You can import a CSV file to update the metadata (fields) of a large number of assets in one go. This is often something you will do having completed a bulk import.

By importing metadata, you can update the title, description and all other fields of multiple assets in one go, by preparing that information in advance in a CSV file.

Click here to download our CSV metadata import template:

Open the file in a text editor or a spreadsheet application and add your metadata. It's often easier to edit the file in a spreadsheet application like Google Sheet or Excel, but it is important that you always save the file as a CSV file (many applications will attempt to save the file in their own native formats such as XLSX).

Any metadata import sheet for Dash must be structured as follows. The following assumes you're editing the sheet in a spreadsheet application:

❗Note: Any metadata you upload will overwrite existing metadata. E.g. if you have an asset with Tags "plane, bird, sky" and your import sheet contains the word "dog" in the Tags column for that asset, the asset will result in a single tag of "dog" and the previous tags will be removed. We won't modify any fields that aren't in the import sheet.

If you want to append metadata, you'll need to include the previous metadata in the import sheet as well. To obtain the existing metadata, request a metadata export.

If you think there may be assets with the same filename in your account, you should add an additional matching criteria as a column to the import spreadsheet:

To find the file size from your Dash, open the embedded file data for the asset and locate the filesize attribute, which should show you the numeric data in bytes for the file size of that asset. Use this figure in the "File size in bytes to match on" column for the row that relates to this asset in your metadata import sheet.

Once your file is ready:

If you have a folder containing a forward slash. For example, to import a field value of "Rock/Pop", write the following:

If you are having problems importing dates, make sure the dates are formatted in standard ISO format: yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm:ss, e.g.

Be sure to keep leading zeros, e.g. 01 not 1

Multiple-valued fields should be separated by semicolons ; e.g.

Nested folder fields should be separated by forward slashes / e.g.

To use commas inside a field you should surround that field with double quotation marks, e.g.

In instances where you need to use commas and a quotation in the same field, put a double quotation mark around the entire phrase, and then use two sets of double quotation marks where you would normally use one e.g. to import the value She said, "I wish it were sunny, write:

You can update any field that exists in Dash. Simply add the name of the field in the first row (to find the field name, go to Admin > Fields).

You cannot update filenames using the metadata import. Filename is protected metadata as this directly refers to the original file uploaded into Dash. You can use the Title field for your own customisation, but if you did want to update the filename, you can do this by uploading a new version of the file.

No, all fields that you want to update must already exist in Dash before you do the import. The fields don't have to be populated with entries; any field entry included in a row in the import file will be created in that field when you do the import.

Yes, in the Folders column, separate each folder tree with a semicolon, e.g.

Would add an asset into the following folders:

You can create a hierarchy using "/" between the levels, e.g. tag/childtag;tag2/childtag2

Yes, you can populate your Dash fields with options/tags in advance of uploading assets. Refer to our dedicated article on this for full instructions.