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Brian Sheehan on September 06, 2012

Brian Sheehan

As a Technical Writer and Blogger, Brian enjoys the challenge of bringing concepts to life via the written word. He is a big fan of project management, technology, and cheeseburgers.

September 06, 2012 · 2 min read

If you're a heavy Planio user then no doubt you're familiar with the Bulk Action functionality, especially when the status of 30+ issues needs to be changed! If you're not, then this article is for you.

Planio offers a powerful issue management tool in the form of Bulk Actions. With just a few clicks you can reassign a category, modify an assignee, or change the due dates of multiple issues. Check out the walk-throughs below to see it in action!

Launching the Bulk Action Feature

1. From the Issues List screen, use <CTRL> to select multiple issues or use <SHIFT> to select a range of issues.
2. Right-click in the highlighted area.
3. In the pop-up menu, select an action:

• Edit: Modify one or more properties for the selected issues.
• Status: Change the status of selected issues.
• Tracker: Modify the tracker settings for all selected issues.
• Priority: Modify the priority for selected issues.
• Assignee: Assign the selected issues to a different user.
• % Done: Set a completion percentile for all selected issues.
• Copy: Copies the selected issues, enables you to edit issue parameters, and then pastes the issues back to the Issues List as new issues (with new issue numbers).
• Delete: Delete the selected issues.

Let's walk through two examples of using the Bulk Action feature: (a) changing the status of two issues and (b) using the Edit option to change multiple parameters.

Changing the Status of Two Issues

1. Use the <CTRL> key to select two issues. In this example, we'll select the "TOC error in Chrome" and "Recompile help system" issues — note that their current status is "Just created."
2. Right-click on the highlighted area.
3. In the pop-up menu, hover over Status and then select a status option. In the graphic below we selected "Working on it."
4. The issues are immediately updated with their new status.

Changing Multiple Parameters

1. Use the <CTRL> key to select your issues. In this example, we'll select the same pair of issues as above.
2. Right-click on the highlighted area.
3. In the pop-up menu, click Edit.
4. The Edit screen appears. This interface enables you to modify multiple parameters for your issues. In addition to common parameters (e.g., Tracker, Status, Priority), you can also modify other fields such as Private, Parent task, Start & Due date, Category and Target milestone. The Edit screen also features a Notes text-box so that you can include comments as they relate to your bulk modifications.
5. In the Edit screen, change parameter settings as needed. In this example, we'll change the Priority from "Immediate" to "Normal" and the Assignee from "Kelly Hrudey" to "Luc Robitaille."
6. Click Submit.
7. The issues are updated with their new Priority and Assignee settings.

Planio's Bulk Action functionality makes handling multiple issues much easier, particularly when project milestones are reached or deadlines loom!

Do you use Bulk Editing to manage your issues? If you have ideas or tips on handling a large number of issues, please share it with us via a Comment below. Also be sure to Like/Tweet us if you enjoyed this article!

Brian, your Planio Blogger, just finished re-reading The Lord of the Rings and is eagerly awaiting the first of three Hobbit movies this December. Brian is currently learning about Kanban.