Why Does “Unnamed” Appear in the Filter By → Author Field After a Cloud URL Change?

Published Date: December 12, 2025
Audience: Everyone
Products and Versions Covered:

• Cloud

• Jama Connect® (any version)

Summary 

When using Filter By, you may notice an “Unnamed” option appearing in the Author filter — even though the Created By field displays correctly on the item.

This behavior typically occurs after a Jama Cloud URL change.

During a URL update, all item references in the instance are updated. As part of this process, items are technically “touched” by the system’s Root account. As a result:

• The Modified By field may display as root root

• The Author filter may show “Unnamed.”

• The Created By field remains accurate

Why This Happens

The key distinction is:

• Created By → The original creator of the item

• Author (in filters) → The person who created or last modified the item

Per the Jama Connect Help Guide:

Author — The person who created or last modified the item.

Because the URL change process updates items system-wide, the system records the Root account as the last modifier. Since this account may not resolve to a displayable user in the filter context, it can appear as “Unnamed.”

Resolution 

If you want the item to no longer show as modified by root root, the item must be edited and saved again by a named user.

Important Consideration:
Editing an item will create a new version of that item. Be sure to evaluate the impacts on versioning and traceability before proceeding.

There is no bulk correction method that avoids version creation.

Additional Resources

• Filter items for targeted results

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