update() method for fieldtypes never called if field doesn’t have global settings

I’ve come across an issue with an fieldtype add-on I’ve released (Nolan) which has no global settings. The updated version of the add-on is Grid compatible, but requires an update to all the existing serialized array data stored in the field, to convert it to a json encoded array.

After digging through the EE core, it seems without having global settings the update() method can never be called.

I’m at an impasse with this and seems like a pretty straight forward oversight with the fieldtype logic. I also note there is zero documentation about the update() method on the fieldtype developer docs.

Only option I think is to run a query on the publish page for the fieldtype version according to the db and then run the update method to do my required changes, and set ‘has_global_settings’ to ‘y’ in exp_fieldtypes.

Not ideal, and welcome any feedback or suggestions on how to get around this. Would be great if fieldtypes had a similar function to Modules where you run updates on demand.

Iain