KTL's Bulk Edit in Knack: Why Use a Batch Reference?

Hey folks — Dave Parrish here! I recently worked with several clients on a super helpful Knack Toolkit (KTL) feature: batch editing. It’s a powerful tool that lets you update multiple records at once. But while implementing it, I ran into the same issue across multiple clients — and today, I’m going to share a simple workaround that saves a lot of frustration.

The Problem: Filtered Records Disappear After Update

Let’s say you’re working with a large data set and you filter down to just the "unpaid" records. Your goal is to mark them as "paid" in one batch. Sounds easy, right?

Here’s the catch: once you change the status of a record from "unpaid" to "paid," it disappears from the filtered list. That means it’s gone before you can batch copy that change to the others. Annoying, right?

This kind of thing can happen with statuses, dates, or any filterable field.

The Workaround: Use a Temporary "Batch Reference" Field

Here’s the two-step trick I’ve started using — and it's been working beautifully:

1. Create a "Batch Reference" field in your database. Just a simple text field.

2. When you're ready to update a filtered group of records, do this first:

   • Filter your records like usual (for example, filter by Cost Code = "Promo").

   • Before changing anything else, enter a unique value into the Batch Reference field for those filtered records. This could be something like "1234" or today's date — anything that ties the group together.

   • Submit the change. Now, all those records have your batch reference.

   
   

Now You’re Ready to Batch Edit Without Losing Records

Here’s where the magic happens. Now that your target records all have the same Batch Reference, filter by that value instead.

• Go back and filter for Batch Reference = "1234".

• Your full batch group will show up — even if their original filters (like Cost Code = "Promo") are no longer relevant.

• Now you can safely update the field you really wanted to change, like changing "Promo" to "Travel", and copy that value to all the others.

  
  

Bonus: Great for Imports and Mistake Recovery

Even beyond batch edits, using a reference field like this is a great best practice:

• Use it for imports, so you know exactly which records were added or updated.

• If you make a mistake, you can filter by that Batch Reference and quickly fix or reverse your changes.

  
  

So that’s the trick — it’s simple but powerful. It saves time, prevents frustration, and gives you a lot more control over your data workflows in Knack.

Thanks for reading! I’ll be sharing more KTL tips soon, so stay tuned.

Interested in my Knack database services? ... Book a call with me here: https://calendly.com/daveparrish/callwithdave