This article will go over a few details on utilizing Knack's field conversions.
What are field conversions?
Fields have the flexibility to be converted from one type to another. For example, if you have a Short Text field that you believe would serve users better as a Paragraph Text field, allowing them to provide more detailed information.
How can I change a field's type?
To perform field conversions, simply click on the ellipses button located to the right of the field and choose the option "Change Field Type":
An editor will be opened for you to select the new field type.
Notes:
- Changing the field type for default fields in Payments and Accounts/User Roles is not possible. Learn more about these these tables' fields in this article here.
- As of 2024-01-15, conversions between compatible field types will be processed by our support team if the number of records exceeds a size threshold. Incompatible field conversions are not affected by this update.
- For conversions between compatible field types, we will be doing a check on the table size and record count before proceeding with the conversion. If the conversion exceeds our threshold, users will receive a notification in the Builder that they will need to submit a ticket to our support team to complete the field conversion.
Incompatible Field Types
Certain field types may not be compatible. If you happen to select a field type that is incompatible, a message will appear to inform you of this.
In order to save your changes, you will need to acknowledge and select "I understand".
Notes:
- For incompatible field types (such as a Yes/No field -> Formula field), these conversions are allowed, with no size threshold. All data in the field will be deleted, 100% of the time.
- With incompatible field type conversions, the field key will be retained, meaning that any tasks, formulas, rules, API calls, etc. that depend on the field key will remain intact.
- Changing a field type to an incompatible field type will not cause any cascading operations of updating equations, tasks, records, etc.