Best Practice for Changing a Field Type

Author: Carmen Santos

Updated: June 27, 2024

Audience: Jama Connect® Users

Products Applicable: Jama Connect®

Use Case

Best Practice for Changing a Field Type in Jama Connect®.

Best Practice

It is possible to change the type of a field containing data by replacing it with a new field using the Round-Trip export.

Implementation

To start, you need to create a new field. Navigate to Admin > Item Types > Select the item type > Add Field to create the new Field.

When creating a different field type, it's essential to consider the kind of data already added to the original Field. For instance, text content cannot be stored in an Integer, as an Integer can only store numbers.

After creating the new field, you need to make it visible in the Project List view so that it can be exported. You can achieve this in one of two ways:

1. Navigate to Admin > Item Types > Select the item type > View, then add the field to the list on the right.

Alternatively, you can use the "Show/hide fields" option in the List View to make the new field visible only to you.

You can find the items you want to change by creating a filter or opening the container. Then, from the List View, open the Export Menu > View all export options:

Select and Run the Excel Export for Roundtrip:

This will generate an Excel export in the Reports history view:

Download and open the export in Excel. Then, copy and paste the data from the old field's column to the new field's column.

Save the spreadsheet and import it back into Jama Software. Check the Round-Trip box during import.

This method can be used to update items in all projects, and all items in the import file will be updated, regardless of the selected project for the import. If the new field type is compatible with the imported data, you should see identical data in both field types. Otherwise, the new field will be empty.

After importing the data to the new field type and confirming its success, the old field must be removed to finalize the change. Please make sure to carefully read these important notes before deleting the field. Add, edit, or delete fields.

References

• Changing a Field Type
• Round-Trip export
• Add, edit, or delete fields

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