3.1.2 How do I rename a category?

Renaming a category requires to touch every PR in that category, because each report contains the name of its category.

To rename category A to B, proceed as follows:

1. Create a new category B.
2. Edit every report in category A, changing its category to B. This can be done with any GNATS client; check the archives of the HELP-GNATS mailing list for hints about automating this step.
3. Run gen-index (see Regenerating the index in Keeping Track) to refresh the index file.
4. If you are using GNATS 4 (or planning to upgrade soon), you should not remove the category A. When a follow-up to an existing PR arrives via e-mail, GNATS 4.x checks that both the category and the PR number indicated in the mail exist (this is a sanity check).

   To reduce the risk of new reports being filed to category A, change its description in the categories file to something like ‘obsolete, use category B instead’.