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

# Mapping Activities to an Element in bulk

> Find the Activities that have no Element and map a whole selection to one Element in a single action

An Activity's impact is its quantity multiplied by its Element's per-unit impact data, so an Activity with no Element counts as zero — and nothing on the page tells you it's missing. Imports, ERP syncs and the API bring Activities in by the hundred, and setting the Element one Activity at a time doesn't scale. Bulk mapping finds the Activities with no Element and points a whole selection at one Element in a single action.

## Finding Activities with no Element

On **Activities**, open the **Element** filter and pick **No element**, or click **Show activities with no element** beside the activity count. The list then holds only Activities with neither an Element nor a transport lane — a freight Activity is mapped through its lane, so it never shows up as missing an Element.

## Mapping a selection

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the Draft or Rejected tab">
    Only Draft and Rejected Activities can be mapped, so the **Element** action and the **Show activities with no element** shortcut appear on those two tabs, not on the default **Approved** tab.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select the Activities">
    Tick rows, or click **Select all** in the bulk toolbar to take every Activity matching the current filters, not just the page you can see.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pick the Element">
    Click **Element** in the toolbar and search your inventory. If the list is filtered by unit type, category or supplier, the search starts with the same filters.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Check the count and confirm">
    The dialog names the Element, the unit it's declared in, and how many Activities will be mapped. The confirm button repeats the number — *"Map 240 Activities"* — so you always know the size of the change.
  </Step>
</Steps>

The mapping runs in the background and recalculates each Activity as it goes. When it finishes, a message reports how many Activities were mapped, and any that weren't are listed above the table with the reason. One mapping takes up to 10,000 Activities; narrow the filter to map more.

<Warning>
  There's no undo for a bulk mapping — correcting one means mapping the right Element again. Check the Element and the count before you confirm.
</Warning>

## Why an Activity isn't mapped

An Activity that can't take the Element is left exactly as it was. The list above the table shows the first ten with their reasons, and **Select these activities** reselects all of them so you can fix the cause and map again.

| Reason | What it means |
| :- | :- |
| **Activity is pending or approved** | A Pending Activity is waiting on an approver and an Approved one already counts toward your carbon account, so a bulk mapping never changes either — the same rule as editing a single Activity. |
| **Unit cannot convert to the Element's unit** | The Activity's unit and the Element's declared unit measure different things — litres against kilograms, say — and the Element states no weight, volume, length or area per declared unit that bridges them. Pick an Element declared in the same kind of unit, or add the missing amount to the Element. |
| **Element is not available to this Activity** | An Upstream Activity takes any Element in your inventory. A Downstream Activity, or one that belongs to a data request, takes only Elements of the supplier it already names — or your own company's, when it names none. |
| **Activity not found** | It was deleted, or is no longer in your account, after you selected it. |

## The supplier follows the Element

An Activity's supplier comes from its Element, so mapping an Upstream Activity also updates its supplier: map it to an Element another company supplies and that company becomes the supplier, or to one of your own Elements or a Dataset and the supplier is cleared. That's the same thing that happens when you pick the Element on a single Activity. Downstream and data-request Activities keep the supplier they have.

## Related topics

* [Tracking activities](/docs/getting-started/track-activities) — what an Activity is and how its impact is calculated
* [Assigning a supplier in bulk](/docs/help/assign-supplier) — the same kind of bulk action for Elements in your inventory


This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.