What it does

This Add-In changes one field on many Records at once. The user searches, checks the Records to change (or leaves them all unchecked to change every Record found), clicks the Add-In, picks the new value once, and the Add-In writes it to each Record. Use it to close out a batch of Records, move work to a new owner, or correct a value that was entered wrong on many Records.


Settings

  1. Create a new Add-In and name it something like Change Status.
  2. Under General Settings, set Type to Actions Only.
  3. Under Where/When to Show, turn on the Search location. Use Record Types to limit it to the Record Types whose field it changes, and When to Show to limit it to the users who are allowed to make bulk changes.
  4. Under Data Entry Options, click Add Prompt Value and fill in the row:
    • Field Name: a name for the value the user will enter, such as NewStatus. The user sees this name as the label in the prompt, so make it readable. Use a name that no field on the Record Type uses.
    • New Value: the value to show when the prompt opens. Leave it blank to start empty.
    • The option list: to give the user a dropdown instead of a text box, enter one choice per line, such as Open, On Hold, and Closed.
  5. Fill in Title Text and Description Text so the prompt explains what will happen, for example "Change Status" and "The Status you choose is written to every checked Record, or to every Record found if none are checked."
  6. Under Confirmation Prompt, add a warning such as "This changes the Status on every Record you selected." When an Add-In asks for values, the search screen does not ask its own "are you sure" question, so this is the user's last chance to stop.


Actions

Add a Record Field Update action under Record Actions.

  • Field Name: the field to change, such as Status.
  • Field Value: [FORMDATA(NewStatus)], using the name you gave the prompt value. The [FORMDATA] variable reads the value the user entered in the prompt.
  • Leave Line Number blank, so the Record field is changed rather than a line item.
  • On the Options tab, leave Update or Add on so the existing value is replaced, and leave Commit Immediately, Temp Storage, and Only When Equals off or blank.


A blank entry in the prompt would clear the field on every Record. Use a dropdown so the user must pick a value, or add a rule to the action so it runs only when [FORMDATA(NewStatus)] is not blank.


Using a variable instead of a prompt

The new value does not have to come from the user. Field Value can hold any variable, and it is filled in separately for each Record, so the same Add-In can set a field from each Record's own data.


This is a quick way to fix Records whose data came in under the wrong field name. Say an import filled in Company Name when the Record Type's field is CompanyName. Leave out the prompt value, and set up the Record Field Update action like this:

  • Field Name: CompanyName, the correct field.
  • Field Value: [Company Name], the field the data arrived in.


Run it on the affected Records and each one gets its own value copied into CompanyName. The value is copied rather than moved, so Company Name still holds it as well. That is usually fine, because a field that is not part of the Record Type does not show on the Record screen.


Using it

Search for the Records to change. Check the ones to update, or check none to update every Record the search found. Click Change Status, confirm, pick the new value, and click Save. A progress bar shows each Record as it is updated, and Cancel stops the run partway. Keep the browser tab open until it finishes. Each row in the results is refreshed as its Record is updated. Run the search again to see which Records now match it.


Notes

  • The user is asked for the value once, and the same value is written to every Record.
  • If one Record fails, the run stops there. Records already updated keep the new value; fix the problem and run the Add-In again on the rest.
  • To change several fields in one pass, add a prompt value for each and use a Record Multi-Value Update action with one row per field.
  • The prompt value is also available to Pre-Process Actions and Post-Process Actions, for example to add a note or send one summary email after all the Records are done.
  • When the prompt's Field Name matches a field on the Record Type being searched, the prompt takes on that field's dropdown list and format. Use a different name, as described above, when you want to control the list yourself.