Bulk Metadata Edit

Bulk Metadata Edit applies the same changes to many assets in one go, for example "set Campaign to Spring 2026", "replace 'Nordik' with 'Nordic' in titles", or "add the keyword outdoor". You build a queue of operations, check it, and Freedam applies it in the background.

To type different values for each asset, use the spreadsheet view instead. See Spreadsheet View.

Open it

In the Gallery, select the assets to change. Use Select all matching to include every result of the current search, up to 10,000 assets.
In the selection bar, click Edit Metadata, then Bulk Operations. On narrow screens, the same items are under More.

You need permission to edit metadata. If you cannot edit one of the selected assets, Freedam returns to the Gallery with "You do not have permission to edit metadata for some of the selected assets." Remove those assets from the selection and try again.

Check what you selected

Selected Assets Analysis at the top shows how many assets you selected, which asset classes they belong to, and the fields you can edit.

Available Fields for Bulk Edit lists every field from any of the selected asset classes, with its type. Required marks required fields, Multi marks fields that accept several values.
The core fields Title, Description, Keywords, Creator, Copyright and OCR Text are always available.
System fields such as dimensions and file details, and fields your administrator marked read-only, are not listed.

When you select assets from several asset classes, a field that exists in only one class can't be applied to assets of the other classes: those assets are counted as failed.

Add operations

Under Add Operation, choose a field in Select Field.
Choose what to do in Operation. The list depends on the field's type.
Click Configure, fill in the operation, and check the Operation Preview.
Click Add Operation. It joins the Operations Queue.

Repeat for every change you want. You can queue up to 50 operations.

Operation	Field types	What you enter
Change value to...	Text, numbers, yes/no, dates, vocabularies, lists	The new value.
Clear field	All of the above, and keywords	Nothing. The field is emptied.
Find and replace	Text	Search for and Replace with. Tick Case sensitive to match capitals exactly.
Append text	Text	Text added at the end.
Prepend text	Text	Text added at the start.
Add days / Add months	Dates	A number. Use a negative number to go back in time.
Replace option	Vocabularies and lists	Find this option and Replace with.
Add keywords / Remove keywords	Keywords	Keywords, separated by Enter or a comma. Removal ignores capitals.

Review the queue

Operations run in the order shown, top to bottom. Drag a row by its handle to reorder it. Hover a row to move it up or down, edit it, or remove it. Clear All empties the queue.

The order matters when several operations touch the same field. For example, Find and replace followed by Append text gives a different result from the reverse.

Apply the changes

Click Apply Changes.
Read Confirm Bulk Operation: the number of assets and operations, and the list of operations.
Click Yes, Apply Changes.

Freedam takes you back to the Gallery and runs the changes in the background. Follow progress under Background tasks in the header, where the task is called Metadata Edit. See Task Center.

Each asset is updated on its own. If an operation fails on one asset, none of the operations are applied to that asset, and it is counted as failed. Other assets are not affected.
Cancel operation in the Task Center stops the remaining assets. Assets already updated keep their changes.
Changes cannot be undone as a batch. To revert, run the opposite operations, or restore values by hand.

Search results, automation rules and automatic workflow transitions update as they would after a manual edit.

Good to know

Empty fields are filled. Setting a field that an asset has no value for yet creates the value, for core fields such as Creator, Copyright and OCR Text as well as custom fields.
Multilingual fields: operations edit the value in the default language and keep the other translations. Clear field removes every language. To edit one specific language, use the spreadsheet view or the asset page.
Replace option swaps one list option or vocabulary term for another wherever it is selected, including in fields that hold several terms.
Failed assets: when a change can't be applied to an asset, for example because the field doesn't exist in its asset class or the value doesn't fit the field, the asset is counted as failed with the reason, and none of the operations are applied to it.
Required fields, field rules and workflow locks are not checked during a bulk edit, so a bulk edit can leave a required field empty.

Limits

Limit	Value
Assets per bulk edit	10,000
Operations per bulk edit	50
Bulk operations running at the same time, per person	3

Troubleshooting

"The selected assets have no common metadata fields that can be edited in bulk."

None of the selected assets has an editable field, usually because their asset classes have no form layout. Ask an administrator to check the asset classes.

"You have too many active bulk operations. Please wait for them to complete."

You already have 3 bulk operations running. Wait for one to finish in Background tasks, or cancel one.

"Leave with unsaved operations?"

You have queued operations that were not applied. Click Stay on Page and then Apply Changes, or Leave Anyway to discard them.

Gallery: selecting assets and the spreadsheet view.
Task Center: following background operations.
Metadata Definitions: for administrators, which fields exist and how they behave.