[[managing-saved-objects]]
== Managing Saved Objects

You can view, edit, delete, import, and export saved objects from 
*Management > Saved Objects*. A saved object can be a search, visualization,
dashboard, or index pattern.

To narrow the list of saved objects, enter a search term or select an object 
type.

[role="screenshot"]
image::images/management-saved-objects.png[]

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[[managing-saved-objects-view]]
=== View, edit, and delete objects

Each object listed in *Saved Objects* has an *Actions* menu with two items:

* *In app* opens the object in its associated application so you can view and 
edit it.
* *Relationships* shows other objects that use this object so you know the 
impact of deleting it.

To delete a saved object, select its checkbox and click *Delete*.

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[[managing-saved-objects-object-definition]]
=== Edit an object definition

*Saved Objects* offers an advanced *Edit* page for modifying the object definition. 
To open the page, click the object name in the list of objects. You can change 
the object title, add a description, and modify the JSON that defines the 
object properties.

If you access an object whose index has been deleted, you can:

* Recreate the index so you can continue using the object.
* Delete the object and recreate it using a different index.
* Change the index name referenced in the object's `kibanaSavedObjectMeta.searchSourceJSON` to point to an existing
index pattern. This is useful if the index you were working with has been renamed.

WARNING: Validation is not performed for object properties. Submitting an invalid 
change will render the object unusable. A more failsafe approach is to use the 
*Discover*, *Visualize*, or *Dashboard* pages to create new objects instead of 
directly editing an existing one.

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[[managing-saved-objects-export-objects]]
=== Export and import objects

In some cases you might want to export and import a set of save objects.
For example:

* You might have multiple environments for development and production. The export 
and import commands allow you to move objects between different {kib} instances.
* You have a large number of objects to update and want to batch this process.  
You can export the objects to JSON, make the JSON modification, and re-import 
the objects.

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==== Export objects

Select the checkboxes of the objects you want to export, and click *Export*.
Or, to export objects by type:

. Click *Export everything*.
. Select the object types you want to export. 
. Click *Export All*.

WARNING: Exported dashboards do not include their associated index patterns.
Re-create the index patterns manually before importing saved dashboards to a 
{kib} instance running on another {es} cluster.

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==== Import objects

. Click *Import*.
. Navigate to the JSON file that represents the objects to import.
. Indicate whether to overwrite objects already in {kib}.
. Click *Import*.