SharePoint Document Issues

How to Update Existing SharePoint Items After Renaming Choice Values

Maira Mehtab Sep 21, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user needs a method to update existing records in a SharePoint list after renaming options in a choice column, to avoid having to manually reselect values for every item.

Product: SharePoint, Power Automate
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Updating choice column values across multiple existing list items after changing the choice names in the column settings.
Observed behavior: Existing list items retain and display the old choice names even after the options have been renamed.

Before you start

Ensure you have the necessary Edit permissions for the SharePoint list and access to create workflows in Microsoft Power Automate.

Solution 1Recommended

Use Power Automate to Batch Update List Items

Create a Power Automate flow to retrieve the existing SharePoint list items, map the old choices to the new ones, and update the records automatically.

When you rename a choice in a SharePoint list, existing records do not automatically update because the data is already stored as plain text strings in those specific items. Power Automate allows you to loop through the existing items and apply the new names in bulk.

For multi-choice columns, remember that the update action rewrites the entire field value. You must include any unchanged choices in your replacement array so they are not accidentally deleted during the update.

Create a new Power Automate flow

Open Microsoft Power Automate and create an instant or scheduled cloud flow depending on when you want the update to run.

Retrieve the SharePoint list items

Add the 'Get items' action, select your SharePoint Site Address, and choose the target List Name.

Loop through the items

Add an 'Apply to each' control to iterate through the list items retrieved in the previous step.

Map old choices to new choices

Within the loop, use a 'Condition' or 'Switch' action to identify items with the old choice values and map them to the newly renamed values.

Construct the update array (for multi-choice)

If updating a multi-choice column, construct an array containing both the newly mapped choices and any unchanged choices that the user previously selected.

Update the SharePoint item

Add the 'Update item' SharePoint action, passing the Item ID and the newly formulated choice values or array to save the changes.

Important Rule for Multi-Choice Columns: Always include choices that were not renamed in your update array. If you only pass the newly renamed choices, the action will overwrite the field and wipe out the unchanged selections.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why don't existing SharePoint items update when I rename a choice?

SharePoint treats the choice values saved in existing list items as text strings. Renaming the choice in the column settings only updates the available options for future edits; it does not retroactively change the historical text data saved in existing records.

Can I use 'Edit in grid view' to update these values instead of Power Automate?

Yes, if you only have a small number of items to update, you can use 'Edit in grid view' in SharePoint to manually drag or copy-paste the new choice values across multiple rows quickly. Power Automate is recommended for large datasets.

What happens if I forget to include unchanged choices in my Power Automate array?

If you update a multi-choice column using Power Automate and do not include the unchanged selections, the update action will overwrite the entire field, effectively deleting the choices you omitted from the array.

Document & File Issues