Batches and bulk creation

Two paths, and how to choose

The distinction is about where the watermarking happens. That single question decides which tool you use, what you upload, and what can go wrong.

Path A: the Bulk Mark Generator

Upload one image and a parameters file, and the platform produces a run of distinct Marks from it. Each output is a genuine, independent Mark with its own identity and its own Dynamic Link — they are not copies.

1. The source image.
   A JPG or PNG, at the quality you want to keep. Use the real artwork rather than a placeholder: watermarking behaves differently on different pictures, and a proof made from a stand-in tells you nothing about the real one.
2. The parameters file.
   A CSV defining the settings for each Mark in the run. A sample is downloadable from the page — start from it rather than building one from scratch.
3. The tuning.
   Three numbers, described below. This is where the quality of the whole run is decided.
4. Client and project.
   Set these here. Retrofitting them across hundreds of items later is tedious.

Path B: UIDs out, marked images back

This is the professional production route. Three stages, and the platform is only involved in the first and last.

1. Get your identities.
   On the batch import page, tell the UID Generator how many you need and download the CSV. Each row is one identity, reserved for you. This file is now the authoritative record of the run — keep it.
2. Mark your artwork with those identities.
   In your own workflow, using the studio tooling. Each image is marked with one UID from the list. This is where you get per-design control that no single set of bulk parameters could give you.
3. Bring it back.
   Upload the UID CSV alongside a ZIP of the marked images, set a default destination, assign client and project, and run. Each image is registered as a Mark with its identity, and each gets a Dynamic Link pointing at your default destination — which you can change per item afterwards, or leave pointing at a holding page until the campaign is ready.

The naming rule

This is the single most important paragraph on the page. The importer pairs the first CSV row with the first image file, the second row with the second file, and so on — by position. It does not read the filename and look for a matching identity.

The order of the files is their alphabetical order inside the archive. Which means the numbering scheme most people reach for first is exactly the one that breaks:

Two habits that make this safe:

• Zero-pad to a fixed width from the start — four digits covers almost any run and costs nothing.
• Verify by sampling, not by counting. A successful import reports the right number of items whether or not the pairing is right. Scan three items from different parts of the run — the beginning, the middle and the end — and check each opens what it should. Misalignment shows up instantly this way and is invisible any other way.

A serialized batch from the wizard

For a smaller run that shares one destination, the web Create a TouchPoint wizard can make it directly. On the Full control path, the One, or many? step offers Serialised batch: set a Quantity, a Prefix and a Start at number, and the wizard shows the first three identifiers it will use. Every item resolves to the same destination today, and any one of them can be split onto its own destination later without touching the rest. The finish screen reports how many touchpoints were created.

This needs no CSV and no naming scheme, and it uses the wizard’s size step for tuning. Reach for Path A or Path B when the run is large or the designs differ.

Bulk address shortening

Separate from marking, and much simpler: upload a CSV of destinations and get a Dynamic Link for each. The columns are a destination, a description, and up to ten parameter name and value pairs for campaign tracking.

This is the right tool for a mail-out, a spreadsheet of product pages, or migrating a batch of existing addresses onto the platform so they become changeable. No artwork, no marking, no naming trap.

Assigning as you go

Every bulk tool offers a client and a project on the way in. Use them. A run of five hundred unassigned items is genuinely painful to organize afterwards, and client and project are what make interaction data reportable later. Thirty seconds at upload against an hour of tidying — see Projects, clients and templates for how the two relate.

What to check after a batch

1. Count.
   Does the number of items created match the number of rows you submitted? A mismatch means files were skipped — usually an unsupported type inside the archive.
2. Sample the pairing.
   Three items from the start, middle and end of the run. This is the check that catches the naming trap.
3. Scan a printed proof.
   Not the screen. Print one the way the job will be printed and scan it from a realistic distance.
4. Confirm assignment.
   Check the items landed under the right client and project before you create anything else.
5. Set destinations or a fallback.
   If everything is pointing at a holding page, make sure that page says something sensible — people will reach it.

Symptoms, causes and fixes

Things people commonly get wrong

Related reading: Creating a Linxy Mark, Regenerating a Linxy Mark, Projects, clients and templates, and Transferring ownership.