How do I add dropdown in a jira project custom field

[Abdou Cisse]

I created a custom field with single line text. I now  need to add a dropdown .

[Arkadiusz Wroblewski]

Hello and welcome @Abdou Cisse 

you can’t “turn” a Single line text custom field into a dropdown. In Jira Server the field type is fixed.

What to do instead:

Create a new custom field of type Select List (single choice)

(that’s the dropdown)

Add your dropdown options in the field config.

Put the new field on the right screens (Create / Edit / View) via Screen scheme.

If you already have data in the text field and want to keep it:

bulk edit issues to copy/standardize values into the new dropdown (or use CSV export/import if you need mapping/cleanup)

then hide/remove the old text field from screens (or keep it read-only by workflow/app, if needed)

That’s the clean path: new dropdown field + migrate values + remove old field from screens.

[Benjamin]

HI @Abdou Cisse ,

Welcome! The only thing I would add here to what @Arkadiusz Wroblewski has already mention is to delete your old custom field once you migrate your values. Although it can be done, having custom fields with the same name will confuse end-users when searching or creating filters. Best practice is to not create any custom field with the same name. 

-Ben