MongoDB: Updating a document in an array

Question

I have a collection with documents of this schema:

{
    _id: something,
    recipients: [{id:1, name:"Andrey", isread:false}, {id:2, name:"John", isread:false}]
}

Now, I want to update "isread" for John (id = 2) using findAndModify(), because I also need to get the original document.

I'm trying this command:

db.messages.findAndModify({query:{'recipients.id':2}, update:{'recipients.$.isread':true}})

but what it does, it just replaces the whole "recipients" field with 'recipients.$.isread', so the document now looks like:

{
    _id: someid,
    'recipients.$.isread':true
}

What am I doing wrong?

Just a guess, but it may have been voted down because the documentation states that the value to the update key is a modifier object, which kind of implies the inclusion of the modification instructional key word ($set, $push, etc). I thought your question was a fair once, since I personally find some inconsistencies in the mongodocs use of terminology, particularly with how it refers to various parameter components. — Ray
– Ray, Commented May 8, 2012 at 1:35

kheya · Accepted Answer · 2011-06-23 21:21:07Z

7

Try to use $set like this:

db.messages.findAndModify({query:{'recipients.id':2}, update:{$set:{'recipients.$.isread':true}}})

answered Jun 23, 2011 at 21:21

kheya

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2 Comments

Was this helpful? or still an issue?

I haven't tried yet. It looks reasonable, I'll mark it as answer when I try it tomorrow. Thanks!