---
title: "Bulk Editing Contributors"
description: "Change a contributor type, table, VIP flag or other field on many contributors at once with Bulk Edit on the Contributors grid."
url: "https://help.aesauctions.com/article/3hrzk009eo-bulk-edit"
category: "Contributors"
updated_at: "2026-10-30T16:30:30Z"
---

# Bulk Editing Contributors

Bulk Edit lets you make the same change to many contributors at once from the **Contributors** grid in Auction Conductor. Use it for bulk changes such as adding a contributor type, marking a set of guests as VIPs or putting several people at the same table, instead of opening each record one at a time.

**This article covers:**

- Where to find Bulk Edit
- Selecting contributors
- Fields you can change
- Making a bulk change
- Groups and households

### Where to find Bulk Edit

Bulk Edit is part of the **Contributors** grid in Auction Conductor.

![](https://files.helpdocs.io/va4glpkhhk/articles/3hrzk009eo/1793377411982/image.png)

### Selecting contributors

Bulk Edit only changes the contributors you select, so narrow the grid to the right people first.

- Use the **Search** box to find people by name, bidder number, company, group, email or phone.
- Use the grid filters, such as **Group**, to show only the contributors you want.

Then select the contributors you want to change.

**See one row per person.** In the **Individual/Company** display mode, the grid shows one row for each contributor, even for people who belong to a household or group. That makes it easy to see exactly who you've selected. For more on display modes, see [Grid Controls](/article/8j82s86udb-grid-controls).

### Fields you can change

For each field, you can add a value to every selected contributor or remove a value from them. Fields you can change include:

- Company/Individual
- Contributor types (add or remove a type)
- Salutation
- Name
- Company name and Website
- Number of people (#ppl)
- Imported Ticket Paid Status
- VIP
- Table
- Group
- Affiliation
- Meal
- Custom field answers (both unique to this event, and across all events)
- Notes for Check-In
- Notes from Check-Out
- Hidden Notes

**Contributor types do more than label people.** For example, the Attending and Online types are tied to bidder numbers: Attending guests get 3- or 4-digit numbers and Online contributors get 5-digit numbers. If you're not sure how a type change will affect your event, check with your AES event manager before you apply it to a large group.

### Making a bulk change

1. In Auction Conductor, go to **Contributors**.
2. Search and filter the grid, then select the contributors you want to change.
3. Click **Bulk Edit**.
4. Choose the field to change and whether to add or remove a value, then enter or choose the value.
5. Save the change. It's applied to every contributor you selected.
6. Spot-check a few of the updated records in the grid to make sure the change looks right.

**Changes apply to everyone you selected.** Check your selection before you save. If you're changing a field such as a table assignment, look first for selected contributors who already have a value you want to keep.

**Keep a record first.** Before a large change, you can save the current values by exporting the grid to Excel or CSV with the **Export** button. The export includes only what the grid is showing (your search, filters, sorting and current page), so set those up first.

### Groups and households

#### Groups

A group is the set of contributors under one purchase, such as a host and the guests on their tickets. Groups are separate from company names. The **Group** filter makes it easy to select everyone in a group, for example to mark them all as VIPs.

Use the **Group Detail** screen to add or remove group members, move people between groups, assign a new group host or assign group members to tables. See [Contributor Groups](/article/81d7qqwy9k-groups).

#### Households

A household is two or more contributors who share purchases, bids and payments, with one billing contact. Households have their own management screen:

- To create a household, click the person icon on a contributor's row in the Contributors grid.
- To change an existing household's members or billing contact, click the household name in the grid to open it.

See [Contributor Households](/article/ct7aso0918-households).

### Frequently asked questions

- **Can I use Bulk Edit after the auction closes?** Yes.
- **Will my changes affect other events?** Contributor types, affiliations and households are set separately for each event, so those changes stay in this event. Contact details, such as the company name, address, email, phone, belong to the contributor's contact record, so if that record is also used in another event, the change shows there too.
- **I have two records for the same person. Should I edit both?** Merge them instead. Merging combines their bids, purchases, payments and cards on file into one record. See [Merging Duplicate Contributors](/article/j3c8qbghyg-merging-duplicate-contributors).