.. _Modify_ChangeDatatypeAcrossGraphs:

Modify > Change Datatype across Graphs
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This feature is available from the :ref:`ModifyMenu` for property (shape) definitions in Ontology asset collections. It opens a dialog where you can select other asset collections that include the current Ontology and asks you to select a new datatype for the property values. It will then proceed and try to replace all statements where the property is used, changing their datatype to the selected datatype.

.. note::
   This feature is typically used when the datatype of a property changes, for example
   from *integer* to *decimal*, and there is already a body of existing instance data.

.. caution::
   For each individual statement that uses the property, the system will check if the value is actually
   valid for the new datatype.  For example, it is not possible to automatically convert from *integer* to *date*.
   Changing the datatype may in these cases cause constraint violations.

.. note:: This feature is not available for property declarations that have complex SHACL path expressions
   including inverse properties.


**See Also**

* :ref:`Modify_DeleteAllPropertyValuesAcrossAssetCollections`
* :ref:`Modify_ReplacePropertyAcrossAssetCollections`

**Further Reading on Ontologies**

* :ref:`working_with_ontologies_target`

**Further Reading on Modify Menu**

* :ref:`scripting_actions`

**Further Reading on TopBraid**

* :ref:`introduction`