In Sharepoint 2010 I had a list that I created by importing it from a spreadsheet. One of the problems when creating a list from a spreadsheet is that Lookup column types are changed to singleline, (the data value is retained of course).
I wanted to convert this column back to a lookup data type by selecting it from the Library Settings and editing the column settings, but "lookup" is not available, although the "choice" data type is, and selecting the choice data type lists all the original values from the original lookup but its now a choice data type so that won't do if you really want to change it back to a lookup data type.
I found a way to do this by copying and pasting in data sheet view, although there may be a better way, this works just fine:
1. Assume we have a column called "Industry Type" that we want to convert to a lookup data type.
2. Go to the Library Settings and change the column name in question to "Industry Type Old".
3. Create a brand new column as a lookup column with the original column name ("Industry Type" in this example) and in the process reference the required column in the lookup list.
4. Switch to "DataSheet View" for the list.
5. Select the "Industry Type Old" column heading to highlight the whole column and then right click the mouse and select "copy".
6. Select the "Industry Type" column heading to highlight the column and then right click the mouse and select paste.
7. If you did step 6 correctly all your data values should now be in the new lookup column ("Industry Type" for this example). So now just delete the original column (Industry Type Old) from the Library Settings menu and you are done.
I wanted to convert this column back to a lookup data type by selecting it from the Library Settings and editing the column settings, but "lookup" is not available, although the "choice" data type is, and selecting the choice data type lists all the original values from the original lookup but its now a choice data type so that won't do if you really want to change it back to a lookup data type.
I found a way to do this by copying and pasting in data sheet view, although there may be a better way, this works just fine:
1. Assume we have a column called "Industry Type" that we want to convert to a lookup data type.
2. Go to the Library Settings and change the column name in question to "Industry Type Old".
3. Create a brand new column as a lookup column with the original column name ("Industry Type" in this example) and in the process reference the required column in the lookup list.
4. Switch to "DataSheet View" for the list.
5. Select the "Industry Type Old" column heading to highlight the whole column and then right click the mouse and select "copy".
6. Select the "Industry Type" column heading to highlight the column and then right click the mouse and select paste.
7. If you did step 6 correctly all your data values should now be in the new lookup column ("Industry Type" for this example). So now just delete the original column (Industry Type Old) from the Library Settings menu and you are done.
Thanks so much for that fix. It saved me from having to go through 5190 list item entries and associate them with another list. I appreciate you sharing that information
ReplyDeleteGood find! I'm discovering SharePoint requires lots of Hacks similar to this. As someone learning SharePoint 2010 I can say "What a pain in the ass!"
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!!
ReplyDeletethanks a lot it really help me out :)
ReplyDeleteThis ain't workin'
ReplyDeleteWell it worked for the people above and myself. You will have to explain exactly what part of the process does not work for you.
Delete