Bulk Description Edit

Bulk Description Edit dialog

The Bulk Description Edit feature allows you to modify product descriptions for multiple products simultaneously using various operations.

Opening Bulk Description Edit

  1. Select one or more products in the grid
  2. Open using one of these methods:
    • Click Targeted Bulk Edit > Description in the toolbar
    • Right-click and select Bulk Description Edit

Description Operations

Operation Description Use Case
Insert at Top Add HTML at the beginning Add promotional banner
Insert at Bottom Add HTML at the end Add warranty info, shipping notes
Find & Replace Replace text (literal or regex) Update outdated information
Find & Remove Delete matching text Remove old promotional text
Replace Entire Replace whole description Standardize descriptions
Remove Empty Tags Clean up HTML Remove empty <p>, <div>, etc.

Insert Operations

Insert at Top

Add content before existing description:

  1. Select "Insert at Top"
  2. Enter HTML to insert
  3. Preview and apply

Example: Add a "New Arrival" banner to selected products.

Insert at Bottom

Append content after existing description:

  1. Select "Insert at Bottom"
  2. Enter HTML to insert
  3. Preview and apply

Example: Add shipping information or size charts.

Find and Replace

Literal Replace

Replace exact text matches:

  1. Select "Find & Replace"
  2. Enter text to find
  3. Enter replacement text
  4. Leave "Use Regex" unchecked
  5. Preview and apply

Regex Replace

Use regular expressions for complex patterns:

  1. Select "Find & Replace"
  2. Enter regex pattern
  3. Enter replacement (can use capture groups)
  4. Check "Use Regex"
  5. Preview and apply

Common regex examples:

Pattern Matches Replacement Result
\d{4} Years like 2023 2025 Updates years
<br\s*/?> Break tags <br /> Standardizes breaks
\s+ Multiple spaces Single space
(?i)free shipping Case-insensitive Fast Shipping Updates text

Case Sensitivity

  • Literal mode - Case-sensitive by default
  • Check "Ignore Case" for case-insensitive matching
  • Regex mode - Use (?i) flag for case-insensitive

Find and Remove

Delete matching text without replacement:

  1. Select "Find & Remove"
  2. Enter text/pattern to remove
  3. Toggle "Use Regex" as needed
  4. Preview and apply

Example: Remove old promotional text like "Summer Sale 2023"

Replace Entire Description

Replace complete descriptions:

  1. Select "Replace Entire"
  2. Enter new description HTML
  3. Use placeholders for dynamic content
  4. Preview and apply

Warning: This completely replaces existing descriptions.

Placeholders

Available placeholders for dynamic content:

Placeholder Replaced With
{product.title} Product title
{product.vendor} Vendor name
{product.type} Product type
{product.tags} Comma-separated tags
{product.handle} URL handle

Example template:

<h2>{product.title}</h2>
<p>By {product.vendor}</p>
<p>Category: {product.type}</p>

Remove Empty Tags

Clean up HTML by removing empty elements:

  1. Select "Remove Empty Tags"
  2. Preview shows affected descriptions
  3. Apply to clean all

Removes:

  • <p></p> - Empty paragraphs
  • <div></div> - Empty divs
  • <span></span> - Empty spans
  • <strong></strong> - Empty formatting
  • Nested empty elements

Preview

Always preview before applying:

  1. Configure your operation
  2. Click Preview
  3. Review each product's before/after

The preview shows:

  • Product - Product title
  • Before - Original description (truncated)
  • After - New description (truncated)
  • Changed - Whether the description will change

Applying Changes

  1. Review the preview
  2. Click Apply
  3. Confirm when prompted
  4. Wait for changes to sync

A backup is automatically created before applying.

HTML Best Practices

Do Use

  • Semantic tags: <h2>, <p>, <ul>, <li>
  • Simple formatting: <strong>, <em>
  • Links: <a href="...">
  • Line breaks: <br />

Avoid

  • JavaScript (will be stripped)
  • External CSS files
  • Inline styles (may be modified)
  • <iframe> elements

Restoring from Backup

If you need to undo changes:

  1. Go to Tools > Backup Manager
  2. Filter by "Description" type
  3. Find the backup by date/time
  4. Click Restore
  5. Select items to restore (or all)

Troubleshooting

"No matches found"

  • Check spelling and case sensitivity
  • Try a simpler search pattern
  • Verify the text exists in descriptions

"Regex error"

Common regex issues:

  • Escape special characters: \. \$ \(
  • Check bracket matching
  • Test regex on a single product first

"HTML looks different after save"

Shopify sanitizes HTML:

  • Some tags may be removed
  • Styles may be modified
  • JavaScript is always stripped

"Changes not applying"

  • Check for API errors in the log
  • Verify internet connection
  • Try smaller batches

See Also