LabArchives Inventory allows users with the Lab Manager role to edit multiple items at once by using the Bulk Update tool. This option allows for users to update several facets of several items, all at once.
The Bulk Update tool can be found in the Lab Management menu, which appears as the gear icon in your menu bar.
How to Bulk Update your Inventory Items
When logged in, click on the gear icon in the menu bar, then select the Bulk Update option in the left-hand side menu.
After reading the preliminary information on this screen, mark the checkbox that reads “I understand that I will be updating the inventory. I will notify other members of my inventory while this is in process”. Click on the “Download Template” button to access the .XLSX file used to update your items and open it once it’s finished downloading.
Upon opening this file, you’ll see several sheets that represent the different Inventory Types in your Inventory account, as well as an ‘Instructions’ sheet used as a landing page. Locate the Inventory type of the items you wish to change, then modify the cells of the sheet as desired.
Once your update is complete, save the Excel file with an updated name of your inventory. To apply these changes to your Inventory account, either drag and drop the Excel file to the designated drop area or click on the drop area and use your native file browser to locate the Excel file.
Once selected, check the ‘Update items, but do not change item quantity’ to modify items without adjusting the active quantity, or select Start Import to begin the bulk update.
You will then see a dialog box that reads “Your updates are being applied and you will be notified when the process is complete.”
Within a few minutes, you will receive an email with the confirmation that your Bulk Update was applied successfully.
To verify if an item was included in a previous bulk update, you can check the History tab on that item’s page. The modification should appear in the History tab as:
MM/DD/YYYY HH:MM TimezoneFirst/Last Name Item updated from bulk update file
When Bulk Update fails to modify a certain item
At times, you may see a notification stating that an item(s) could not be updated. This will happen if an item included in the bulk update was already modified online before the bulk update was applied. In this case, you will need to complete the bulk update process once more, re-applying the change to the affected item.
To view a full list of items that failed to update, access the Bulk Update screen and click on the button that reads “Download Failed Update Report”.
To avoid this, notify other members of your lab when you plan on using the Bulk Update tool.
Limitations of the Bulk Update tool:
While the Bulk Update tool is an effective option for modifying certain aspects of Inventory items at a large scale, there are certain fields and modifications that cannot be performed. Specifically, the Bulk Update tool cannot be used to:
- Create new items
If a user attempts to add a new item that doesn’t already exist in their Inventory account, an error message will appear upon upload. Instead, users are advised to use the Bulk Import tool to add new items in bulk, or the Add New Item in-app option to add a single new item.
- Create new fields
If a user attempts to add a new custom field to an Inventory type, an error message will appear upon upload. New fields must be added under Inventory Types, located in the Lab Management menu.
- Create new Inventory Types
If a user attempts to add a new Inventory Type by adding a separate sheet in the Excel file, an error message will appear upon upload. New Inventory Types must be added under Inventory Types, located in the Lab Management menu.
- Create new Storage Locations
If a user attempts to add a new storage location to an item, an error message will appear upon upload. New storage locations must be added under Storage Locations, located in the Lab Management menu.
- Edit Item URL’s
If a user attempts to modify the Item URL field, an error message will appear upon upload. Item URL’s cannot be modified at this time.
- Add Attachments
If a user attempts to add an attachment, or any non-text input to the cells of the Bulk Import template, an error message will appear upon upload. Attachments can only be added individually and manually at this time.
- Change Inventory Types for an Item
If a user attempts to move an existing item from one Inventory Type sheet to another, an error message will appear upon upload. Instead, users must manually modify the Inventory type field within the Inventory platform.