Converting Text Field to Numeric Field

[Kathy Ellis]

I had a text field created to show the number of pages reviewed within a document not realizing Jira and eazyBI can only use numerical fields for reporting.  I can request a new field that is numerical, but once it is created, is there a way to move the numbers from the existing text field into the new field without having to do each one manually?

From what I have been able to find online, it doesn't sound like there is a good way to do that, but wanted to ask to see if I am missing something.  It is going to take a lot of time to update them manually if that is the only option.

[Trudy Claspill · Accepted solution]

Hello @Kathy Ellis 

Welcome to the Atlassian community!

You may be able to do this with the Automation for Jira feature.

That feature started being delivered by default with Jira Data Center v9.x. If you are using Jira Server or and older version of Jira DC, the feature may not be installed on your instance. You could request that your Jira Administrators add it.

If it is already available, Jira Project Administrator and Jira Administrators are empowered to create Automation Rules, and one thing you can do in those rules is copy data from one field to another for multiple issues. If you are neither a Project Administrator nor a full Jira Administrator you would need to work with people who are in those roles to get the automation you need.

[Kathy Ellis]

Hi @Trudy Claspill

Thank you for the welcome and the answer.  :)

I saw your note yesterday and our Jira Administrator was able to show me how to use the automation feature to make the updates.  You saved me a lot of time and it is greatly appreciated.

[Trudy Claspill]

That's great!

If your question has been addressed, please consider marking the Answer thread as Accepted to help other users find posts with proven answers.

[Hannes Obweger - JXL for Jira]

Hi @Kathy Ellis

welcome to the community!

If you're open to solutions from the Atlassian Marketplace, this would be easy to do with the app that my team is working on, JXL for Jira.

JXL is a full-fledged spreadsheet/table view that allows viewing, inline-editing, sorting, and filtering by all your issue fields, much like you’d do in e.g. Excel or Google Sheets. You can also bulk-edit your issues via copy/paste, within JXL, but also across JXL and pretty much any other app. This means that you can simply copy/paste the values from your existing text field to your new number field, like so:

You can update any number of issues in one action, so you should be done with your update in no time. It's also worth noting that JXL can do much more than that: From support for configurable issue hierarchies, to issue grouping, sum-ups, and conditional formatting.

Since you've tagged your question for Jira Server: As you may have heard, apps sales have ended for Jira Server. Are you planning to migrate to Data Center or Cloud? I'd strongly recommend that. If you need some more time, JXL is perfectly compatible with Jira Server; it's just that we need to generate a license for you. If the above looks interesting, just let me know, and we'll happily start a free trial for you.

Best,

Hannes