copy data from one column to another

Question

I'm running SharePoint Online 2013. I've set up a document library. The default "Add Document" form contained many fields irrelevant to some users, so I've got a requirement to add another "Add document" form with shorter list of fields to fill in. I've added a new content type with fewer columns. The columns share names with parent content type, Document. Now I would like to do the following: 1. Move data from the original Document content type columns to the new content type columns with identical names 2. Delete old columns 3. Redefine all views to point to new columns.

Question 1: is it possible to do? Can documents in library have some columns from one content type and other columns from another? Can views display data from two content types?

Question 2: If q1 answer is 'yes', how can I move data from the old columns to the new columns? I tried to follow suggestion here: How to copy values from one column to another and set up workflow in SharePoint Designer, using "Set Field in Current Item" action in Reusable Workflow, but the Field drop-down box only lists one filed, Title, to pick from. What am I doing wrong? If q1 answer is 'no', what can be done to resolve this?

Thank you.

Answer 1

Answer 1 : No, a document is bind to a content type. Yes, a view can display columns from different content types.

In your scenario, I would create the new content type then :

• Copy the initial document
• Bind this new document to the new content type.
• Get the columns data of the old document and set this data to the columns of the new document.
• Delete the old document

After you make sure your old content type isn't use anymore. You should be able to delete him. (Make sure you clean all the recycle bin before delete the content type. Otherwise, you'll get an error.)