Multi-select work items

You can run Automatic Child Items on multiple selected work items at once from the backlog or from query results. Instead of opening each work item and running the extension one by one, you select several items, right-click, and choose Automatic Child Items. The same side panel opens, and you can run rules across all selected parents in a single action.

This page describes where multi-select works, how it behaves, and the limits that keep the feature predictable.

Where multi-select works

You can run Automatic Child Items on multiple work items from two places:

Backlog views — For example, the Epics backlog, Features backlog, or sprint backlogs. Select one or more work items in the list, right-click, and choose Automatic Child Items.
Query results — Run a work item query, select one or more rows in the results grid, right-click, and choose Automatic Child Items.

Running from a single work item is unchanged: open the work item, use the … context menu, and choose Automatic Child Items. The same side panel and preview behavior apply; multi-select simply lets you start from a group of items instead of one.

Behavior

One work item selected

When you select a single work item and run Automatic Child Items, behavior is the same as before: the side panel opens with the rules (and cascades, if configured) that match that work item. You preview and run rules or a cascade as usual. See General Rules and Cascades for details.

Multiple work items selected

When you select two or more work items and run Automatic Child Items, the side panel opens in multi-select mode. The following rules apply.

Same work item type required

All selected items must be of the same work item type (e.g. all Epics or all User Stories).

If you select a mix of types (for example, some Epics and some Features), the side panel still opens but shows an error and does not allow you to run any rules. You must clear the selection, choose only items of one type, and try again.

Mixed types: “Selected work items are not all the same type. Select items of a single type to run Automatic Child Items.”

Rules that apply to all

Only rules that match every selected work item are offered. A rule is shown only if it matches all selected items (by work item type, state, and any field conditions). If a rule matches only some of the selected items, it is not shown for execution.

This keeps behavior consistent: the same rule runs on every parent, so you don’t get partial or surprising results.

Manual override when no rule matches all

If no rule matches every selected item, the side panel shows a “No rules matched all N items” state. In that case, you can still proceed by choosing one rule to apply to all selected items. That single rule will run for each parent; each parent’s children use that parent’s own field values (e.g. placeholders like {{System.Title}} resolve per parent).

The UI will say: “No enabled rule matches every selected work item. You can apply one rule to all N items below.” You then select one rule from the list (e.g. via a single-rule choice) and run it.

Execution

When you confirm, the selected rule(s) run for each selected work item in turn. Child items are created under each parent, using that parent’s field values. So if your rule creates a Task with title Task for {{System.Title}}, each parent gets a Task whose title uses that parent’s title.

The preview will indicate: “This will run for each of N selected work items (using each item’s own field values).” After a successful run, you’ll see a result message such as: “Created X child items across Y parents successfully.” (If some parents fail, you may see: “X succeeded, Z failed across Y parents.”)

Cascades are not available

When two or more work items are selected, cascades are disabled. Only the Run rules path is shown — there is no Run a cascade option. Cascades remain available when you run from a single work item.

Tip: To run a cascade on multiple parents, run the extension on one work item at a time, or use multi-select with rules only and then run a cascade on the newly created children if your workflow requires it.

Selection limit

Up to 20 work items can be processed in one run. If you select more than 20, only the first 20 are used. The side panel may show a short note such as: “Only the first 20 selected items are used.”

Summary of limits

Limit	Behavior
Max items per run	20 (only the first 20 selected are used if you select more).
Mixed types	Not allowed; an error is shown and no rules can run until you select items of a single type.
Cascades	Disabled when 2 or more items are selected; only Run rules is available.
Manual override	Exactly one rule can be applied to all selected items when no rule matches every item.

These limits keep multi-select predictable and avoid long-running or confusing operations.

General Rules — How rules are defined (trigger conditions and child work items). Multi-select runs these same rules on each selected parent.
Cascades — Multi-level hierarchies; available only when running from a single work item.
Placeholders — How {{System.Title}} and other parent fields are resolved; in multi-select, each parent’s values are used when creating that parent’s children.