Basic Searching

Performing a basic search

To perform a new basic search in JIRA:

1. Choose Issues > Search for Issues. The issue navigator is displayed.
   
   • If there are existing search criteria, click the New filter button to reset the search criteria.
   • If the Basic link is showing (in other words, you are in the Advanced searching mode), click Basic to switch search modes. This is what you should see:
     
     
2. Enter the criteria for the search. You can search against specific fields and/or search for specific text, as described below:
   
   • Searching against specified fields — To search against specified fields, you need to select the fields then specify the fields values that you want to find.
     
     1. Select fields as criteria — The Project, Issue Type, Status and Assignee fields are always available as criteria. If you want to search using additional fields as criteria, click More and tick the desired fields.
        Can't find the field you want? Field is displaying greyed out text? See the Troubleshooting section below.

     2. Specify the value for each field — Click the field criterion and tick/enter the desired value in the dropdown. If the desired value is not shown in the list, start typing the name of value the to filter the list, as shown here:
        
        About the suggested users/groups for the Assignee and Reporter fields — A user/group will be suggested if you have recently selected them in an Assignee/Reporter field for an issue, or viewed the user's profile page.

   • Searching against specified text — Enter the desired text in the Contains text text box and press Enter. The Summary, Description, Comments, Environment fields and all text-based custom fields will be searched. You can use modifiers in your search text, such as wildcards and logical operators, see Performing Text Searches.
3. The search results will automatically update, unless your administrator has disabled automatic updates of search results. If so, you need to click the Update button on the field dropdown after every change.

Saved search

Troubleshooting

• Why can't I find the field I want to choose? Some fields are only valid for a particular project/issue type context, see Configuring Fields and Screens for details. For these fields, you must select the applicable project/issue type. Otherwise, the field is not available for selection.

• Why are the field criteria displaying in grey text? Some fields are only valid for a particular project/issue type context, see Configuring Fields and Screens for details. If you choose a field in your search, then remove all projects/issue types that reference the field, then the field is invalid. The invalid field does not apply to your search and displays in grey text.

• Why is there a red exclamation mark in my field? Some field values are only valid for a particular project/issue type context. For example, you may have configured a project to use a status In QA Review in its workflow. If you select this project and status in your search, then change the search to filter for a project that doesn't use n QA Review, the status will be invalid and ignored in the search.
  
  
• Why don't my search results automatically update? Your search results will always update automatically whenever any fields are changed, provided that your administrator has not disabled automatic updates of search results. Ask your administrator whether they have disabled automatic updates of search results.

Next steps

• Read Using the Issue Navigator to find out how to sort with the issues displayed in the search results, or view individual issues.
• Skip to Working with Search Result Data to find out how to save your search results as an issue filter, export your search results and share your search results.