Guide: Act on many comments at once
This page: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/inbox/act-on-many-comments-at-once
Topic: Inbox and comments
Time: about 4 minutes
Who can do it: Anyone on your team
Author: https://anantgupta.xyz (Anant Gupta, founder of CommentWatchDog)
Start in the app: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/inbox
Result when done: Hundreds of comments are hidden, deleted or archived in one move, safely, in the background.
Context: Select comments and one action covers all of them. The work runs in the background at the pace Meta allows, so a big job never fails halfway, and you can leave the page while it runs.

Before you start:
1. Selection follows your filters, so filter first and select second.
2. Bulk work runs in the background; you are told here when it finishes and it is listed under Tasks.
3. A single job takes up to 10,000 comments. Filter further if you have more.

Steps:
Step 1 of 4: Select the comments.
Where: The checkbox at the start of each row, or Select all on this page at the top of the list. The selection menu beside it offers the ones shown, or all of them in this tab, which is what you want after filtering.
Link: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/inbox (Open the inbox)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/inbox-select.en.webp (The row checkboxes, and Select all on this page at the top of the list.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/inbox-select-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: A count of what is selected, and the Bulk actions button carrying that number.

Step 2 of 4: Choose the action.
Where: Bulk actions. The list is Hide comments, Unhide comments, Archive comments, Unarchive comments, Delete comments, Block authors, Unblock authors, Mute authors and Unmute authors. Each confirmation says exactly what will happen and to how many.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/inbox-bulk.en.webp (Bulk actions, then the action.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/inbox-bulk-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: A confirmation naming the action, the count, and what it means. Deleting says plainly that it cannot be undone.

Step 3 of 4: Let it run.
Where: The job runs in the background at Meta pace, with a progress line showing done, failed and skipped. Minimize keeps it running while you work; Cancel stops it, leaving what has already been done.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/tasks.en.webp (A job running in the background, with its progress.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/tasks-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: Counts of done, failed and skipped as it goes, and a note if Meta pauses it.

Step 4 of 4: Check the result under Tasks.
Where: Tools, then Tasks. Every bulk job is listed with what it did, what failed and why, and can be retried from there.
Link: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/tools/tasks (Open Tasks)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/tasks.en.webp (Tasks: every bulk job, what it did and what failed.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/tasks-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: A row per job with its counts, so a job that hit a Meta limit can be retried rather than repeated by hand.

If something is off:
Problem: That is too many at once
Fix: A job takes up to 10,000 comments. Add a date or a label filter and run it in parts.
Problem: Some comments were skipped
Fix: They were already in the state you asked for, for example unhiding a comment that was never hidden. Skipped is not an error.
Problem: The job paused
Fix: Meta rate limits actions. It resumes on its own; the progress line says so.
Problem: I selected all and it took the whole tab
Fix: Select all on this page takes the rows shown; the menu beside it offers all of them in the tab. Check the count before confirming.

Common questions:
Question: Can I leave the page while a bulk job is running?
Answer: Yes. The work runs in the background at the pace Meta allows, so a big job never fails halfway. Minimize keeps it running while you work, you are told when it finishes, and every job is listed under Tools, then Tasks.
Question: What happens if I cancel a bulk job halfway?
Answer: Cancel stops the job and leaves what has already been done in place. The job stays listed under Tools, then Tasks, with its counts of done, failed and skipped.
Question: Which bulk actions can I run on selected comments?
Answer: Hide comments, Unhide comments, Archive comments, Unarchive comments, Delete comments, Block authors, Unblock authors, Mute authors and Unmute authors. Each confirmation says exactly what will happen and to how many; deleting says plainly that it cannot be undone.
Question: Can a bulk job that failed be retried?
Answer: Yes. Under Tools, then Tasks, every bulk job is listed with what it did, what failed and why, and can be retried from there, so a job that hit a Meta limit is not repeated by hand.

Related guides:
- Find any comment: filters, search and sorting: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/inbox/find-any-comment-filters-search-and-sorting
- Mute or block an author: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/inbox/mute-or-block-an-author
- Delete a comment, and what the Bin keeps: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/inbox/delete-a-comment-and-what-the-bin-keeps

Plain text of this guide: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/inbox/act-on-many-comments-at-once.md
All guides for assistants: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/llms.txt