Skip to content
undb

Update Field Type

Field Type Conversion Guide

Overview

Undb supports conversion between different field types. The conversion process preserves original data when possible, but some incompatible conversions will result in data clearing.

Conversion Matrix

From/ToTextNumberDateDateRangeCheckboxSelectUserEmailURLCurrency
Text✅ Keep⚠️ Parse⚠️ Parse valid dates⚠️ Parse valid dates⚠️ true/yes/1=true⚠️ Match options⚠️ Match users⚠️ Keep valid⚠️ Keep valid⚠️ Parse
Number✅ Convert✅ Keep✅ Unix timestamp✅ Unix timestamp✅ 0=false❌ Clear❌ Clear❌ Clear❌ Clear✅ 100
Date✅ ISO string✅ Timestamp✅ Keep✅ Same start/end❌ Clear❌ Clear❌ Clear❌ Clear❌ Clear❌ Clear
DateRange✅ ISO string❌ Clear✅ Start date✅ Keep❌ Clear❌ Clear❌ Clear❌ Clear❌ Clear❌ Clear
Checkbox✅ true/false✅ 1/0❌ Clear❌ Clear✅ Keep❌ Clear❌ Clear❌ Clear❌ Clear❌ Clear
Select✅ Option name❌ Clear❌ Clear❌ Clear✅ Keep✅ Keep❌ Clear❌ Clear❌ Clear❌ Clear
User✅ Username❌ Clear❌ Clear❌ Clear❌ Clear❌ Clear✅ Keep❌ Clear❌ Clear❌ Clear
Email✅ Keep❌ Clear❌ Clear❌ Clear❌ Clear❌ Clear❌ Clear✅ Keep❌ Clear❌ Clear
URL✅ Keep❌ Clear❌ Clear❌ Clear❌ Clear❌ Clear❌ Clear❌ Clear✅ Keep❌ Clear
Currency✅ Keep✅ /100❌ Clear❌ Clear❌ Clear❌ Clear❌ Clear❌ Clear❌ Clear✅ Keep

Legend:

  • ✅ Full support with data preservation
  • ⚠️ Conditional conversion (data might be cleared if invalid)
  • ❌ Data will be cleared

Data Validation Rules

Text Conversions

  • To Email: Must match email format (@.)
  • To URL: Must start with “http”
  • To Date: Must be parseable as date
  • To DateRange: Must be parseable as date, will set same start/end date
  • To Checkbox: “true”/“yes”/“1” = true, others = false
  • To User: Must match existing username/email
  • To Select: Must match option names

Number Conversions

  • To Date: Treated as Unix timestamp
  • To Checkbox: 0 = false, others = true
  • To Currency: Multiplied by 100 (cents conversion)

Range Limitations

When converting to types with range constraints (rating, percentage, etc.):

  • Values above maximum are capped at maximum
  • Values below minimum are capped at minimum

Important Notes

  • Conversions are irreversible - backup important data before converting
  • Some conversions may result in precision loss
  • Test with a small dataset first to verify conversion results
  • Invalid data for target type will be set to NULL
  • Currency values are stored as cents (integer)
  • Reference fields cannot be converted to other types
  • Computed fields (Formula, Rollup, etc.) will always clear data when converting to other types