Bulk Task Smasher: Set up and run Export and special bulk actions

Learn how to use bulk actions in Bulk Task Smasher that are set up without a job template: the Export and special actions.

Before you begin

• This article provides instructions on how how to use bulk action functionality in Bulk Task Smasher that does not require the use of a job template, i.e. the Export and special bulk actions. If you're looking for more general information about using Bulk Task Smasher, including what the app does and how to install it, please see the article Bulk Task Smasher: User Guide.
• To follow the instructions in this article, you must either:
  • Be a member of the Account Administrators user group in the Uberflip account where you are using Bulk Task Smasher, or
  • Have the appropriate permissions to use any or all of the bulk actions described in this article.

About the Export and special bulk actions

Some bulk actions available in Bulk Task Smasher do not require a job template to be set up. This includes:

• All Export bulk actions
• All partially-automated special bulk actions, e.g. Delete Items Older Than Date or Hide/Show Items Older Than Date
• All fully-automated special bulk actions, e.g Delete All Tags or Delete All Unused Tags

When you select these bulk actions in Bulk Task Smasher, they do not provide the option to download or upload a job template: instead, you configure these bulk actions entirely within the Bulk Task Smasher app.

Set up and run an Export bulk action

Use this process to set up an Export bulk action for any of the resource types that Bulk Task Smasher works with. This will generate an export file, a spreadsheet file containing the data exported from your Uberflip account.

1. Open Bulk Task Smasher and go to the Run Jobs section of the app.
2. Use the Resource dropdown menu to choose the type of Uberflip resource you'd like to work with:
   
3. Next, use the Action dropdown to choose the Export bulk action for the selected resource:
   
4. If any are available, you'll now see options for including additional data with the selected type of export. Apply any options you want using the checkboxes provided (or leave them all unchecked):
   
5. Click on the Export button to begin the export. Bulk Task Smasher will begin processing your export and then download the export file once it's ready.

Set up and run an Export Flipbooks/PDFs bulk action

The Flipbooks/PDFs resource type in Bulk Task Smasher is a special case, because bulk actions involving this resource must use the Uberflip Legacy API. The Legacy API requires a separate login, and does not support the same types of actions as the current Uberflip REST API (which is used by all other Uberflip resources).

As a result, the Flipbooks/PDFs resource only supports Create and Export actions, and the procedure for setting up the Export Flipbooks/PDFs action differs slightly from the other Export actions.

Use this process to set up an Export Flipbooks/PDFs bulk action:

1. To set up an Export Flipbooks/PDFs bulk action, open Bulk Task Smasher and go to the Run Jobs section.
2. Use the Resources dropdown to select "Flipbooks/PDFs".
3. Although Bulk Task Smasher can obtain your Uberflip REST API credentials automatically, it is not able to do so for your Legacy API credentials. As a result, you'll need to enter your Legacy API credentials to proceed. If you do not know your Legacy API credentials, click on the link provided to view them (and generate them if needed):
   
4. After entering your Legacy API credentials, click on Validate and Save Credentials.
   • The credentials you have entered will be saved for the rest of your session, so you won't need to enter them again if you run multiple Flipbooks/PDFs bulk actions.
5. Now, use the Actions dropdown to select Export Flipbooks/PDFs.
6. You'll now have the option to include additional data with the export. Check the box to include that additional data, or leave it empty to exclude it:
   
7. Click on the Export PDFs button to begin the export. Bulk Task Smasher will begin processing your export and then download the export file once it's ready.

Set up and run a special bulk action

Use this process to set up special bulk actions, which are partially- and fully-automated bulk actions that are set up entirely within Bulk Task Smasher, and therefore do not require job template.

1. Open Bulk Task Smasher and go to the Run Jobs section of the app.
2. Use the Resource dropdown menu to choose the type of Uberflip resource you'd like to work with:
   
3. Next, use the Action dropdown to choose a special bulk action for the selected resource. These are generally listed under the Misc. heading.
4. You'll now see controls that are specific to special bulk action you selected, for example:
   
5. Use the controls to configure the selected bulk action. Then, click on the "Find" button to proceed.
   
   • Clicking this button will only analyze your account for resources matching your setting. The bulk action will NOT be performed yet.
6. You will now see a preview of resources that would be affected by running this bulk action. If needed, you can make further changes using the controls provided, and Bulk Task Smasher will update the preview immediately:
   
7. For some special bulk actions, additional controls will appear. If applicable, use these controls to further configure the special bulk action:
   
8. Once the special bulk action is fully configured and ready to be submitted, the Submit Job button will activate. When you have verified that the special bulk action has been configured correctly, click on Submit Job:
   
9. You will see a confirmation window that summarizes the effect of submitting this job, and warns you that once you submit the job, you will NOT be able to stop or undo it:
   
10. If you would like to receive an email notification when the job finishes, you can optionally enter an email address into the Recipient Email Address field. Leave this field blank if you do not wish to receive an email (you can check job status at any time from within Bulk Task Smasher).
11. When you are absolutely sure that you understand what will be changed in your account as a result of running this job, type the word CONFIRM into the field provided, then click on the Confirm Job button to finish submitting the job:
    
12. Your job will be submitted to the Bulk Task Smasher queue for processing, and after a moment, you should see a confirmation message that your job has been successfully submitted.
    • The confirmation message contains the job's unique job ID. You can use this ID to quickly find this job while viewing your account's record of submitted jobs:
      

After you have submitted a job, Bulk Task Smasher will process it. Depending on the size of the job, this may take some time. At any time after submitting a job, you can view the jobs table to check on its status.