Changing the properties of multiple objects or files in Studio for InDesign and InCopy

On many occasions you may need to change the settings (referred to as 'properties') of a file such as its name, the Workflow Status, the Edition it belongs to, and so on.

This can be done for each file by selecting the file, right-clicking it, and choosing Properties from the context menu. In the Properties dialog that appears, the properties can then be changed for that file.

Making these changes for each individual file is time consuming and not very efficient. It is therefore also possible to change the properties for multiple objects or files in one action.

How this is done is explained in this article.

Requirements

For this feature to work, the following is required:

• Studio for InDesign and InCopy 19.0.0 for Adobe 2024, or any higher version of Studio for InDesign and InCopy for any higher version of Adobe.

• The properties that appear in the Properties dialog should have been configured by the system administrator by selecting the 'Multiple objects' setting for these properties.

• The files should be selected in the Studio panel.

• The selected files should all be of the same type (such as all layouts or all articles) and should all be part of the same Brand.

Changing properties for multiple files

Step 1. Select multiple files of the same type that are part of the same Brand in one of the following locations:

• The Studio panel
• The Elements panel¹
• On the layout¹

Step 2. Right-click any of the selected files and (depending on the version of Studio for InDesign and InCopy used) choose Properties... or Component Properties...¹.

The Properties dialog appears showing all properties that can be changed.

Step 3. Make the changes and when done click OK.

¹ Requires Studio for InDesign and InCopy 20.0.1 for Adobe 2026, or any higher version of version 20 or Adobe.

Properties that have different values in different files

When working with multiple files it can easily happen that the value of a property in one file is different than the value of the same property in another file.

Example: One file might have the Category set to 'News' while another file might have the Category set to 'Sport'.

When this happens, the following is shown:

• Properties containing text will show '(multiple values)'
• Properties with a 'yes/no' or 'true/false' switch will show the switch centered

Of course, the value of these properties can still be changed. Once the change has been applied, all files will have that value assigned.

Note: For properties that can hold multiple values (such as the Tags field), all existing values are replaced with the change that has been made.

Properties that cannot be changed

You might find that at times one or more properties cannot be changed. This can have several reasons.

• The property is configured as 'read-only'.

Note for system administrators: Custom metadata properties are configured as 'read-only' by default. To make a property editable, select the 'Editable' check box on the Dialog Setup Maintenance page of Studio Server.

• When the Category, Status and Route To properties have multiple values, the Category and Status properties are automatically set to read-only by Studio Server.

• When the Category and Route To properties have multiple values while the Status property only has 1 value, the Status property is automatically set to read-only by Studio Server.

• When the Category and Route To properties have multiple values while the Category property only has 1 value, the Category property is automatically set to read-only by Studio Server.

Resolution: Try to change the property by selecting just a single file instead of multiple files.

When none of the properties can be changed

When one of the files or objects that have been selected is locked (because another user has that file open for editing), all properties in the Properties dialog appear as read-only and none of them can be changed.

Resolution: De-select the locked files (indicated by a lock icon in the Studio panel) from the selection by Ctrl-clicking (Windows) or Cmd-clicking them.

Properties that do not appear

When multiple files are selected, certain properties may not appear. This occurs in the following scenarios:

• The value of the property cannot be changed. This applies to the following properties:
• Name
• Brand
• Issue
• Edition

• The value of the property is not suitable to be changed simultaneously for multiple files.

Example: The property for adding keywords is usually not one that should be changed for multiple files because each file will have specific keywords.

Which property will or will not be available when multiple files are selected depends on how the system is configured.

Scenarios in which changes are not saved

When changing a property, it can sometimes happen that the change is not saved. This could be because of the following reasons:

• The object or file is in use by another user or a process that is running in the background. When this is the case, a message will appear to inform you.

• You do not have sufficient permissions to change the file. Changes are only made to those files for which you have permission to make that change.

Example: 8 Files are selected. For 6 of the files you have permission to change the Status property but for the remaining 2 files you do not have permission to make this change (for instance because the 'Change Status' option in an Access Profile has been disabled). After changing the Status property and clicking OK, the change is made only to the 6 files for which you have permission. The other 2 are left unchanged.