Managing your data structure efficiently is key to maintaining an accurate model. The Bulk Edit functionality in Cube allows you to modify dimension members—whether it's Accounts, Departments, or custom dimensions—in a single, unified interface. You can rename members, reparent members, change time rollups, or disable obsolete dimension members en masse without navigating to each individual record.
Business Use Case
For FP&A professionals, organizational changes often require mass updates to the Chart of Accounts or Department lists. Instead of manually updating hundreds of rows one by one, you can use Bulk Edit to rapidly restructure your hierarchy during a reorganization, rename accounts to match new ERP conventions, or quickly disable unused dimensions to keep your instance clean.
Prerequisites
Permissions: You must have 'Manage Dimensions, Formulas & Tags' permission to the Cube instance to modify dimension structures.
Data Structure: Familiarity with your current Dimension hierarchy (e.g., which Parent Member an account should belong to).
Step-by-Step Guide
You can access the Bulk Edit interface to make changes directly in the app, use AI assistance, or upload modifications from an offline file.
1. Accessing the Bulk Edit Tool
Navigate to Dimensions in the left-hand sidebar.
Click the Edit dimension members in bulk icon (the pencil icon) located near the top right of the dimension list.
In the modal that appears, select the specific Dimension you want to edit from the dropdown and click Continue.
2. Method A: Manual Editing in the Grid
Once the grid loads, you can edit your data similarly to a spreadsheet.
Review the grid columns, which include Current Name, Updated Name, Parent Dimension Member, Time Rollup, Status, Account Number, Description, Tags, Formula and Mapping.
Double-click any cell in the Updated Name, Parent Dimension Member, or Time Rollup columns to make changes.
Example: Change an account's name by typing in the Updated Name field.
Example: Re-assign an account to a new group by editing the Parent Dimension Member.
To deactivate a member, change the Status column to Disabled.
Once you have finished your manual edits, click the Upload button in the top right corner to save your changes to Cube.
3. Method B: Using AI Transformation
Cube's AI assistant can automate complex updates using natural language prompts.
While in the bulk edit grid, click the Transform tab near the top left.
In the text box, type a prompt describing the change you want to make.
Example:
Mark Parent column as All Departments where current column has Product or Engineering.
Click Transform Data. The AI will analyze your prompt and automatically update the relevant columns in the grid (e.g., updating the Parent Dimension Member column).
Review the AI-generated changes. If they look correct, click on 'Transform Data' to navigate back to the main view, make any other edits, as needed, and click Upload to commit the changes.
4. Method C: Editing via File Download/Upload
If you prefer working in Excel, you can download your dimension members, edit them offline, and re-upload them.
On the main Dimensions page, click the More icon (three vertical dots) next to the bulk edit pencil.
Select Download All Members. This will save an Excel file to your computer containing your current dimension structure.
Open the Excel file and make your edits (e.g., renaming accounts, changing parents) locally. Save the file.
Return to Cube, click the More icon again, and select Upload Members.
Select the Dimension you are updating and click Continue. You may download the file from here as well to edit offline.
Drag and drop your edited Excel file into the upload area.
- Map your fields: Cube will ask you to confirm that the columns in your Excel file match Cube's fields (e.g., Current Name to Current Name). Click Continue.
The data will load into the Bulk Edit grid for a final review. You can make additional tweaks here if needed.
Click Upload to finalize and save your changes.
5. Confirmation and Reporting
After you click Upload in any of the methods above, the system will process the job in the background.
Email Notification: You will receive an email confirming the outcome of your bulk edit.
Success: The email will confirm that your dimension members have been successfully updated.
Issues: If there were errors (e.g., circular references or invalid names), the email will provide a reason so you can correct your data and try again.
Conclusion
Your dimension members should now be updated! Whether you used the in-app grid, AI automation, or an offline file, these bulk tools ensure your Cube data structure remains accurate and agile. If you encounter any issues, please check out our related articles on data mapping or contact our support team.