Post

Bulk Operations

Posted Updated
By Jason Rueckert
6 min read
Bulk Operations

What are Bulk Operations?

Select multiple notes at once for batch operations: move, delete, or archive many notes in a single action. Powerful multi-select capabilities for efficient note management.

Quick Start

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1. Click "Toggle Select Mode" in Notes toolbar
2. Click notes to select them (checkmarks appear)
3. Choose bulk action: Delete, Move, or Archive
4. Confirm the operation

Select Mode

Entering Select Mode

From Toolbar:

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Click: Toggle Select Mode button in Notes View

From Command Palette:

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Command: Noted: Toggle Select Mode

What Changes:

  • Select mode becomes active
  • Bulk operation buttons appear
  • Notes show selection checkboxes
  • Click notes to select/deselect

Exiting Select Mode

From Toolbar:

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Click: Toggle Select Mode (toggles off)

From Command:

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Command: Noted: Clear Selection
Choose: "Yes, exit select mode"

Selecting Notes

Individual Selection

Click any note to select it:

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My Notes
  └── 2024/
      └── 10-October/
          ├── ✓ 2024-10-01.md  ← Selected
          ├── ✓ 2024-10-02.md  ← Selected
          └──   2024-10-03.md  ← Not selected

Visual Indicators:

  • ✓ Checkmark icon when selected
  • Different styling/color
  • Context value changes to ‘note-selected’

Select All

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Command: Noted: Select All Notes

Selects all visible notes in the tree.

Clear Selection

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Command: Noted: Clear Selection

Deselects all notes without exiting select mode.

Or:

Click “Clear Selection” button in toolbar.

Bulk Operations

Bulk Delete

Delete multiple notes at once:

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1. Select notes
2. Click "Bulk Delete" button
3. Review confirmation dialog
4. Confirm deletion

Confirmation Dialog:

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Delete 5 selected notes?

Files to delete:
- 2024-10-01.md
- 2024-10-02.md
- 2024-10-03.md
- meeting-notes.md
- bug-fix-123.md

[Cancel] [Delete]

Features:

  • Shows up to 10 notes in preview
  • If more than 10: “… and N more files”
  • Can be undone with Undo command

Bulk Move

Move multiple notes to a folder:

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1. Select notes
2. Click "Bulk Move" button
3. Choose destination folder
4. Confirm move

Folder Picker:

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Choose destination folder:
├── 2024/
│   ├── 10-October/
│   └── 11-November/  ← Select this
├── Projects/
│   └── Alpha/
└── Archive/

Confirmation:

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Move 3 notes to "2024/11-November"?

Files to move:
- 2024-10-01.md
- 2024-10-02.md
- meeting-notes.md

[Cancel] [Move]

Features:

  • Pick any valid folder
  • Can’t move to year folders (protected)
  • Can be undone
  • Updates all links automatically

Bulk Archive

Archive multiple notes at once:

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1. Select notes
2. Click "Bulk Archive" button
3. Confirm archive

Confirmation:

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Archive 4 selected notes?

Files to archive:
- old-meeting.md
- completed-task.md
- 2024-01-15.md
- project-notes.md

[Cancel] [Archive]

Features:

  • Moves notes to .archive/ folder
  • Preserves folder structure
  • Can be undone
  • Removed from main Notes view

Selection Management

Selection Count

When notes are selected, see count in UI:

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My Notes (3 selected)

Status bar also shows:

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3 notes selected

Selection State

The extension tracks:

  • Which notes are selected (Set)
  • Select mode active/inactive
  • Selection count

Context Variables:

  • noted.selectModeActive: true/false
  • noted.hasSelectedNotes: true/false

These control UI element visibility.

Use Cases

Cleaning Up Old Notes

Archive last month’s daily notes:

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1. Enter select mode
2. Navigate to last month
3. Select all daily notes
4. Bulk archive

Fast cleanup!

Reorganizing Projects

Move project notes to new folder:

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1. Select all project-alpha notes
2. Bulk move to "Projects/Alpha" folder
3. Keeps workspace organized

Deleting Test Notes

Remove experimental notes:

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1. Search for tag:#test
2. Enter select mode
3. Select all test notes
4. Bulk delete

Batch Processing

Move notes by tag:

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1. Filter by tag:#completed
2. Enter select mode
3. Select all
4. Bulk archive

Safety Features

Confirmation Dialogs

All bulk operations show confirmation:

  • Bulk Delete: Shows files to be deleted
  • Bulk Move: Shows destination and files
  • Bulk Archive: Shows files to be archived

Up to 10 files listed, then “… and N more”

Undo Support

All bulk operations can be undone:

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Command: Noted: Undo

Restores:

  • Deleted files (with content)
  • Moved files (to original location)
  • Archived files (from archive)

No Accidental Actions

Bulk buttons only appear when:

  • Select mode is active
  • Notes are selected

Can’t accidentally trigger bulk operations.

Best Practices

  1. Review Before Confirming: Always check the preview list
  2. Use Select All Carefully: Make sure you want all visible notes
  3. Filter First: Use tags/search to narrow selection
  4. Undo Insurance: Remember you can undo if needed
  5. Exit Select Mode: Exit when done to avoid accidental selections

Tips & Tricks

Powerful workflow:

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1. Search: tag:old from:2024-01-01 to:2024-06-30
2. Enter select mode
3. Select all results
4. Bulk archive

Combine with Tag Filter

Filter then select:

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1. Filter by tag:#completed
2. Enter select mode
3. Select all
4. Bulk archive or delete

Selective Operations

Don’t have to select all:

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1. Enter select mode
2. Navigate folders
3. Select only specific notes
4. Bulk move just those

Quick Archive Workflow

End of sprint cleanup:

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1. Navigate to sprint folder
2. Select completed items
3. Bulk archive
4. Clear selection
5. Exit select mode

Keyboard-Free Selection

Use only mouse/trackpad:

  • Click to enter select mode
  • Click notes to select
  • Click bulk operation button
  • Confirm in dialog

Completely GUI-driven!

Keyboard Shortcuts

While there are no default shortcuts for bulk operations, you can assign custom shortcuts in VS Code:

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File > Preferences > Keyboard Shortcuts

Search for:
- "Noted: Toggle Select Mode"
- "Noted: Select All Notes"
- "Noted: Clear Selection"
- "Noted: Bulk Delete"
- "Noted: Bulk Move"
- "Noted: Bulk Archive"

Assign shortcuts like:

  • Cmd+Shift+A: Select All
  • Cmd+Shift+D: Clear Selection

Visual Feedback

Selected Notes

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✓ note-1.md     ← Checkmark icon
✓ note-2.md
  note-3.md     ← No checkmark

Toolbar Changes

When select mode active:

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[Toggle Select Mode ✓]  ← Active indicator
[Select All]
[Clear Selection]

When notes selected:
[Bulk Delete]
[Bulk Move]
[Bulk Archive]

Status Updates

After operations:

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✓ Successfully deleted 5 notes
✓ Successfully moved 3 notes
✓ Successfully archived 8 notes

Troubleshooting

Can’t Select Notes

Ensure:

  • Select mode is active (toggle button pressed)
  • Clicking on actual note items (not folders)
  • Notes are not protected system items

Bulk Buttons Not Showing

Check:

  • Select mode is active
  • At least one note is selected
  • Not in a filtered view that’s empty

Selection Not Clearing

Try:

  • Click “Clear Selection” button
  • Run “Noted: Clear Selection” command
  • Toggle select mode off and on

Undo Not Working

Verify:

  • Operation was completed (not canceled)
  • Haven’t exceeded undo history limit
  • Run “Noted: Show Undo History” to see available operations

Manage notes efficiently with bulk operations! ⚡

Features, Productivity
bulk multi-select operations productivity
This post is licensed under CC BY 4.0 by the author.