# Problem batch updating 33,000 cards

**URL:** <https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/problem-batch-updating-33-000-cards/17617>\
**Category:** Help\
**Created:** [February 15, 2022, 10:38am UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/problem-batch-updating-33-000-cards/17617 "2022-02-15T10:38:12Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![electricanki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@electricanki](https://forums.ankiweb.net/u/electricanki)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2022, 10:38am UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/problem-batch-updating-33-000-cards/17617/1 "2022-02-15T10:38:12Z")

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Here’s my problem.

1. I do not have the following problem when updating smaller batches.
2. I’ve got the Ze note ID in the first field which gives each note a unique ID tag.
3. I’ve taken 33,000 sentences from my deck and translated them from Chinese to English.
4. I import the translations using “update existing note when first field matches”/
5. Only about 5,000 notes are updated the rest of the update is added as a new note.
6. I’ve checked and the ID tag is duplicated so there definitely is a problem with recognising the first field.

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**Author:** ![dae](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/forums.ankiweb.net/dae/32/65_2.png) [@dae](https://forums.ankiweb.net/u/dae)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2022, 4:08am UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/problem-batch-updating-33-000-cards/17617/2 "2022-02-16T04:08:50Z")

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The amount of notes you’re importing is unlikely to alter the importing behaviour. If duplicates are being imported and your import settings say to update existing notes, chances are the input text and your current notes’ first fields do not match exactly. You may be able to spot a difference if you export the existing notes to a text file.

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**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/uploads/anki2/original/1X/8f1279ababc5879d54e4838989f606cfe55af8c7.jpeg) [@system](https://forums.ankiweb.net/u/system)\
**Post date:** [May 1, 2023, 4:31am UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/problem-batch-updating-33-000-cards/17617/3 "2023-05-01T04:31:38Z")

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Closed on May 1, 2023, 4:31am UTC