Introduction
Every product in your Shopify store can have different options. Each option name can be something like "Size" or "Color", while the option values could be "Small", "Medium", and "Large" for "Size" and "Red "or "Blue" for "Color". You can have up to 3 different option names, and Shopify will generate product variants for each combination (e.g. "Small / Red", "Small / Blue", "Medium / Red", "Medium / Blue", "Large / Red", "Large / Blue").
However, there isn't an easy way to bulk edit these options if you want to add, remove, sort, or rename them on many products at once. So to do this, we recommend using our app QuickEdit - Bulk Product Edit to easily bulk edit your product options/variants.
Getting started
First, install the app from the Shopify app store.
Once the app is installed, click "Create bulk edit" to start the process of creating the bulk edit task.
Next, select "Product" for the item type to edit. Even though you want to update the variants, you still choose "Product" when adding, removing, or sorting variants for a product.
Now choose which products you want to edit by adding conditions. There are a few different options for conditions, but they should all be pretty self-explanatory, so they won't be covered in this tutorial.
After adding the conditions, go down to the actions section, click "Add action", then click and choose "Product options (variants)" for the field to edit.
Next, select what type of action you want to perform (add, remove, sort, etc.).
Depending on the action you select, you will see different options. For example, if you choose to add a new option, you will see fields for the option name (e.g. "Color") to add the variant to (which will be created if it doesn't exist), and the new option value (e.g. "Green"). Then when adding, you can enter an option value to copy from and select the fields that will be copied to the new variant. This only works if the option value has the same option name.
You can also remove options, sort option names or values, and replace an option name. If you want to replace option values, you must switch the item type to edit to "Product variant" at the top of the page and then select "Variant option values" for the field to edit.
Running the bulk edit
Once the conditions and actions are set up correctly, click the "Continue" button to proceed to the next step.
In the popup, type a name for the task so you can identify it later. You can also choose whether to schedule the task or run it immediately. Keep in mind task scheduling is a paid feature, so you will need to upgrade your plan first to enable this.
Click "Confirm", and then click "Run bulk edit" on the next confirmation popup.
The task should now be started, so go to the task history page to see its progress. If you have less than a few hundred products it should be done very soon, but it can take some time if you have several thousand products. Once a task starts the editing process, it can't be stopped. If you need to cancel it, wait for it to finish and then revert it.
Once the task finishes, you can revert if necessary, run again, or edit and create a new task.
Troubleshooting
If the task finishes without making any changes, then either no changes were needed or the conditions didn't match anything. Double-check all your conditions and selected options, and try again.
Debugging tip: Pick a product you want to be edited, and examine each of the applicable fields while trying to think step-by-step about whether it's meeting all the conditions, whether any text/HTML-to-find will match with the chosen options (if applicable), and what each action is doing exactly.
If you exceed the current plan limits, the task will fail and you will be asked to upgrade your plan.
If the task fails with a server error, wait a bit and try again. Contact us if the issue persists. It might be a temporary issue with Shopify, or with our servers.
Conclusion
That's it! We know you have an amazing business, and we hope our app helped you make it better. Please consider leaving a review in the Shopify app store to show your appreciation! (seriously, it means a lot 😀)
