How to use Bulk Actions to edit Shopify store data

Although Mixtable’s Excel-like spreadsheet interface is a very fast and convenient way to bulk update your Shopify store’s data we can make the process even faster. Mixtable has a number of Bulk Action features that help you with specific bulk edit actions that Shopify store owners frequently have to perform. These Bulk Actions features make bulk changes to the spreadsheet data, so you don’t have to make changes by hand to each cell, and you can then sync the changes to Shopify by clicking on the Sync to Shopify button, as usual.

The Bulk Action features available in Mixtable are: find and replace, bulk number updater, bulk tag addition, and bulk tag removal.

Looking to use the Bulk Action features on a subset of your data? For example, on select products only? Just use the Filter feature to do this. The Bulk Action features will only modify cells/rows that are currently visible in the spreadsheet. So if you have applied a filter to your data, only the data that is visible will be considered.

Find and replace

The Find and Replace feature allows you to find and replace specific text in bulk within a specific column. While you can find and replace text in any column in any worksheet, this feature is particularly useful when you are looking to bulk find and replace a word/phrase in your product descriptions, SEO title, SEO description, and option values. Find and Replace is also a super-fast way to rename a tag.

You activate Find and Replace by clicking on its button in the toolbar. In the dialog that opens you’ll see a few inputs:

• Column Selector - this is how you choose which column in the currently active worksheet the Find and Replace will work on
• Find this - this is where you enter the word(s) that you are looking to replace
• Replace with this - this is where you enter the word(s) you want to replace with
• Case-sensitive match - whether you want to match words in a case sensitive manner. For example, whether a search value of “Organic Apple” should be strict about the capitalization of O and A, or whether it should also match “organic apple” (lowercase)
• Match whole words only - whether you want to only replace whole words that match your “Find this” value, or whether you also want to match parts of words. For example, whether replacing “butter” should only replace the specific word “butter”, or whether it should also replace the “butter” in “butterscotch”
• Preview first 10 rows - if enabled this will preview the Find and Replace action on the first 10 visible rows in the active worksheet. This way you can preview what the output will be before you make it real

Bulk number update

There are cases where you need to make the same bulk change to a series of numbers. For example, you need to decrease price by 10% for Black Friday/Cyber Monday. Or you need to add $1.50 to the price of every product due to a corresponding increase in wholesale prices. This is where the Bulk Number updater feature comes in very handy. Note - the Bulk Number updater performs mathematical changes, and so will only update cells that have a number in them. If a column has a mix of numbers and text values, only the cells with number values will be updated.

You activate the Bulk Number updater by clicking on its button in the toolbar. In the dialog that opens you’ll see a few inputs:

• Column Selector - this is how you choose which column in the currently active worksheet the Bulk Number updater will work on

• Select operation - this is where you select what type of mathematical operation will be performed. The options are:

  • Add - Adds the value you’ve given to every number
  • Subtract - Subtracts the value you’ve given from every number
  • Increase by % - Takes each number and increases it by the specified percent
  • Decrease by % - Takes each number and decreases it by the specified percent
  • Multiply - Multiplies each number by the specified value
  • Divide - Divides each number by the specified value

• Value - The actual value you want to use in the mathematical update

• Preview first 10 rows - if enabled this will preview the numerical operation on the first 10 visible rows in the active worksheet. This way you can preview what the output will be before you make it real

Add tags in bulk

Bulk editing tags is fast and convenient by directly modifying cells that display a product, order, or customer’s tags. But if you need to simply add a tag, the fastest way is with the Bulk Add Tags feature. This feature is only available for worksheets that sync product, order, and customer information (as only this data in Shopify has tags). You’ll also need to have the Tags field mapped to a column.

You activate the Bulk Add Tags feature by clicking on its button in the toolbar. In the dialog that opens you’ll see a few inputs:

• Tags operation - this will be set to “Add Tag” by default, but you can change it to “Remove Tag” if you’ve changed your mind
• Tag values - here you enter one or more tags that you want to add. After entering each tag’s value press Enter
• Preview first 10 rows - if enabled this will preview the tag addition on the first 10 visible rows in the active worksheet. This way you can preview what the output will be before you make it real.

Remove tags in bulk

If you need to simply remove a tag, the fastest way is with the Bulk Remove Tags feature. This feature is only available for worksheets that sync product, order, and customer information (as only this data in Shopify has tags). You’ll also need to have the Tags field mapped to a column.

You activate the Bulk Remove Tags feature by clicking on its button in the toolbar. In the dialog that opens you’ll see a few inputs:

• Tags operation - this will be set to “Remove Tag” by default, but you can change it to “Add Tag” if you’ve changed your mind
• Tag values - here you enter one or more tags that you want to remove. After entering each tag’s value press Enter
• Preview first 10 rows - if enabled this will preview the tag removal on the first 10 visible rows in the active worksheet. This way you can preview what the output will be before you make it real.

Add or remove different product tags with Action columns

Use Action columns when different Shopify products need different tag changes. Each row tells Mixtable which tags to add or remove from the product on that row.

Action columns are available on Products (no variants) and Products (with variants) worksheets. On a variant worksheet, the action changes the tags on the parent product because Shopify tags belong to products, not individual variants.

1. Select an empty column, meaning a column without a green header
2. Click the button in the column header
3. Select Action Columns
4. Choose Add Tags or Remove Tags, then click Save Column
5. Enter the tag or tags for each product row. Separate multiple tags with commas
6. Copy, paste, fill down, or use formulas to prepare the rows you want to update
7. Click Preview changes and confirm the expected product-tag actions
8. Click Sync to Shopify to apply them

Leave an Action column cell blank when that row should not perform the action. For example, an Add Tags cell containing summer, sale adds those two tags without replacing the product's other tags.

If an automated Shopify collection uses tags in its conditions, changing a product tag can also change whether that product belongs to the collection.

Learn more about Action columns.

Add or remove products with Action columns

Action columns are the safer choice when you want to add or remove specific manual collection memberships without replacing a product's complete collection list.

The Collections template already includes these columns. To add one to another Products (no variants) or Products (with variants) worksheet:

1. Select an empty column with a non-green header
2. Click the green button in the column header
3. Select Action Column
4. Choose Add to Collections or Remove from Collections
5. Click Save Column

To use the new column:

1. Click the + button in an action cell
2. Check the manual collections to add or remove for that product
3. Click Update cell with selected collections
4. Repeat for other products, or copy the completed action cell to rows that need the same change
5. Click Preview changes and review the pending collection actions
6. Click Sync to Shopify when the preview is correct

On a Products (with variants) worksheet, the action applies to the parent product for that variant row. A Products (no variants) worksheet is usually easier for collection work because each product appears once.

Learn more about Action columns.

You're ready!

Mixtable is an online spreadsheet designed to sync data with Shopify. It looks, feels, and behaves like Excel (including formulas), but runs in your browser. With Mixtable you can:

• Bulk add products to collections, edit metafields, add or remove tags;
• Change product prices, including international prices, and review price history;
• Manage customers with a spreadsheet CRM for Shopify;
• Use Excel features like sort ascending or descending, find-replace, filter, and more.

Best of all, you can sync changes back to Shopify with a single click. Find out more about the Mixtable suite of products here.