Using Filters

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JIRA's powerful issue search functionality is enhanced by the ability to save searches, called filters in JIRA, for later use. You can do the following with JIRA filters:

  • Share and email search results with your colleagues as well as people outside of your organization
  • Create lists of favorite filters
  • Have search results emailed to you according to your preferred schedule
  • View and export the search results in various formats (RSS, Excel, etc)
  • Display the search results in a report format
  • Display the search results in a dashboard Gadget

Screenshot: Issue filter results in list view (click to view full size image)

Screenshot: Issue filter results in detail view (click to view full size image)

Screenshot: Docking and undocking the filter panel (click to view full size image)

To redisplay the panel, click the arrow and then select the word Dock that appears. This puts the filter panel back in its place.

On this page:

Running a filter

Run a filter by clicking it. System filters – My Open Issues, Reported by Me, Recently Viewed, All Issues – and your favorite filters are shown on the left of the issue navigator. You can also find and run filters using the Manage Filters page.

To perform a saved search:

  1. Choose Issues > Search for Issues.
  2. Choose any filter from the list on the left:
    • System filter — My Open Issues, Reported by Me, Recently Viewed, All Issues
    • Favorite filters (listed alphabetically)
    • Find filters lets you search for any filter that's been shared, which you can then subscribe to (adding it to your Favorite Filters). 
  3. After selecting a filter, the search results are displayed. The search criteria for the filter is also displayed.
    (info) If you choose the Recently Viewed system filter, this switches you to advanced search due to the fact that basic search cannot represent the ORDER BY clause in this filter.
  4. You can add, remove or modify the search criteria to refine the search results. You can also save the modified search criteria (if you are updating your own filter), or save a copy of the search criteria as a new filter.

For instructions on adding, removing or modifying filters, see the following sections.

Saving a search as a filter

To save a search as a filter:

  1. Define and run your search as described in Searching for Issues.
  2. Click the Save as link above the search results. The Save Filter dialog is displayed.
  3. Enter a name for the new filter and click Submit. Your filter is created.

About saved filters:

    • Your new filter is added to your favorite filters.
    • Your new filter is shared according to the sharing preference in your user profile.
      (info) If you have not specified a personal preference, then the global default for sharing applies (i.e. Private, unless it's been changed by your JIRA Administrator). 
    • You need the Create Shared Object global permission to be able to share your filter. If you do not see the Share field, contact your JIRA Administrator to have this permission added to your profile.
    • To change how your new filter is shared, refer to the instructions on sharing filters.

Managing your existing filters

In this section:

Searching for a filter

Filters that you have created or that have been shared by other users can be found using the Manage Filters page. If the filter has been added as a favorite by many users, you also may be able locate it on the Popular tab of the Manage Filters page. This tab lists the top 20 most popular filters.

To search for an existing filter:

  1. Choose Issues > Manage Filters.
  2. Click the Search tab. The issue filter Search will display.
    (tick) Tip: You can navigate to this screen via the Find filters link on the issue navigator .
  3. Enter your search criteria and click Search to run the search.
  4. Your search results are displayed on the same page. Click the name of any issue filter to run it. You can also sort the search results by clicking the column headers.

Updating a filter

You can update the details – name, description, sharing, favorite – as well as the search criteria of an existing filter.

Please note that you can only update filters that you have created. To edit a filter that was shared with you, either clone (aka copy) the shared filter or ask your JIRA administrator to change the filter's ownership.

To update an existing filter:

  1. Choose Issues > Manage Filters.
  2. Click the My tab. This tab displays all the filters that have been created by you.
  3. Locate the filter you wish to update, click the cog icon and select Edit from the dropdown menu.
  4. The Edit Current Filter page displays, where you can update the filter details as required. To change the sharing or favorite settings, refer to the relevant instructions below.

    If the filter sharing functions shown above are not available to you, you probably do not have the Create Shared Object global permission assigned to you. Please contact your JIRA administrator to obtain this permission.
  5. Click Save to save your changes.

To update the search criteria of one of your existing filters:

  1. Choose Issues > Manage Filters.
  2. Click the My tab. This tab displays the filters that you've created.
  3. Click the name of the filter to run it and display the search results.
  4. Update the search criteria as desired and rerun the query to ensure the update is valid. You will see the word Edited displayed next to your filter name.
  5. Click Save to overwrite the current filter with the updated search criteria. If you want discard your changes instead, click the arrow next to the save button and select Discard changes.

Deleting a filter

You can delete any filter that you've created using this procedure.

To delete an existing filter:

  1. Choose Issues > Manage Filters.
  2. Click the My tab. This tab displays all the filters that have been created by you.
  3. Locate the filter you wish to update, click the cog icon and select Delete from the dropdown menu.

Cloning a Filter

You can clone any filter – which is just a way of making a copy that you own – that was either created by you or shared with you.

To clone an existing filter:

  1. Choose Issues > Manage Filters.
  2. Locate the filter you wish to clone, and click the name of the issue filter to run it and display the search results.
  3. Update the search criteria as desired. Click the arrow next to the Save button, and select Save > Save as to create a new filter from the existing filter:

(info) To discard your changes instead, click Save > Discard changes.

Adding a filter as a favorite

Filters that you've created or that have been shared by others can be added to your favorite filters. Favorite filters are listed in the menu under Issues > Filters and in the left panel of the issue navigator. You can also add them to your dashboard using the Favorite Filters gadget.

Keep in mind:

  • Filters that are already favorites are shown with a star.
  • Filters that are not currently your favorites are shown without a star.

There are two ways you can add an existing shared filter as a favorite, described below.

To add a filter as a favorite using the Manage Filters page:

  1. Choose Issues > Manage Filters.
  2. Locate the filter you wish to add as a favorite. If you created the filter, it is listed under the My tab, otherwise use the Search tab to find it.
  3. Click the star icon next to the filter name to add it to your favorites.

To add the filter that you are currently viewing as a favorite:

  • Click the star icon next to the filter name.

Sharing a filter

Filters that you have created can be shared with other users via user groups, projects and project roles. They can also be shared globally. Any filter that is shared is visible to users who have the JIRA Administrators global permission via the Shared Filters feature. See Managing Other User's Shared Filters below for details.

To share an existing filter using the Details button:

  1. Choose Issues > Manage Filters.
  2. Click the My tab. This tab displays all the filters that have been created by you.
  3. Locate the filter you wish to share and click on it.
  4. Click the Details link to the right of the filter's name, as shown here:
  5. Click Edit permissions to open the Edit Current Filter screen:
  6. Update the Add Shares field by selecting the group, project or project role that you want to share the filter with, and clicking the Add link to add the share. You can add further share permissions if you wish.
    (info) Note that you can only share filters with groups/roles of which you are a member.
    If the filter sharing functions shown above are not available to you, you probably do not have the Create Shared Object global permission assigned to you. Please contact your JIRA administrator to obtain this permission.
  7. Click Save to save your changes.

To share an existing filter using Manage Filters:

  1. Choose Issues > Manage Filters.
  2. Click the My tab. This tab displays all the filters that have been created by you.
  3. Locate the filter you wish to update, click the cog icon and select Edit from the dropdown menu.
  4. Follow steps 6 and 7 in the previous procedure.

Defining a filter-specific column order

You can add a defined column order to a saved filter, which displays the filter results according to the saved column order. Otherwise, the results are displayed according to your personal column order (if you have set this) or the system default.

To display your configured column order in a filter subscription, select HTML for the Outgoing email format in your User Profile. If you receive text emails from JIRA, you won't be able to see your configured column order.

To add a column layout to a saved filter:

  1. Choose Issues > Manage Filters.
  2. Click the My tab. This tab displays all the filters that have been created by you.
  3. Locate the filter you wish to update; click the filter's name to display the results. Be sure you are viewing the filter in the List view so that you see the columns.
  4. Configure the column order as desired by clicking on the column name and dragging it to the new position. Your changes are saved and will be displayed the next time you view this filter.

To remove a filter's saved column layout:

  1. Choose Issues > Manage Filters.
  2. Click the My tab. This tab displays all the filters that have been created by you.
  3. Locate the filter you wish to update; click the filter's name to display the results. Be sure you are viewing the filter in the List view so that you see the columns.
  4. Click the Columns option on the top right of the displayed columns and select Restore Defaults in the displayed window.

Exporting Column Ordered Issues

When the results of a saved filter are exported to Excel, the column order and choice of columns are those that were saved with the filter. Even if a user has configured a personal column order for the results on the screen, the saved configuration is used for the Excel export. To export using your own configuration, save a copy of the filter along with your configuration and then export the results to Excel.

Subscribing to a Filter

Please see Receiving Search Results via Email.

Managing other user's shared filters

A shared filter is a filter whose creator has shared that filter with other users. Refer to Sharing a Filter above for details. When a shared filter is created by a user, that user:

  • Initially 'owns' the shared filter.
  • Being the owner, can edit and modify the shared filter.

If you have the JIRA Administrators global permission, you can manage shared filters that were created by other users. For instructions, see Managing Shared Filters in the JIRA Administrator's Guide.

Last modified on Nov 14, 2013

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