# Mass import of OPC tags to historical transaction group **URL:** \ **Category:** Ignition\ **Tags:** ignition81\ **Created:** [July 26, 2022, 11:02am UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/mass-import-of-opc-tags-to-historical-transaction-group/62302 "2022-07-26T11:02:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Matthew\_Hunt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Matthew\_Hunt](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/Matthew_Hunt)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 11:02am UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/mass-import-of-opc-tags-to-historical-transaction-group/62302/1 "2022-07-26T11:02:41Z")
Hello, I was wondering if there is any way to import a JSON or an XML of sorts with tag definitions/OPC tag paths to a transaction group instead of dragging and dropping from the tag browser. I have an UDT where I need to log two tags within the UDT structure to the same SQL table as some other tags that aren’t in the UDT so I was thinking using a Historical transaction group would be the simplest as I can drag the tags in there. However this seems very time-consuming if there are a ton og UDTs that need to be implemented into the transaction group. I was unable to see any way to directly link the historical tab in the tag editor to a transaction group or anything of the sort -Matthew ---
**Author:** ![pturmel](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/pturmel/32/3295_2.png) [@pturmel](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/pturmel)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 12:19pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/mass-import-of-opc-tags-to-historical-transaction-group/62302/2 "2022-07-26T12:19:34Z")
You can’t. Transaction groups are not really automated. They are a tool for drag-and-drop configuration of recording into wide tables. If you need something more dynamic, gateway events (timer/scheduled/tag) are your answer. Anything that a transaction group does can be done with an event script, with more flexibility. ---
**Author:** ![Matthew\_Hunt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Matthew\_Hunt](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/Matthew_Hunt)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 12:34pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/mass-import-of-opc-tags-to-historical-transaction-group/62302/3 "2022-07-26T12:34:21Z")
Alright thanks for the response! I will see what I end up doing. For now it will be fine using drag and drop to a transaction group as this customer doesnt have that much data but I will see if I think out a smart way to solve it if a customer in the future needs more data in this way. ---
**Author:** ![pturmel](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/pturmel/32/3295_2.png) [@pturmel](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/pturmel)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 12:35pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/mass-import-of-opc-tags-to-historical-transaction-group/62302/4 "2022-07-26T12:35:34Z")
If you don’t need runtime changes, consider using XML import/export of your transaction groups. ---
**Author:** ![Matthew\_Hunt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Matthew\_Hunt](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/Matthew_Hunt)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 1:07pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/mass-import-of-opc-tags-to-historical-transaction-group/62302/5 "2022-07-26T13:07:14Z")
I was not aware that this was possible to do. This is perfect. The export as XML option was hidden under the shift + right click option. Runtime changes on these transaction groups will not be needed I’m pretty sure but if I were to do an XML export and import at a later date will this mess up the previous data in the table if I decide that the newly imported XML writes to the same table in the database? Edit: I have done some tests now and it seem to be working well. I will be careful if I decide to change the XML buildup while the system is fully running. Thanks for the help