Keeping metadata consistent across a growing library can be tedious when every file has to be opened and updated one at a time. With Bulk Metadata Edit, you can update, add, or remove metadata across many files and folders at once — all in a single action. Whether you're tagging a fresh batch of uploads or cleaning up an existing Catalog, this feature lets you make the same change everywhere it's needed without the repetitive clicking. In this article, we'll walk through how to select your items, make your edits, cascade changes down through a folder, and save your work.
Selecting Items & Opening the Editor
Bulk Metadata Edit is available in both Workspaces and Catalogs. To get started, navigate to a Workspace or Catalog and select two or more items — these can be files, folders, or a mix of both. Once multiple items are selected, open the More (•••) menu and choose Bulk Edit Metadata:
Figure 1: Selecting Multiple Files for Bulk Metadata Editing
Please note that the Bulk Edit Metadata option only appears for items you have permission to edit. If your selection happens to include items you can't edit, those items are simply left out of the operation when you save — the rest of your selection is unaffected.
Understanding the Bulk Editor
Once opened, the editor organizes fields by item type. If you've selected only files, you'll see a File(s) Metadata section. If you've selected only folders, you'll see a single Folder Metadata section. And if your selection contains both, you'll see two clearly labeled sections — File Metadata and Folder Metadata — so it's always clear which change applies where:
Figure 2: Selecting both Files and Folders
Within each section, the editor displays the combined set of all unique metadata field names that exist across the selected files of that file type. If your Space uses a custom metadata template, those template fields are included as well and grouped separately from any ad-hoc fields, including their metadata sections. One important thing to keep in mind: fields appear as empty inputs — the editor does not display the values currently stored on your files. This is intentional, since values often differ from item to item, so it's best to know which values you want to modify before you open the editor.
Making Your Edits
Each field gives you three different actions:
- Keep as is (default) — the field is left untouched and nothing changes for that field.
- Replace — enter a new value. On Save, this value fully overwrites whatever was previously stored on each selected item for that field.
- Remove — use the dedicated Remove control to clear the field from every selected item that has it:
Figure 3: Bulk Metadata Action Options
An important note on removing: leaving a field blank does not delete it. Removal only happens when you deliberately use the Remove control, so you never have to worry about accidentally wiping a value just because you left it empty.
You can also add brand-new custom fields — a name and value pair that doesn't yet exist on any of your selected items — the same way you would in the single-item editor (see Figure 3). The editor supports all the standard template field types, including text inputs, single-select dropdowns, multi-selects, and date fields.
Cascading Metadata to a Folder's Contents
When you select a single folder, you'll be given a choice of how far your changes should reach:
- This Folder — opens the editor to edit metadata on the folder itself.
- Files in folder and below — opens the editor in cascade mode, applying your changes to every file inside the folder and its subfolders:
Figure 4: Folder Metadata Submenu Options
In cascade mode, only the Files section is shown, and its fields come from a custom metadata template only — existing values on the child files are not loaded. When you save, Ci schedules a background operation to apply your changes across the whole folder tree. Any files you don't have permission to edit are skipped automatically and reflected in the completion summary. Cascade is built to handle large folder structures, so it's a great fit for organizing sizable libraries in one pass.
Please note that cascade is only available when a single folder is selected — it isn't offered for multi-folder selections.
Saving Your Changes
When you save, only the fields you explicitly set to Replace or Remove are written. Everything else on each item stays exactly as it was.
For a standard (non-cascade) save: the save button briefly shows a Saving… state, then Success, and the editor closes on its own. A notification confirms how many items were updated, broken out by files and folders — for example, "Metadata updated for 5 files and 2 folders.":
Figure 5: Bulk Metadata Update Notification
For a cascade save: because the work runs in the background, you'll see a confirmation letting you know your changes are being applied, and the editor closes right away. You'll receive a success email once the operation finishes — there's no live progress bar while it runs:
Figure 6: Cascading Metadata Update
If something goes wrong, an error message will let you know whether the operation failed completely or only partially. If no specific details are available, you'll see a general message with a link to reach our Customer Success team.
Finally, if you make changes and then try to close the editor or navigate away, Ci will ask whether you want to discard them — the same safeguard you're used to from the single-item editor.
Good to Know
A few things worth keeping in mind as you use Bulk Metadata Edit:
- Edits are full replacements. There's no append or merge — to keep existing values in a multi-value field and add more, include the existing values yourself. (Removing metadata in bulk is fully supported via the Remove action.)
- Values aren't pre-filled. The editor shows empty inputs, so know what you want to set before you open it.
- Manual selection is limited to 500 files at a time, since Ci loads the metadata fields for each selected item.
- One Space at a time. Bulk edit works within a single Workspace or Catalog — you can't select items across multiple Spaces.
- Not available from search results. Bulk editing applies to items selected within a Workspace or Catalog view, not from global search.
- No undo after save. Once changes are written, restoring previous values means editing the items again, so double-check before you save.
For any additional questions, please reach out to the Ci Customer Success Team by submitting a request here in the Help Center.