Consequesnce for changing field names in a table

[rstglobal]

Can someone please advise me if there are any negative consequences if I change the field name in a table? Will this affect reports and break links and such or is Caspio clever enough to change all references to this? for instance I want to change the name RST_Hotel_Cost to RST_Hotel_Invoice.

Additionally, if I change the name of a form to include frm_ or a report to rpt_ in front of the respective report/form will that cause me issues?

Thanks.

[rstglobal]

The question was answered via email but I post it here for everyone's future reference:

Dear Graeme,

Thank you for contacting Caspio Support. You are asking very good questions.

1. Updating field names in table is automatically reflected in DataPages as well, however there a few things to note when you change a field name in the table.

• Field name in the table is different than the field label that you see in the DataPage (form and reports). Therefore if you change a field name in the table, the field label in DataPages remain unchanged. If you want to update the labels, you need to edit each DataPage and change the label in the Configure Fields wizard screen.

• If you have used field parameters in the DataPage inside HTML blocks or Header/Footer or in JavaScript coding (if you have any) such as [@field: Course_name] then you will need to update those manually in each DataPage.

2. DataPage names could be updated as you wish. If you have references to the updated DataPage in other DataPages, the references will be updated automatically.

3. When you change data types you need to note a few things:

• Changing data types may remove data if the data does not match the new data type. For example, if you change text255 to date/time, you need to make sure the data is in date format (mm/dd/yyyy). When you change the data type, system generates warning before performing the action, we recommend you read the warning details and take necessary action before confirming the update.

• Changing data types also may remove the field from the DataPages; you will need to edit the DataPage and add the field back. If you change text255 to text64000, the field stays intact however from one type such as Text to another such as Number, will remove the field from DataPage.

Regards,

Caspio Support

[TWIRED]

 

AuthFields do get impacted.

This baffled me for a while, 

I would rename or re-create fields in the table, and they would not be available or  re-named in my javascript code (auth fields)

The Trick is to go into your VIEW , and make sure the field is selected as well as re-name it IN THE VIEW.

it then should be double checked in your javascript .

 

Hope this helps someone~

[blarney]

I've had issues renaming fields....especially with scripts that are pulling data from other tables.  If it's an insterted field, I don't think there's an issue, but if it's a field from another table, you must input/update the correct table name and field name in the script.

 

Let me also add, that for people (like me) that use Zapier to connect to third-party APIs, when you rename a table, you must go back to your zap and select the new table name or you'll lose all the information that's coming from the third party's API.  

 

Tough lesson to learn, because you can't retrieve the data you missed while the table had the incorrect name...unless you're far more tech savvy than myself and can write your custom program or script to pull from an API (in which case you probably aren't using Zapier anyway). Zapier is great, but it's limited to going-forward data.

[Lepidoptera]

On 12/30/2012 at 11:08 AM, rstglobal said:

The question was answered via email but I post it here for everyone's future reference:

Dear Graeme,

Thank you for contacting Caspio Support. You are asking very good questions.

1. Updating field names in table is automatically reflected in DataPages as well, however there a few things to note when you change a field name in the table.

• Field name in the table is different than the field label that you see in the DataPage (form and reports). Therefore if you change a field name in the table, the field label in DataPages remain unchanged. If you want to update the labels, you need to edit each DataPage and change the label in the Configure Fields wizard screen.

• If you have used field parameters in the DataPage inside HTML blocks or Header/Footer or in JavaScript coding (if you have any) such as [@field: Course_name] then you will need to update those manually in each DataPage.

2. DataPage names could be updated as you wish. If you have references to the updated DataPage in other DataPages, the references will be updated automatically.

3. When you change data types you need to note a few things:

• Changing data types may remove data if the data does not match the new data type. For example, if you change text255 to date/time, you need to make sure the data is in date format (mm/dd/yyyy). When you change the data type, system generates warning before performing the action, we recommend you read the warning details and take necessary action before confirming the update.

• Changing data types also may remove the field from the DataPages; you will need to edit the DataPage and add the field back. If you change text255 to text64000, the field stays intact however from one type such as Text to another such as Number, will remove the field from DataPage.

Regards,

Caspio Support

Is this still relevant or are there any changes on consequences when changing column name?

[sandy159]

Hi @Lepidoptera,

Yes, the information is still relevant, as far as I know.  Did you face any difficulties once changing the field names? 

[autonumber]

Hi! You can also refer to this article if you're planning to modify your fields or your table design. https://howto.caspio.com/tables-and-views/modifying-a-tables-design/

[Lepidoptera]

@sandy159 no I have not YET and hopefully ever. I was just anxious things might get broken