Bulk-updating up to 30 articles at a time

Ref: C11 · Track: Knowledge Base Admin · Time to complete: ~2 min

Why this matters

Changing a single field on 25 articles one-at-a-time is a great way to lose an afternoon. Zendesk's bulk update tools take it to a few clicks — but come with a hard cap you need to know about.

The 30-article cap

You can select up to 30 articles at a time from the book view and apply a bulk action. If you select more, Zendesk greys the action out or only applies to the first 30.

This is different from the Support tickets cap (100). Don't assume they match.

What you can bulk-update

From the book view, tick the checkboxes next to articles, then use the bulk action bar:

• Move to section / category — reorganise structure.
• Change author / editor — reassign ownership (e.g. when someone leaves).
• Change permissions / user segment — e.g. switch a set of articles from public to partner-only (see C13).
• Apply labels — tag a batch for reporting or search.
• Change status — publish / unpublish / archive a batch.
• Set verification rule scope — add articles to or remove from a verification rule by label.
• Delete — admin only; destructive.

The typical workflows

Re-organising a section

1. Filter book view to the source section.
2. Tick up to 30 articles.
3. Bulk action → Move to section → choose target.
4. Repeat if you have more than 30.

Reassigning articles from someone who left

1. Filter by author = the person.
2. Tick up to 30.
3. Bulk action → Change author → new owner.
4. Repeat.

Bulk-archiving stale content

1. Filter by "last updated > 12 months ago" + status = Published.
2. Spot-check the list — make sure you're not about to archive something critical.
3. Bulk action → Archive.

Gotchas

• Cap is hard. There's no "select all" override. If you have 200 articles to move, it's 7 rounds of 30.
• Filters don't persist after action. After a bulk update the filter may reset — re-apply before your next batch.
• Bulk delete is permanent. Unlike archive (C09), deleted articles are gone. Prefer archive.
• Bulk permission changes can surprise you. If you change 30 articles from public → partner-only, your help-center traffic on those URLs drops instantly. Schedule a comms message first if needed.
• No bulk publish of scheduled articles. Each is scheduled individually (see C07).

Quick check — have you got this?

• You need to move 75 articles into a new section. How many bulk actions?
• You bulk-select 30 articles and change the author. Does that notify the new author?
• Can you bulk-change article titles?

Related articles

• C05 — The book — managing all your content
• C09 — Archived articles and article history
• C13 — User segments: partner-only or VIP-only content