Can't delete custom field

[igor m]

We are trying to delete custom field (Text Field (multi-line)) from Jira and it fails.

Seems like it is being stuck on DeleteCustomField.jspa page.  looks like it starts deleting the custom field and than just shows blank page. no errors in the log, no javascript errors on the page.

We do see that custom field context has been deleted, but the field itself still shows in the custom field list.

we did try to use direct link:  http://YourJiraBaseURL/secure/admin/DeleteCustomField!default.jspa?id=****, but that changes nothing. still can't delete the field.

What else can we do to resolve the problem?

Can we  delete the field directly from the database?

i assume we need to do something like this:

1. select * from customfield where cfname = '***' //   id =16142
2. delete from customfieldoption where customfield = 16142 // select returns  0 records
3. delete from customfieldvalue where customfield = 16142   // select returns 97,624 records
4. delete from customfield where cfname = '***'

is this safe to delete the field like this?  are there any other tables affected we need to look at?

Thanks for your help.

[Italo Qualisoni [e-Core]]

Hi @igor m ,

You should delete the custom field using the UI. It is not safe to do it directly on the database ( there is another question here)

The only reason I see you modifying database directly is following a knowledge base or when asked directly from the support, but with always a backup prior the change and running in a staging environment.

When you say : " looks like it starts deleting the custom field and than just shows blank page"

> In case you run JIRA behind a proxy, this could be the reason. This action usually takes time and if this time exceeds the proxy timeout limit you will have this behavior (sometimes you will have a 504 Gateway Timeout Error).

Notice that this won't stop the delete process, so if this is the case you can wait to see if the field has been deleted. You can check if with query if the field is being deleted, this should return 0

select count(*) from customfieldvalue where customfield = 16142 ;

[igor m]

well, the blank page comes up in about 15 sec, so doesn't look like a timeout problem.

i did try to check the number of records to see if it deletes them at least little by little, but the number of records doesn't change. it always returns same number:  97,624

select count(*) from customfieldvalue where customfield = 16142 ;

and re: running jira behind a proxy. i can delete other custom field no problem. it is just this one causing the problem.

[Sachin]

@igor m, I am not 100% if this will fix the issue, but did you try running Using the database integrity checker  to fix any database data inconsistencies.

[igor m]

i've run integrity checker. this hasn't helped.

it looks like the delete doesn't get to the database. it is stuck somewhere before hitting the database. 

i see that the custom field's context is deleted, but after ~15 sec it just stops and displays a blank page and no error in the logs or console though, so hard to understand why it is happening.

we are running jira 7.12.3 btw

[Italo Qualisoni [e-Core]]

Hi @igor m ,

Did you check both catalina.out and atlassian-jira.log logs?

Also you can also inspect the browser network to see what is happening there when you click on the delete custom field button, something like below article

https://developers.google.com/web/tools/chrome-devtools/network

[igor m]

in our system catalina.out is too big to open in an editor. atlassian-jira.log has no errors.

This is what i see in the f12 - network, it is just one line:

DeleteCustomField.jspa

200

document

Other

558 B

17.93 s

1 requests,  558 B transferred,  0 B resources, Finish: 17.93 s

[Sachin]

I would suggest you to consider "scoping" the custom field and changing it's name to "Archive:CF". Because, deleting custom field via database is not a great idea.

[igor m]

ok. thank you

[Italo Qualisoni [e-Core]]

And open a ticket to Atlassian support to troubleshoot it further