Mass-updating data

You can update a data field for a large number of members at once.  For example, you could set a Region field value to South for all members in specific states (Texas, Louisiana, etc.).  This can help you manage data in bulk, rather than having to edit lots of individual records when making mass updates.

There are two ways to begin a mass update, depending on whether the members to be updated are all part of a Smart Group or not:

  1. Use the update member data option in the pulldown at the top of a Smart Group members page (see Viewing Smart Group members).  This will update data for every member in the group.

  2. Use the update member data option from the Member Search page (see Using advanced member search results).  This will update data for either selected members of the result set or all members in the result set, depending on whether selected or all is chosen.  In this manner, you can pick and choose members to update, or you can choose to update all members in a group.  (In the following screenshot, all is chosen, meaning that data will be updated for every member in this result set.)

In either case, when you click go, you'll get a screen like the following.  Notice that the members to be updated can be reviewed in the scrollable list at the top.

Choose the type of field you want to modify from the field category pulldown.  By default, Profile Field: Person is chosen, but you can choose any of the following types of fields:

Choose the field you wish to modify from the next pulldown.  The fields you can select depend on the field type you chose.  For example, to choose State, you first have to choose Address Field as the field type.

Setting the value that is used to update

Once you choose a field, you'll get a New Value text area or pulldown in which you can type in the value you want to set for this field for each member in the group.  If the original field was a radio button or pulldown, then you'll see a pulldown of all the available values; if it was a text field of some kind, you'll see the text area pictured below.

For example, if you chose the Region field and want to update it to South for every member in the smart group, you can simply type South into the text area.

You can also include merge fields in this text box by using the insert variable link (only available when modifying a text field, not a pulldown or radio button field).  This can be useful when you want to base the new value for these members on some other values.

For example, if you want to make a new Full Name field that's composed of the first and last names (including a space), you could insert First Name, then type a space, then insert Last Name.  When you update, each member will have the field in question updated with First+Last name.

Note: Whatever you type/choose for the field value will be used to update every member in your group with this value, so choose carefully!

After you put in the value, click .  You'll get a warning that you're about to modify data and that the change will be irreversible.  If you're okay with that, click OK to confirm your data modification.

Example: You have a pulldown field called Region, which is a custom pulldown field.  You wish to set this field to South for any member that is in Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, or Oklahoma.  You have already created a Smart Group called Southern Members that returns all the individual members in any of these states.  Here's what you would do:

  1. Bring up the Mass Update page for the Southern Members Smart Group (by viewing the group and choosing the update member data option from the pulldown in the upper right).

  2. Choose Profile Field: Person from the first pulldown.

  3. From the next pulldown, you would pick your custom Region field.

  4. In the text box that appears, type South.

  5. Click and choose OK when prompted to set the Region field for all these members to South.