> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.voxworks.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Contact Bulk Actions

> Select multiple contacts and act on them at once — add them to a list, assign a custom variable value, wash their numbers against the Do Not Call Register, or delete them.

## Overview

The **Contacts** page (under **Phone System** in the sidebar) lets you act on many contacts at once. Tick the checkbox at the start of any row — or the checkbox in the header to select every row on the page — and a bulk toolbar appears beside the **New Contact** button.

The toolbar contains four icon buttons, each with a tooltip:

| Action                         | Tooltip              | What it does                                                                 |
| ------------------------------ | -------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Add to list                    | **Add to List**      | Adds the selected contacts to a new or existing list                         |
| Assign a custom variable value | **Assign Object**    | Links one custom variable value to every selected contact                    |
| DNCR wash                      | **Wash DNCR Status** | Checks the selected contacts' phone numbers against the Do Not Call Register |
| Delete                         | **Delete selected**  | Permanently deletes the selected contacts                                    |

The toolbar only appears while at least one contact is selected. Clearing the selection hides it again.

***

## Add to List

Click the **Add to List** button to open a menu with two options:

* **Create New List** — opens the **Create List** dialog. Enter a **Name** (the field placeholder is "List name") and click **Create List**. The list name must be unique — you'll see "A list with this name already exists" if it isn't — and can be up to 255 characters with no trailing spaces. Voxworks creates the list and adds every selected contact to it in one step.
* **Add to Existing List** — opens the **Select List** dialog. Choose a list from the dropdown and click **Add Contacts**.

Lists are the building blocks for outbound calling — a batch calls the contacts on its source lists. See [Lists](/lists/overview) for how lists feed the Batch Scheduler.

***

## Assign a custom variable value

Click the **Assign Object** button to link a custom variable value to every selected contact at once. A small panel opens with two dropdowns:

| Field           | Description                                                                                                                                                             |
| --------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Object type** | The custom variable type to assign (placeholder: "Select type"). Types are listed alphabetically.                                                                       |
| **Value**       | The specific custom variable value of that type (placeholder: "Select value", or "Select type first" until a type is chosen). Values are listed alphabetically by name. |

Choose a type, choose a value, then click **Apply**. A "Object assigned to selected contacts" confirmation appears when it completes.

Assignment replaces, not stacks: each contact holds at most one value per custom variable type, so if a selected contact already has a value of the chosen type, the new value replaces it. This makes the action safe to re-run — for example, moving a group of contacts from one campaign segment to another.

Although the button tooltip and field labels say "Object", this is the same custom variables feature found under **Custom Variables** in the sidebar. Once linked, the value's fields become available to your call scripts for those contacts — see [Linking custom variables to contacts](/custom-variables/linking-contacts) for how linked values flow into calls.

***

## Wash DNCR Status

Click the **Wash DNCR Status** button to check the selected contacts' phone numbers against the Australian Do Not Call Register. There is no confirmation dialog — the wash starts immediately and a progress message shows how many numbers are being washed.

How the wash handles your selection:

* **Phone numbers only** — the wash uses each selected contact's phone number. If none of the selected contacts have a phone number, you'll see "Selected contacts have no phone numbers to wash".
* **Duplicates removed** — the same number selected twice is only washed once, and numbers are normalised to international format (Australian numbers become +61) before checking.
* **Recent washes skipped** — numbers already washed within the last 30 days are skipped, and the result message tells you how many were skipped.

When the wash finishes, a summary appears — for example, "Washed 25 numbers successfully. 3 found on DNC register." — and each contact's DNCR status badge updates to **On DNC Register**, **Safe to call**, or **Invalid number**. Contacts that have never been washed show **Not washed**.

If numbers are submitted but no results come back, you'll see a message asking you to check your DNCR credentials. For status badge meanings, overrides, and washing whole lists, see [DNCR washing](/contacts/dncr-washing).

***

## Delete selected

Click the **Delete selected** button (the red bin icon) to remove the selected contacts. A confirmation dialog titled **Delete Selected Contacts** asks: "Are you sure you want to delete `{n}` selected contacts? Contacts will be removed from all lists and scheduled batches. This action cannot be undone."

Two things to know before confirming:

* **Deleting cascades to lists and batches** — deleted contacts are removed from every list they belong to and from any scheduled batches that haven't called them yet.
* **Your own record is protected** — every team member has a contact record of their own, and it can't be bulk-deleted. If your own record is part of the selection, it's skipped and you'll see "Your contact record was excluded from deletion"; the rest of the selection is deleted normally. If your own record is the *only* selection, nothing is deleted and you'll see "You cannot delete your own contact record".

***

## Next Steps

* [Contact records](/contacts/records) — the fields on each contact and how to edit them individually.
* [Lists](/lists/overview) — how lists work and how they feed batches in the Batch Scheduler.
* [DNCR washing](/contacts/dncr-washing) — status badges, overrides, and washing entire lists.
* [Linking custom variables to contacts](/custom-variables/linking-contacts) — what a linked custom variable value does on a call.