Using Batch Actions in Shelf

How to Use Batch Actions

Step 1: Navigate to Assets Page

Access the Assets page in your Shelf workspace.

Step 2: Select Assets

• Use checkboxes adjacent to each asset for individual selection
• Click "Select all XX entries" to choose all assets on the current page

Step 3: Access Actions Menu

Click the "Actions" dropdown menu located in the top right corner after making your selection.

Step 4: Choose Batch Actions

Available operations, in the order they appear in the menu:

• Download QR Codes: Get the QR labels for every selected asset in one file
• Create audit: Start a new audit covering the selected assets
• Add to existing audit: Fold the selected assets into an audit that is already running
• Release custody: Remove the current custodian from selected assets
• Assign custody: Assign a new custodian to selected assets (self-service users see Take custody)
• Assign tags: Add tags to assets in bulk
• Remove tags: Remove tags from assets in bulk
• Update location: Change the location of selected assets
• Update category: Modify the category of selected assets
• Update asset model: Group the selected assets into one Asset Model
• Remove from asset model: Take the selected assets out of whatever model they belong to
• Add to kit: Put the selected assets into a kit
• Remove from kit: Take the selected assets out of their kit
• Mark as available: Make items bookable/reservable in bulk
• Mark as unavailable: Make items unbookable/unreservable in bulk
• Delete: Remove selected assets from inventory

Some entries grey out when the selection does not suit them, with a short explanation on hover. Release custody needs every selected asset to be in custody, Assign custody needs them all to be available, and Add to kit and Delete are blocked while anything in the selection is checked out. The audit entries only appear for roles that can create or update audits.

Step 5: Complete Action

Follow the prompts to finalize your chosen operation. Once the action succeeds, Shelf clears your selection automatically, so you can move straight on to the next batch without unselecting everything first. (Read-only operations like exporting data or downloading QR codes keep your selection, since they don't change anything.)

Grouping a Fleet into an Asset Model

Update asset model is how you put a fleet you already own under one Asset Model, without opening each asset's edit form or re-importing a CSV.

1. Filter or search the index down to the units you want to group, then select them.
2. Open Actions and choose Update asset model.
3. Pick the model in the picker, or use Create new asset model to make one on the spot.
4. Click Confirm.

A few things are worth knowing before you confirm:

• Only the model link changes. Category, value, and custody are left exactly as they are. A model's default category and valuation are create-time conveniences, so they are not applied retroactively to assets you group this way.
• The picture is the exception, and it is not stored on the asset. If the model has a cover image, every grouped unit that has no photo of its own starts showing it immediately, and ungrouping takes it away again. Units with their own photo keep it. See Asset Models.
• Quantity-tracked assets are skipped, not rejected. Asset models group individually tracked units only. A mixed selection still works: the individually tracked assets are grouped and the dialog tells you up front how many will be skipped. The result message repeats the count afterwards.
• Assets already in another model are moved. The confirmation says how many changed model, which is your signal that a different model's book-by-model pool just got smaller.

Remove from asset model is the reverse and has its own menu item. It ungroups every selected asset and leaves everything else about them untouched.

If nothing changes, Shelf says so rather than reporting a silent success: you will see No assets updated with the reason, whether that is your filters no longer matching anything, the assets already being in that model, or none of them having been in a model to begin with.

Tips for Effective Use

• Combine batch actions with filters and sorting to locate and update specific asset groups efficiently
• Verify your selection before performing irreversible actions like deletion
• Use batch updates for routine tasks such as reassigning equipment after team changes or updating locations following office relocations

By mastering batch actions, you maintain accurate, up-to-date asset inventory with minimal effort.

When to Use CSV Bulk Update Instead

Batch actions are great for updating a single field (location, category, tags) across many assets quickly. If you need to update multiple fields at once across a large set of assets — for example, updating name, category, location, and several custom fields in one pass — the Bulk Updating Assets via CSV workflow is more efficient. It lets you edit a spreadsheet and preview all changes before applying.