SharePoint Online change column type from "Single line of text" to "People"

[kate_meng]

Hi guys, 

I have a SharePoint list with a "Responsible" column, its column type is "Single line of text". Now I want to change column type from "Single line of text" to "People", do you what is the best way to do it?

I know the below workaround but it's too time consuming for a list with more than 5000 items:

1. Create a new "People" column and move it next to the "Text" column

2.  Edit in grid view, copy data to the new column

3. Exit grid view to save

Looking forward to your replies and thanks!

[#2]

Dear@kate_meng ,

Excuse me for the late reply.  Have you considered using PowerAutomate to achieve your task ?  I'm also transferring data from one column to another, with transformations between the source and the destination, and PowerAutomate does it nicely.

Best regards,

Thierry