Can't delete or modify a field?

[Andrew.Shaw]

Sometimes, fields can seem unwilling to comply to your needs.

You're trying to change the data type of a field but the system keeps telling you that "there has been an error in processing your request":

Why would it do that?

1. Your first (and logical) port of call is to check the permissions but everything seems okay.
2. In doubt, you add all possible permissions to the role, after writing down the original ones, but you still get the error.
3. So, you clone the workspace but realise that the issue is cloned as well. Therefore, you delete the clone.
4. Finally, you wonder whether you should try purging or deleting the workspace and restart from scratch ...

[Andrew.Shaw · Accepted solution]

Don’t! The issue here is that the computed field formula of a Mashup referred the aforementioned field’s ID in its formula and, therefore, blocked any changes to it. All that was needed to do was to modify momentarily the formula, make the change and revert the formula to its original value.

BTW, the “you” in the previous post was me. And I wish to thank my colleague Michael for reminding me the basics, as I was trying to over-complicate the debugging.

[scottmoyse]

This isn't your fault for over complicating the debugging. The error message should be descriptive, the system knows there is an issue so its likely it would be able to tell you the exact Computed field retaining the referenced field you are trying to delete or change its data type.

This issue gets extremely complicated when you have a field being used by a number of computed fields.

I made the mistake several times, I don't think I will make it again, but the time to fix it comes into finding the computed field in question so you can release the field you want to change....

If computed fields are going to continue to be a large part of PLM 360 then that message needs to be improved.

[jared.sund]

Scott, 

I'm aware of this issue, and will be looking to apply better messaging here in a future release.

-jared

[Anonymous]

I have run into this problem, only I cannot find any remaining field that uses this in a calculation.  I have either removed the field name from any formulae that used it, or deleted the calculating field altogether.  

It isn't the permissions as far as I know as I have Admin permissions and can delete other fields in the same matrix just fine.  I have been through the whole workspace (Item Details part) and cannot find any field that uses the one I am trying to delete.

Any ideas ? 

Cheers,

Fiona

[Anonymous]

Scratch that, it was the same reason - I had forgotten that I had used it in a total at the bottom of the column, not just in a computed field at the end of the row of the matrix.  Hadn't spotted it as the matrix window constantly resizes smaller (annoyingly) - as detailed in http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/Autodesk-PLM-360/Matrix-window-no-longer-resizable/td-p/3849107

Thanks, please mark this issue here as resolved.

Fiona