> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.timetracker.in/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Bulk actions on tasks

> Select several tasks and change priority, assignee or tags together, move them to another section, duplicate them, or delete them in one step.

Select more than one task and a bar appears at the bottom of the screen. From there you can change them all at once.

## Select tasks

On the project **Board** tab:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Hold Cmd (or Ctrl) and click a card">
    The card is marked as selected instead of opening.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Keep Cmd-clicking to add more">
    The bulk bar appears as soon as one card is selected.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Press Escape to clear">
    Or click **Clear** on the bar.
  </Step>
</Steps>

A plain click still opens the task. Only Cmd-click or Ctrl-click selects.

## The bulk bar

The bar sits at the bottom of the screen and reads "**N** tasks selected".

| Control              | What it does                                               |
| -------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Set priority…**    | Stages a new priority for the selection                    |
| **Set assignee…**    | Stages a new assignee                                      |
| **Add tag…**         | Stages one tag to add. Hidden if the workspace has no tags |
| **Move to…**         | Moves the selection into a section, immediately            |
| **Duplicate**        | Copies each selected task and its subtasks                 |
| **Delete**           | Opens the delete confirmation                              |
| **Apply to N tasks** | Writes the staged priority, assignee and tag               |
| **Clear**            | Deselects everything                                       |

### Staged versus immediate

Priority, assignee and tag are **staged**. You pick them, then click **Apply to N tasks**. Nothing is written until you do.

**Move to…**, **Duplicate** and **Delete** act straight away – Move as soon as you pick a section, Duplicate on click, Delete after the confirmation.

**Apply** stays disabled until at least one of the three staged fields is set.

## Set priority, assignee or tag

<Steps>
  <Step title="Select the tasks">
    Cmd-click each card.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose the values">
    You can set any combination of priority, assignee and one tag in the same pass.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click Apply to N tasks">
    A toast confirms "Updated N tasks." The selection clears and the dropdowns reset.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  **Add tag** only ever adds. A task that already carries the tag is left alone, and no tag is ever removed by a bulk edit. To remove a tag, open the task and use the chip's **X**.
</Note>

## Move tasks to another section

Pick a section from **Move to…**. Every selected task moves there and is appended after whatever is already in that section, so nothing you had ordered is disturbed.

Moving into a section whose category is **Done** completes each task. If any of them repeat, their next occurrences are created – once each, not once per click. See [/tasks/recurring-tasks](/tasks/recurring-tasks).

A move is refused if any selected task belongs to a different project from the target section. The whole move is rolled back together – you never get a half-applied batch.

## Duplicate tasks

**Duplicate** copies each selected task into the same section. Each copy:

* Is titled `<original title> (copy)`
* Keeps the priority, assignee, collaborators, dates, tags, client visibility, billable flag and estimates
* Copies the original's subtasks, one level, under the new task
* Gets its own task number

Copies do **not** carry over comments, attachments, tracked time or dependencies.

## Delete tasks

<Steps>
  <Step title="Click Delete">
    A confirmation modal opens, naming how many tasks will go.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Type the number if asked">
    From **10 tasks upward**, the modal asks you to type the count before the confirm button turns on. Smaller selections are a plain confirm.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Confirm">
    A toast confirms "Deleted N tasks."
  </Step>
</Steps>

Each selected task **and its subtasks** move to Trash together. Restoring the parent later brings back exactly the subtasks that went with it. See [/tasks/delete-and-restore-a-task](/tasks/delete-and-restore-a-task).

## Limits

| Limit                                   | Value     |
| --------------------------------------- | --------- |
| Smallest selection                      | 1 task    |
| Largest selection in one action         | 500 tasks |
| Typed-confirmation threshold for delete | 10 tasks  |

A selection over 500 is refused with a message naming the limit. Split it into smaller passes.

Every bulk action is written to the audit trail as a single entry with its count, so a bulk change is traceable afterwards. See [/settings/overview](/settings/overview).

## Example

Priya Raman is closing out the discovery phase on Bluebird Coffee – **Website Redesign**.

She opens the **Board** tab and Cmd-clicks the six cards still sitting in **Discovery**. The bar reads "6 tasks selected".

She picks **Sarah Lin** under Set assignee and **Design** under Add tag, then clicks **Apply to 6 tasks**. A toast confirms "Updated 6 tasks."

She then picks **Done** from **Move to…** and the six cards jump columns. One of them was a weekly retainer check-in that repeats, so its next occurrence appears in **To do** with next week's date.

## Permissions

Bulk actions use the same capabilities as their single-task versions, plus one of their own.

| Bulk action                   | Capability      |
| ----------------------------- | --------------- |
| Set priority, assignee or tag | `task.bulkEdit` |
| Move to a section             | `task.bulkEdit` |
| Duplicate                     | `task.create`   |
| Delete                        | `task.delete`   |

| Role            | Bulk edit and move | Duplicate | Bulk delete |
| --------------- | ------------------ | --------- | ----------- |
| Owner           | Yes                | Yes       | Yes         |
| Admin           | Yes                | Yes       | Yes         |
| Project Manager | Yes                | Yes       | Yes         |
| Finance         | No                 | No        | No          |
| Member          | No                 | Yes       | No          |
| Contractor      | No                 | Yes       | No          |
| Client          | No                 | No        | No          |

<Warning>
  `task.bulkEdit` is a separate capability from `task.edit`. A Member can edit tasks one at a time but cannot change many at once. The reason is blast radius – one mis-click on a bulk bar changes hundreds of rows.
</Warning>

Every id in the selection is re-checked against your workspace before anything is written. A task that is not yours aborts the whole batch.

## What happens next

* Assignees who gained work are notified in the usual way.
* Moves into a Done section fire completion, including any recurrence.
* Deleted tasks appear in Trash and stop counting toward the project's task count.
* The board redraws as the changes land, so column counts stay correct.

## Common questions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Can I select tasks from the List tab?">
    Selection lives on the **Board** tab. Open the board, Cmd-click the cards, and use the bar.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Is there a select-all?">
    Cmd-click each card you want. Filter the board first to narrow it, then select what is left.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I bulk-change dates or estimates?">
    Not from the bulk bar. It covers priority, assignee, one tag, section, duplicate and delete. Dates and estimates are per task.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I select tasks across two projects?">
    Selection happens on one project's board. A bulk delete does handle tasks from several projects correctly if a selection ever spans them, decrementing each project's own count.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does bulk delete destroy anything?">
    No. It moves each task and its subtasks to Trash, which is restorable. The permanent step is separate.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Troubleshooting

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Couldn't apply that change. You may lack permission.">
    You do not hold `task.bulkEdit`. Ask an Owner, Admin or Project Manager.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="The move failed and nothing changed">
    One of the selected tasks belongs to a different project from the section you picked. The message names the offending task. Batches are all-or-nothing.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="A message about the selection being too large">
    The limit for one action is 500 tasks. Split the work into smaller passes.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="The confirm button on the delete modal is disabled">
    You are deleting 10 or more tasks, so you have to type the count first. The number is shown in the modal.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Cmd-click opens the task instead of selecting it">
    Make sure you are on the **Board** tab. Selection is a board behaviour.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Related guides

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Task views" icon="layout" href="/tasks/task-views">
    Where selection lives.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Filters and sorting" icon="filter" href="/tasks/filters-and-sorting">
    Narrow the board before you select.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Delete and restore a task" icon="trash" href="/tasks/delete-and-restore-a-task">
    What bulk delete actually does.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Task tags" icon="tag" href="/tasks/task-tags">
    Why Add tag only ever adds.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Task permissions" icon="lock" href="/tasks/task-permissions">
    Why bulk edit is its own capability.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>