1. Open the same More menu and choose Import data this time.

    QBank_KB_Import

  2. Choose your edited csv/json/xml file. Note the warning: existing property values on the matched assets will be overwritten by the import.

    QBank_KB_Import2

  3. In the Options and mapping view, check the separators match your file (defaults are usually fine for a standard export), then map each column from your file to the correct field in QBank. Mark your identifier column with the key icon so QBank knows which column to match assets on.

    QBank_KB_Import3

  4. Click Import.

 

Step 5. Confirm the result
QBank confirms how many assets were updated from how many data rows. If the numbers do not match what you expected, check your identifier column before re-running.

QBank_KB_confirm

Good to know

  • Import always overwrites the mapped fields on matched assets. There is no append-only mode for import (unlike Multiple Edit, which offers Append, Overwrite, Remove, and Clear field).
  • If an identifier value matches more than one asset, all of the matched assets receive that row's values. This is useful for pushing the same default value to many assets at once, but double check for accidental duplicate identifiers first.
  • Test on a small batch (10 to 20 assets) before running the import across your full selection. The update cannot be undone.
  • This works well beyond what the Multiple Edit dialog is built for, since it is a file-based operation rather than an interactive UI selection, and scales to large batches.