At some point, you may need to change multiple work items at the same time. You can do this by performing a bulk operation.

There are restrictions placed on some of the bulk operations. For example, if you select multiple work items with different workflows, you can only transition them in groups with the same workflow, and one group at a time. The restrictions are explained further in the relevant sections.

Before you begin

To perform a bulk operation, you'll need the global Make bulk changes permission and the relevant permission for each project. For example, you would need to have the Move work item project permission and Make bulk changes global permissions to move a group of work items at the same time. 

Search for and select the list of work items

For each of the below procedures, you'll need to perform a search with the required filters to produce a list of work items.

1. Choose Search > View all work items.
2. Adjust the search criteria to show the appropriate list of work items.
3. Select more (•••) and choose Bulk Change all <n> work items.
4. Select the work items you'd like to perform the bulk operation on, and select Next.

Once you've done this, you can move on to transition, delete, move, edit, or watch/unwatch work items.

Transition multiple work items

This bulk change allows you to transition multiple work items through a workflow at the same time. You can only perform one transition bulk operation at a time. You will also need to provide any values required to complete the transition. For example, to close multiple work items, you will need to provide a value for the Resolution field, such as Done, Fixed, or Won't Fix.

1. Select Transition work items and select Next.
2. Select the available workflow action. The actions available are dependent on the work items (and their associated workflows) that you have selected. Select Next.
3. Select a value for any required fields for this transition, and if available, decide whether you'd like to send email notifications. Select Next.
4. Review your bulk operation, and select Confirm when you are happy with the operation.

Edit multiple work items

This bulk operation allows you to edit multiple work items at the same time. The available bulk edit operations depend on the work items selected and the nature of the fields you want to change.

1. Select Edit work items and select Next.

2. Choose what information to edit.

3. Select a value for any required fields and, if available, decide whether you'd like to send email notifications before selecting Next.
4. Review your bulk edits and select Confirm.

Delete multiple work items

This bulk change allows you to delete multiple work items at the same time.

1. Select Delete work items and select Next.
2. If available, decide whether you'd like to send email notifications and select Next.
3. Review your bulk operation, and select Confirm when you are happy with the operation.

Bulk move work items

You can move multiple work items to another project at once using a bulk operation. You could do this to:

• try a different style of project (either team-managed or company-managed).

• organize your projects better and maintain a cleaner backlog.

• cater to your team’s requirements and much more.

To move multiple work items to another project:

1. From the navigation, select Search.

2. Select Advanced search for work items.

3. Search for the work items you want to move. Learn more about searching for work items.

4. Select More (…) > Bulk Change all <n> work items.

5. Select the work items you want to move and select Next.

6. Choose the Move work items bulk operation and select Next.

7. Select your destination project and work types. Learn more about selecting the destination project and work type while bulk moving work items.

8. If necessary, map any statuses and update fields to match the destination project. Learn more about mapping statuses and updating fields.

9. Review your changes and select Confirm.

Select destination project and work types while bulk moving work items

You can bulk-move work items to other projects on your Jira site. This can help you keep your project workspaces clean and all their work items relevant to the team who’s working on them. Or, you can bulk move work items between work item types in the same project, giving them the correct workflow and fields that best tracks the work needed.

The work items in your destination project might have different settings than your source project, even if they are named the same. If work types use different workflows, you may lose data when bulk moving work items. So, you need to map the status and fields while selecting the destination project and work types. Your target project and work type will determine the additional steps that will be needed to migrate status and fields.

Map statuses while bulk moving work items

The workflow in your destination project might use different status than the workflow in the source project. It is best to check with your source and destination project leads to know more about the project's workflows. Multiple workflows can be active simultaneously, and some statuses that are associated with a collection of work items may not be valid in the target workflow.

After selecting the destination project and work types for bulk move, you can map the statuses from your source project to the right statuses in your new workflow by selecting the status your work items should be in after the move.

Update fields while bulk moving work items

The destination project’s work types may have different field settings than the source project. You can either update the field’s value or retain the field’s current value.

After mapping the statuses, you can update the the values for any required fields. For each field listed, update the value that should appear on the work items you’re moving, or select Retain to leave the field’s value unchanged.

Information you can edit at the same time

Unavailable Operations

The fields listed in this section have no operations for bulk editing. This is because there is an alternative method or it is not logical to perform bulk edit on them.

The following system fields are unavailable for bulk editing:

• Attachments
• Summary
• Description
• Environment
• Project — Please use 'Bulk Move' to move work items between projects
• Resolution — Please use 'Bulk Workflow Transitions' to modify the resolution of work items
• Time Tracking fields — Original Estimate, Remaining Estimate, Time Spent

The following custom field types aren't available for bulk editing:

• Import Id
• Read-only text

Watch or stop watching multiple work items

These bulk changes allow you to start watching or stop watching multiple work items at the same time.

To start watching multiple work items:

1. Select Watch work items and select Next.
2. Review your bulk changes and select Confirm.

To stop watching multiple work items: 

1. Select Stop Watching work items and select Next.
2. Review your bulk changes and select Confirm.