---
url: /guides/edit-tasks-in-bulk.md
description: Select several tasks and change their status, dates, assignee or tags at once.
---

# Edit tasks in bulk

Change many tasks in one go when the same edit applies to all of them. For example:

* move ten [due dates](/guides/plan-on-timeline-and-calendar#task-dates-start-due-and-time) to
  next Monday;
* [tag](/guides/tag-tasks) a batch of tasks `@errands`;
* close everything left over from a project.

You select the tasks, and a bar at the top of the view applies each change to all of them.

## Before you start

You can select several tasks in these [views](/concepts/views):

* **List**
* **Kanban**
* **Table**
* **Timeline** ([Plan on the timeline and the calendar](/guides/plan-on-timeline-and-calendar))
* **GTD**, before a session starts ([Run a GTD session](/guides/run-a-gtd-session))

Other views have no **Select**.

::: warning Edit access needed
To change tasks you need:

* [**Edit** access](/concepts/sharing) to their lists;
* **Update** in the **Tasks** block of your permission set;
* the field you change (such as **Status** or **Dates**) in the **Task fields** block.

**Delete** also needs **Delete** in the **Tasks** block. See
[Permissions and access](/reference/permissions-and-access).
:::

## Select tasks

1. Click **Select** in the view's header (the hand icon).
   The view is in selection mode, and the header turns into the bulk bar.

   ::: warning No Select button?
   In a narrow window, **Select** is in the header's **Tools** menu. Some views have no
   **Select**: see [If it doesn't work](#if-it-doesn-t-work).
   :::

2. Click each task you want. A selected task gets an outline and a check mark.
   The bar counts them: **… selected**.

![A List view in selection mode with four tasks checked and the bulk bar reading 4 selected](/shots/guides/edit-tasks-in-bulk-1.light.webp){.light-only}
![A List view in selection mode with four tasks checked and the bulk bar reading 4 selected](/shots/guides/edit-tasks-in-bulk-1.dark.webp){.dark-only}

Other ways to start selecting:

* `Cmd`+click a task (`Ctrl`+click on Windows and Linux). See
  [Keyboard shortcuts](/reference/keyboard-shortcuts).
* Choose **Select** in a task's
  [**More actions** (**…**) menu](/guides/create-and-edit-tasks#task-menu-duplicate-move-delete),
  in List, Kanban and Timeline views.

### Select a group or everything

Once you are selecting, you can add a whole group. In List and Table, each
[group header](/guides/filter-sort-and-group-a-view) shows **Select**; in Kanban, each column
header does. It adds the whole group, including tasks not loaded yet. **Deselect** takes the group
out again.

**Select all** in the bar changes as it works:

* **Select all** selects the tasks loaded on screen.
* **Select all 240** (the view's total) appears once every loaded task is selected and the view
  holds more: click it to load and select the rest.
* **Select first 1000** appears instead past 1,000 tasks.

To clear the selection, point at the **… selected** count and click it when it reads **Deselect
all**. On a touch screen, **Deselect all** is a button next to the count.

To leave selection mode, click **Cancel** in the bar.

::: tip Leave with the keyboard
Press `Esc` to leave selection mode.
:::

## Change the selected tasks

1. In the bulk bar, click **Due date**.
   A calendar opens with shortcuts beside it.
2. Choose **Next week**.
   Every selected task is now due next Monday, and the tasks stay selected.

   ::: warning Some tasks didn't change
   A message such as "Updated 5 of 7 tasks" means the rest were not changed; they stay selected.
   See [If it doesn't work](#if-it-doesn-t-work).
   :::

Every other change works the same way: click it in the bar and pick a value. If the window is
narrow, the buttons that don't fit move into **More actions** (**…**) at the end of the bar.

::: warning Status greyed out
**Status** is greyed out when the tasks come from lists with different
[status templates](/concepts/statuses): point at
it to see "Selected tasks use different status sets". Select tasks from one template at a time.
:::

## Bulk changes and what each does

| Change | What it does | After it | More about it |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Complete** | Closes every selected task. Reads **Reopen** when all of them are already closed | Tasks leave the selection | [Statuses and status templates](/concepts/statuses) |
| **Status** | Sets one status on all of them | Tasks stay selected | [Statuses and status templates](/concepts/statuses) |
| **Start date**, **Due date** | Sets one date on all of them, from a calendar or a shortcut such as **Next week** (the coming Monday). The date is all-day, so a time on the task is dropped. **Clear date** removes it | Tasks stay selected | [Task dates](/guides/plan-on-timeline-and-calendar#task-dates-start-due-and-time) |
| **Assignee** | Gives every task the same assignee, or none with **Unassigned** | Tasks stay selected | [Assign and watch tasks](/guides/assign-and-watch-tasks) |
| **Priority** | Sets one priority on all of them | Tasks stay selected | [Task fields](/reference/task-fields) |
| **Tags** | Opens the tag picker with every tag on the selection checked: check a tag to add it to all, uncheck it to remove it from all. Adding a tag to tasks in a list that lacks it copies the tag into that list | Tasks stay selected | [Tag tasks](/guides/tag-tasks) |
| **Move** | Moves the tasks to another list, or under another task. A list on another task series gives them new Task IDs | Tasks leave the selection | [Task menu: move](/guides/create-and-edit-tasks#task-menu-duplicate-move-delete), [Task IDs and series](/reference/task-ids) |
| **Delete** | Deletes the tasks and their [subtasks](/guides/break-down-with-subtasks), after a confirmation | Tasks leave the selection | [Task menu: delete](/guides/create-and-edit-tasks#task-menu-duplicate-move-delete) |

Each change applies at once. When no tasks are left in the selection, selection mode ends; tasks
that could not be changed stay selected.

::: warning No next repeat from a bulk complete
An **After completion** repeat series creates no next task when you complete its task in bulk,
or move it to a **Done** status in bulk. Complete such tasks one at a time. See
[Repeat rules](/reference/repeat-rules#next-date-after-completion).
:::

::: danger Delete can't be undone
**Delete** removes the selected tasks and all their subtasks for good. There is no trash to bring
them back from.
:::

## Errands moved to next week: an example

1. In a [personal view](/guides/build-a-today-view)
   [filtered](/guides/filter-sort-and-group-a-view) to the tag `@errands`, click **Select**.
   The header turns into the bulk bar.
2. Click **Select all**.
   The bar shows **7 selected**.
3. Click **Due date** and choose **Next week**.
   All seven are now due next Monday, still selected.
4. Click **Priority** and choose **Low**.
   The seven tasks have low priority.
5. Click **Cancel**.
   The view leaves selection mode.

## If it doesn't work

* **There is no Select button.** One of these:
  * The window is narrow: open **Tools** in the view's header; **Select** is in that menu.
  * The view has no **Select**: only the view types listed in [Before you start](#before-you-start)
    support it. Switch to a List or Table view ([Views](/concepts/views)).
  * A [GTD session](/guides/run-a-gtd-session) is running: finish it first.
  * On a list's own page, you have no **Edit** access to the list ([Sharing](/concepts/sharing))
    or no **Update** in the **Tasks** block
    ([Permissions and access](/reference/permissions-and-access)).
* **There is no Delete.** Your permission set lets you edit tasks but not delete them. Ask a
  workspace admin for **Delete** in the **Tasks** block
  ([Permissions and access](/reference/permissions-and-access)).
* **Status is greyed out, with "Selected tasks use different status sets".** The tasks come from
  lists with different [status templates](/concepts/statuses). Select tasks from one template at
  a time.
* **You see "Updated … of … tasks".** Some tasks were not changed, and they stay selected. The
  usual causes:
  * you can't edit some of the tasks' lists ([Sharing](/concepts/sharing));
  * your permission set lacks that field in the **Task fields** block
    ([Permissions and access](/reference/permissions-and-access));
  * the assignee you picked isn't a member of some lists
    ([Assign and watch tasks](/guides/assign-and-watch-tasks)).
* **You see "Failed to update the selected tasks".** None of the tasks changed, for the same
  reasons: check your access ([Sharing](/concepts/sharing)) and your permission set
  ([Permissions and access](/reference/permissions-and-access)).
* **You see "Failed to run the bulk action".** The action stopped. Hule sends a selection in
  batches of 200 tasks, so with more than 200 selected, the batches before the error are already
  changed. For **Move**, you need **Edit** access to the list you move the tasks to
  ([Sharing](/concepts/sharing)).
* **A tag is missing from the bulk Tags picker.** Adding it would copy it into a selected list
  where you can't create tags. Ask a workspace admin for **Create** in the **Tags** block
  ([Permissions and access](/reference/permissions-and-access)), or select tasks from lists that
  already have the tag.
* **You can't create a new tag from the bulk bar.** Create it in one task first
  ([Tag tasks](/guides/tag-tasks#tag-a-task-creating-the-tag-as-you-go)), then add it to the rest
  in bulk.
* **A repeating task didn't come back after a bulk complete.** Bulk completion skips **After
  completion** repeats. Reopen that task, then complete it on its own
  ([Repeat rules](/reference/repeat-rules#next-date-after-completion)).

## Related

* [Create and edit tasks](/guides/create-and-edit-tasks): change one task at a time.
* [Keyboard shortcuts](/reference/keyboard-shortcuts): `Cmd`+click and the other click shortcuts.
* [Filter, sort and group a view](/guides/filter-sort-and-group-a-view): narrow the view before
  you select.
* [Statuses and status templates](/concepts/statuses): why tasks from different lists can have
  different statuses.
* [Permissions and access](/reference/permissions-and-access): what you need to edit and delete
  tasks.
* [Repeat rules](/reference/repeat-rules): how repeat series create the next task.
* [Run iterative sprints by duplicating](/recipes/iterative-sprints): bulk moves at the end of a
  sprint.