Using Existing Object Types
One of the common questions we receive is:
Can we use our existing Object Types?
Generally, the scenario can be summarized as follows:
You have an Assets Schema.
You have one or more Object Types that you maintain your Users/Groups/Devices/Applications/etc.
You already have the objects in your Object Types.
These objects have been updated for a while, and they have an activity history.
These objects have also been related to JSM issues in different projects.
If this is your case, unfortunately, you can not use the existing Object Type.
We would love to support this scenario; however, the Assets External Import capability has a few limitations. And our applications depend on the capabilities of the Assets External Import module. It doesn’t allow using the existing object type. By the way, other import types, such as CSV or JSON, support the use of existing object types. This sometimes creates confusion for our customers. Here is a table showing the differences between Assets import types.
Assets Import Type | External Import | CSV or JSON Import |
|---|---|---|
Object Types and Attributes | Created by the app | Created by the import wizard or selected by the user from the existing object types |
Import Mapping for the Object Types | Created by the app | Created automatically or manually by the user |
Import Mapping for the Attributes | Created by the app | Created automatically or manually by the user |
Import Mapping and AQLs for the References | Created by the app | Created manually by the user |
Currently, the best approach is to create a new schema and then click the “Build Data Model” button on our applications. This will build the structure by creating the object types, attributes, and relationships.
On the other hand, Assets doesn’t support moving objects from one Object Type to another Object Type either. Moving existing objects from the existing object types to the newly created object types could also be a simple solution.
We hope that in the future, Atlassian will add these capabilities, allowing us to support the scenario accordingly.