Four Ways to Edit Multiple Records in Dynamics 365

What is bulk editing?

In Dynamics 365 Sales, bulk editing means simultaneously making changes to multiple records, eliminating the need to edit them individually. You can apply the same updates to a group of records at once, saving you time and effort.

How to bulk edit records in Dynamics

Method 1 – Bulk edit button

How to bulk edit using the edit button in Dynamics 365 Sales

• Log in to your Dynamics 365 Sales account.
• Navigate to the area where the records you want to edit are. For example, if you want to edit leads, go to Leads.
• Use filters, views, or search to display the records you want to edit.
• Once you have your records displayed, select the checkboxes next to the records you want to edit. You can choose as many records as needed.

• Click the Edit button. This is usually in the command bar at the top of your screen
• A new overlay will appear, usually on the right of your screen.  
• In this area, you’ll see a list of editable fields

• Update the fields with the new information you want to apply to all the selected records
• Only update the fields you want to be changed.

• You’ll see some fields with this value. This means the field hasn’t been updated by you and its values across all the records won’t change.
• Once you’ve made all the necessary edits, click “Save”
• It’s good practice to check the updated records to make sure that the changes were made correctly
• There isn’t an easy way to undo these changes, so be careful

Method 2 – Edit in Excel Online

• Log in to your Dynamics 365 account
• Navigate to the area that contains the records you want to edit
• Use views or filters to display the specific records you want to edit. Make sure that the records you want to update are visible

• In the command bar (or possibly hidden in the 3 vertical dots menu), click the dropdown beside Export to Excel and choose Open in Excel Online
• Dynamics 365 will generate an Excel Online spreadsheet containing your chosen records. The spreadsheet will open in your web browser
• Make your edits to the data just like you would in Excel and when you’ve finished press Save

• In the Data Submitted dialogue, click Track Progress

• The most recent import is most likely your edit.
• Look for the status changing to completed, then you can return to your data in Dynamics and check the changes have happened.

Method 3 – Edit in Excel Power Apps

A lesser-known way of updating multiple records in Dynamics is to use Powers App’s Edit data in Excel feature.

The first time you use this you’ll need to install the Microsoft Power Apps Office add-in to Excel, which is free and simple to add.

• First, sign in to Power Apps
• Select Tables from the left hand menu and then select the table you wish to view

• From the edit menu select Edit data in Excel
• You’ll notice that an Excel worksheet was downloaded to your PC
• Open the Excel worksheet
• You may need to click Enable Editing if the message appears 
• You may also need to select Trust this Add-in when you first use the add-in
• Click Sign In and log in using your Dynamics credentials
• Once you’re signed in, you’ll see data in the Excel workbook

Editing

• Editing data is easy, just change cell values like usual in Excel and then click Publish

• Lookup fields are supported. When you click a lookup field, potential values appear in the add-in box on the right hand side of Excel.

Adding / removing rows

• Click the +New button and a new empty row will appear at the end of the worksheet. You can complete this like any other row

• To remove a row, right click the row number to select the whole row, and then select Delete.

There’s more about using Power Apps to edit Dynamics data in Excel on Microsoft Learn.

Method 4 – Export to Excel for bulk editing

• Log in to Dynamics 365.
• Navigate to the area of Dynamics that contains the records you want to edit
• Find the records you wish to edit using filters, views, or searches
• [Optional] Select the exact records you wish to edit, using the check boxes beside each record
• Click Export to Excel

• Dynamics will generate a file and save it to your computer
• Open the Excel file
• Make any edits
• [NOTE] You’ll notice in the workbook there are hidden fields, A, B and C. These fields identify each row to Dynamics. If you alter these fields Dynamics will not be able to recognise the rows. The import will fail or you could possibly add duplicate records
• Do not use this worksheet with the hidden fields to import any new data. The hidden fields A,B and C will give you unexpected results.
• Return to your Dynamics 365 account.
• Go to the same part of the system as where you exported the data from

• Click the Import from Excel option
• Follow the import wizard’s instructions
• Review the summary and confirm the import
• You can either wait or Track Progress of your import

[REMEMBER] Check that your data has been updated correctly

One extra method : Bulk deletion jobs

If you want to delete Dynamics records in bulk regularly, Dynamics has a built-in scheduled bulk deletion job editor. It’s useful for targeting records which regularly build up, like logs, spam emails, expired contacts etc)

It’s the least user-friendly way of deleting records and needs a good knowledge of how to set up views in Dynamics

• In Dynamics click the cog and choose Advanced Settings
• Go to Data management > Bulk record deletion

• Click New
• Choose the Table/Entity you wish to use and either
• Choose a Saved View or
• Create a new criteria to select the records you wish to delete

• Click Next
• Create a schedule for the job
• Optionally add an email address to receive notifications when the job runs
• Check the details and submit the job

How to add to add or remove bulk edit permissions in Dynamics 365 / how to disable bulk edit feature

The built in bulk edit feature in Dynamics is powerful and has potential to cause data loss if used without caution. Some administrators may decide that this is too much of a risk to take and they will want to stop people from using the bulk edit feature

To remove bulk edit permissions on a user role in Dynamics

• Click the cog > Advanced settings
• Choose Security > Security roles

• Choose the role which you wish to remove bulk edit privileges from
• Select the Business Management tab
• Scroll down to the Miscellaneous Privileges section and toggle the Bulk Edit switch off
• Save the changes to the role

How to edit the bulk editing form in Dynamics

When you bulk edit using method 1 from above, the editing happens in the current form you’re using to view that type of record. You’ll see that some reference elements like timelines don’t appear in the form. If there are more than one main forms for that entity (table) you’ll be able to choose from them in the bulk edit window.

So to edit the bulk edit form, simply edit the corresponding main form.

See Microsoft’s documentation about editing forms