By default, an upper bound limit of 4,000 is applied to inactive unrestricted picklists for each field. If you exceed this limit when converting a text field to a picklist field, you get an error message.
Required Editions
| Available in: both Salesforce Classic and Lightning Experience |
| Available in: All Editions |
- From the management settings for the field’s object, go to Fields.
- Click Edit next to the custom field that you want to change.
- Click Change Field Type.
- Select a Picklist and click Next.
- Enter a field label, name, and any other attributes, and then save your changes.
Keep these considerations in mind when you convert a field to a picklist.
- The limit isn’t case-sensitive.
- If there are more than 4,000 unique values, the conversion fails. This conversion limit includes active picklists.
- Soft-deleted values count toward the 4,000 unique value limit. To avoid values that count toward the limit, permanently delete any soft deleted records and field values by emptying the recycle bin.
- Keep this setting: Remove upper bound on inactive picklist values.
- You can’t convert a defined unique text field to a picklist or a multi-select picklist.