To bulk-edit tags, notes, associations, or metadata across many details or families at once, use the Import / Export tool in the Management tab. Export your library to Excel, make changes, and import it back.
Prerequisite: You need the Admin role with Bulk Edit permission.
Where to Find It
Open Pirros and click Management in the top navigation
Click the Import / Export tab
The Management tab showing the Import / Export option. Click it to access the export and import tools for bulk editing your library.
What Gets Exported
Choose to export All Details or All Families. The export includes your entire library as an Excel file with fields like:
Pirros ID — the unique identifier (do not modify this column)
Detail View Name / Family Name
Title on Sheet, Detail Number, Sheet Name
Tags — editable column for bulk tag updates
Notes — editable column for bulk note updates
Associations — editable column for bulk-linking details and families
Additional metadata fields
The export options showing All Details and All Families buttons. Click one to download your entire library as an Excel file.
Edit Tags in Excel
Open the exported Excel file
The exported Excel file showing all details with their Pirros IDs, names, and metadata columns. Use Excel's built-in filters to narrow to the rows you want to edit.
Filter to the details you want to update, then edit the Tags column
The Excel file filtered to show specific details, with the Tags column being edited. Use the pipe symbol (|) to separate multiple tags: Roof|Flashing|Metal. New tags not yet in Pirros will be created automatically on import.
Save the file and drag it into the Import area
The Import area in the Management tab. Drag and drop your edited Excel file here, or click to browse. Pirros matches each row by Pirros ID and applies the tag and note updates.
Edit Notes in Bulk
The same export → edit → import workflow works for the Notes column. Use notes to add internal guidance, source references, or reminders without expanding your tag list.
Edit Associations in Bulk
Associations are curated links between assets in your library — for example, a wall section detail linked to the connection, flashing, and joint details it depends on. The Associations column in the Excel export is the fastest way to set them up at scale, since the alternative is clicking through the Associations tab one asset at a time.
To bulk-link assets:
In the Excel export, find the Associations column for the parent asset (the one whose Associations tab you want to populate)
List the children you want to link, separated by the pipe symbol (
|)Each entry can be a Pirros ID (UUID) or a name (Detail View Name for details, Family Name for families). Mixing them in the same cell is fine.
Example cell:
58d742e2-4736-4a17-8c15-4e8a701c5989 | Foundation Flashing | Concrete Slab Edge
How updates are applied:
Cell missing or untouched — existing associations are preserved.
Cell empty — all forward associations for that asset are cleared.
Cell has values — the existing forward associations are replaced with the listed children. Anything missing from the new list is removed.
Common errors caught in the preview:
Not found — the ID or name doesn't match any asset in your workspace.
Ambiguous title — the name matches more than one asset. Use the Pirros ID instead.
Self-reference — the parent asset is listed in its own Associations cell.
Cross-workspace — the Pirros ID belongs to an asset in a different workspace.
Errors surface row-by-row in the import preview before you confirm. Rows with errors are skipped on import; clean rows still apply.
What Happens Next
After importing, the updated tags, notes, and associations appear on the affected assets immediately. Your team can use the new tags as filter options on the Details page, and the new associations show up in the Associations tab right away.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Which columns can I actually edit?
A: Tags, Notes, and Associations are editable on both details and families. Details also support editing Reference Only, Detail Title on Sheet, and Detail View Name; families support editing Family Name. Pirros ID and the other metadata columns are read-only — Pirros uses them to match rows on import.
Q: What happens if I change the Pirros ID column?
A: Do not modify the Pirros ID column. Pirros uses it to match rows to existing assets. Changing it will cause the import to fail or create mismatched updates.
Q: Can I add new tags that don't exist yet?
A: Yes. Any tag name in the Excel file that doesn't already exist in Pirros is created automatically during import.
Q: Does the export include only Typical Details or everything?
A: The export includes your entire library. Use Excel's built-in filters to narrow to only Typical Details (or any other subset) before making edits.
Q: Can I link a detail to an asset in a different project?
A: Yes — associations cross project boundaries within the same workspace. They cannot cross workspaces, and the import flags cross-workspace IDs as errors.
Q: What if a parent asset has so many associations the cell gets huge?
A: Excel cells are capped at 32,767 characters. If a parent's associations would exceed that on export, the cell is replaced with the placeholder __ASSOCIATIONS_TOO_LARGE__. On re-import, Pirros recognizes the placeholder and preserves the existing associations for that row, so round-tripping a large-parent file doesn't accidentally wipe its links.