Sometimes things are stored in one place, but you later realise they're better kept somewhere else (no, mattresses are not good banks!). When that thing is data in fields, we've got you covered!
Move data between fields on the same record
"I've got a short text field for feedback,
and I want to move it to a new long text field"
or...
"We store dietary requirements as text,
but want them to be a dropdown list instead"
The easiest way to move varied data (i.e. not the same value on every record) is to export it, and reimport to your new field. Thankfully, this is very straightforward to do as there's only 1 field to manage!
Step 1: Exporting
Select all the records you want to move data from
Click the action button, and choose 'Export records'
Select 'All fields' from the dropdown list and then Start export
Click 'Download CSV file'
Step 2: Importing to the new field
Create a new, blank import template, using your just-exported file as the example CSV
Map two columns to fields in Beacon:
- 'Record ID' to 'Record ID'
- Your old field to your new field
Set 'Record ID' as the deduplication for your record
Save changes on your template
Go to 'Run import' in your sidebar and choose the template you just created
Upload the CSV file and run the import
Done! You can now delete your old field.
Move data between People records and Organisation records
"We have some People records that should actually be Organisations"
Occasionally you may find that you have some People records that are actually meant to be Organisations. They may have been from an import you've run, or perhaps someone simply gave a business name when donating on one of your forms! Either way, you're likely going to want to pop them in the right place.
Step 1: Exporting the People data
Select all the records you want to move data from, click the action button and choose 'Export people'
Select 'All fields' from the dropdown list and then Start export
Click 'Download CSV file'
Step 2: Importing the data to Organisation records
Create a new, blank import template, using your just-exported file as the example CSV
Map all of the fields with data that you'd like to transfer. For the organisation's name, we suggest using the person's 'Name > Full' field to map to 'Name' on the Organisation record.
Choose 'Name' as the deduplication for Organisations
Save changes on your template
Go to 'Run import' in your sidebar and choose the template you just created
Upload the CSV file and run the import
Nice! Your People are now Organisations!
Step 3: Linking related records
If these records had things that were pointing at them (such as Payments, Subscriptions, or Event attendees), you will want to point them at your new records instead.
Open the records in question, remove the link to the Person, and relink to the Organisation.
