Configuring Workflow

About 'Open' and 'Closed' Issues

Within JIRA (e.g. in the 'Assigned To Me' gadget and other gadgets), an issue is determined to be 'open' or 'closed' based on the value of its 'Resolution' field — not its 'Status' field.

• An issue is determined to be 'open' if its 'Resolution' field has not been set.
• An issue is determined to be 'closed' if its 'Resolution' field has a value (e.g. 'FIXED', 'CANNOT REPRODUCE').

This is true regardless of the current value of the issue's 'Status' field ('OPEN', 'IN PROGRESS', etc).

So if you need your workflow to force an issue to be 'open' or 'closed', you will need to set the issue's 'Resolution' field during a transition. There are two ways to do this:

• Set the 'Resolution' field automatically via a post function.
• Prompt the user to choose a 'Resolution' via a screen.

Creating a Workflow

1. Log in as a user with the 'JIRA Administrators' global permission.
2. Select 'Administration' > 'Issues' > 'Workflows' to open the 'View Workflows' page, which shows a list of all existing workflows in your system.
   Keyboard shortcut: 'g' + 'g' + start typing 'workflows'
   
3. Create a new workflow in JIRA using either of the following methods:
   • Create a 'blank' workflow  by using the 'Add New Workflow' form at the bottom of the page:
     1. In the 'Name' field, type a name (usually 2-3 words) to identify your new workflow.
     2. (Optional) In the 'Description' field, type a detailed description of your new workflow.
     3. Click the 'Add' button. Your new workflow will contain one step, called 'Open', which has an incoming transition called 'Create'.
   • Copy an existing workflow (useful if you already have a workflow that is similar to what you need) by clicking the 'Copy'link next to an existing workflow:
     1. In the 'Workflow Name' field, type a name (usually 2-3 words) to identify your new workflow.
     2. (Optional) In the 'Description' field, type a detailed description of your new workflow.
     3. Click the 'Copy' button. Your new workflow will contain the same steps and transitions as the workflow you copied.
        If you are copying the default workflow (above) and wish to rename the workflow transition buttons on the 'View Issue' page, you must delete the jira.i18n.title and jira.i18n.description properties from all transitions in the copied workflow. Otherwise, the default names (i.e. values of these properties) will persist. Read more about transition properties.
4. Once you have created your new workflow you may want to customise it using the Workflow Designer by adding and/or editing steps and transitions (below) — especially if you have created a blank workflow.
5. When you have finished customising your new workflow, see Activating Workflow for details on how to use it with a JIRA project.

Editing a Workflow

Editing a workflow means that you are modifying the steps and transitions that make up a workflow. Read more about steps and transitions on this page.

The process for editing a workflow differs depending on whether you are editing an inactive workflow or an active workflow. Restrictions are placed on the modifications you can make to an active workflow, due to the impact the changes will have on projects and/or issue types that the workflow is applied to.

Editing an Inactive Workflow

An inactive workflow is a workflow that is not currently being used by any projects.

Because there are no issues currently transitioning through an inactive workflow, you can simply use the Workflow Designer to edit the workflow's steps and transitions (below).

Editing an Active Workflow

An active workflow is a workflow that is currently being used by one or more projects.

To edit an active workflow, you must first create a 'draft' of it. You can then:

• Make quick edits to your live draft with the benefit of real-time validations
• Publish your changes, with the option of saving your original workflow as an inactive backup.

To edit an active workflow:

1. Log in as a user with the 'JIRA Administrators' global permission.
2. Select 'Administration' > 'Issues' > 'Workflows' to open the 'View Workflows' page, which shows a list of all existing workflows in your system as shown under Creating a workflow (above).
   Keyboard shortcut: 'g' + 'g' + start typing 'workflows'
3. Do one of the following to create your draft:
   • Click the 'Create Draft' link next to the active workflow you wish to edit. The 'View Workflow Steps' page of your newly created draft workflow is displayed.
     
   • Click the 'Design' link next to the active workflow you wish to edit. The 'Workflow Designer'  page (below) is displayed.
     • Click 'Create Draft' near the top of the page. The 'Workflow Designer' page will be reloaded, showing your newly created draft workflow.
       
   • Click the 'Steps' link next to the active workflow you wish to edit. The 'View Workflow Steps' page is displayed.
     • Click the 'Create a draft workflow' link in the information message box near the top of the page. The 'View Workflow Steps' page will be reloaded, showing your newly created draft workflow.
4. After using the Workflow Designer or the 'View Workflow Steps' page to add and/or edit your draft workflow's steps and transitions (below), click 'Publish' at the top right of the Workflow Designer (or the 'publish this draft' link in the information message box near the top of the 'View Workflow Steps' page). A confirmation dialog box (or confirmation page if you used the 'View Workflow Steps' page) will be displayed:
   
5. Select whether you wish to save the original workflow as an inactive copy. If you choose to retain the original workflow, enter a name for the inactive copy.
6. Click 'Publish' to publish your draft (i.e. commit your changes to the active workflow).

Please Note:

• After creating a draft of an active workflow, you will be able to edit the draft workflow as described in the sections below. Any changes that you make to the draft will not affect the active workflow until you publish the draft.
• It is not possible to create a draft of the default workflow (above). You can only create a copy of the default workflow. (See Creating a Workflow above).

Limitations

Please note that the following limitations apply when editing an active workflow (i.e. draft):

• Existing workflow steps cannot be deleted.
• The associated Status for an existing step cannot be edited.
• If an existing step has no outgoing transitions, it can't have any new outgoing transitions added.
• Step IDs for existing steps cannot be changed.

If you wish to make any of the modifications listed above, then you will need to copy the workflow (see Creating a Workflow above), modify the copy and then activate it. Please note, this method will be significantly slower than editing an active workflow, particularly for large instances of JIRA.

Using the Workflow Designer

The Workflow Designer allows you to visualise the entire layout of your workflow as well as create and edit a workflow's steps and transitions visually.

The Workflow Designer's interface consists of the four areas indicated in the following diagram.

Please Note:

• The Statuses and Global Transitions Panels are expandable. If these panels are not visible (i.e. collapsed), you can expand these panels by clicking the vertical bar (containing a small arrow mid-way along the bar) on the left-hand edge of the Workflow Design Area.
• Keyboard shortcuts are not available in the Workflow Designer.

Using the Main Toolbar

The Main Toolbar contains tools (on buttons) for visually arranging your workflow's steps/statuses and transitions on the Workflow Design Area.

Using the Statuses Panel

The Statuses Panel lists all available JIRA statuses which have not already been associated with a step on the Workflow Design Area. It also provides tools (on buttons) for adding new statuses or editing existing ones.

You can use the Statuses Panel to add a step to your workflow. See Adding a Step (below) for details.

Using the Global Transitions Panel

The Global Transitions Panel lists all global transitions used in your workflow. A global transition is one in which the destination step of the transition has all remaining steps in the workflow as incoming steps, but provides the added advantage of only requiring you to edit or update the transition in one place.

Please Note:

• Global transitions are similar to (but not the same as) 'common transitions'. See Using 'Common Transitions' (below) for details.
• To avoid clutter, any global transitions added to your workflow do not appear on the Workflow Design Area. However, they do appear in the Global Transitions Panel as well as every step of your workflow's 'View Workflow Steps' page (below).

The Global Transitions Panel also provides tools (on buttons) for adding new global transitions, as well as editing or deleting existing ones.

Using the Workflow Design Area

The Workflow Design Area shows the layout of your workflow's steps as well as transitions, consisting of transition lines and labels.

Use the 'Select Tool' (above) to move these items around Workflow Design Area.

Please Note:

• A workflow depicted in the Workflow Design Area is what regular JIRA users will see when viewing the workflow from the 'View Issue' page (by clicking the 'View Workflow' link).
• If significant changes have been made to items in the Workflow Design Area, do not forget to use the 'Save Layout' tool to save the layout.

Editing or Deleting Annotations

Once you have added an annotation using the 'Create Annotation' tool (above), you can do the following to edit or delete the annotation:

• To resize an annotation, drag the edges or corners of the 'sticky note'.
• To edit the text inside an annotation, simply click inside the annotation and begin modifying the text.
• To remove an annotation, click the 'X' at the top-right of the 'sticky note'. You will be prompted to confirm this action.

Accessing the Workflow Designer

To access the Workflow Designer for any workflow:

1. Log in as a user with the 'JIRA Administrators' global permission.
2. Select 'Administration' > 'Issues' > 'Workflows' to open the 'View Workflows' page, which shows a list of all existing workflows in your system.
   Keyboard shortcut: 'g' + 'g' + start typing 'workflows'
3. Click the 'Design' link associated with the relevant workflow. The Workflow Designer is displayed, showing your workflow's steps and transitions.

Working with Steps

Adding a Step

To add a new step to a workflow:

1. Log in as a user with the 'JIRA Administrators' global permission.
2. Select 'Administration' > 'Issues' > 'Workflows' to open the 'View Workflows' page, which shows a list of all existing workflows in your system as shown under Creating a workflow (above).
   Keyboard shortcut: 'g' + 'g' + start typing 'workflows'
3. Use either the Workflow Designer or the 'View Workflow Steps' page to add the new step to the workflow.

Using the Workflow Designer to add the new step

1. On the 'View Workflows' page, click the 'Design' link next to the workflow that you wish to add a step to. The 'Workflow Designer' page is displayed, showing your workflow's existing steps as well as the lines and labels of transitions between these steps (in the Workflow Design Area).
2. Drag an available status from the Statuses Panel list and drop it onto the Workflow Design Area. A new step will be added to your workflow.
   
   Please Note:
   • The name of the status, which is equivalent to the 'Linked Status' indicated on the 'View Workflow Steps' page (below) is assigned to the step's 'Step Name (id)'. This Step Name is depicted on step you dragged from the Statuses Panel to the Workflow Design Area.
   • Because steps on the Workflow Design Area depict Step Names, if use the Statuses Panel on the Workflow Designer (above) to change the name of a status that has already been added to the Workflow Design Area, the step name will remain unchanged. To change the name of a step, see Editing a Step (below).

Using the 'View Workflow Steps' page to add the new step

1. On the 'View Workflows' page, click the 'Steps' link next to the workflow that you wish to add a step to. The 'View Workflow Steps' page is displayed, showing the existing steps that make up the workflow and each step's Linked Status and Outgoing Transitions (under 'Transitions (id)').
   The 'Add New Step' form appears below the list of steps. However, this will only be shown if the workflow is inactive or you are editing the draft of an active workflow.
   
2. In the 'Step Name' field, type a short name for the step.
   It is often useful to use the name of the corresponding linked status (in the following step).
3. In the 'Linked Status' field, select the status that corresponds to this step.
   Each status can only correspond to one step in each workflow. Hence, if all statuses are linked to steps in this workflow, you may need to define a new status.
4. Click the 'Add' button. The 'View Workflow Steps' page will now show your new step in the list.

Be aware that some gadgets (such as Assigned To Me and In Progress) will not display data for issues in and after the "Resolved" step.

Editing a Step

To edit an existing step in a workflow:

1. Log in as a user with the 'JIRA Administrators' global permission.
2. Select 'Administration' > 'Issues' > 'Workflows' to open the 'View Workflows' page, which shows a list of all existing workflows in your system as shown under Creating a workflow (above).
   Keyboard shortcut: 'g' + 'g' + start typing 'workflows'
3. Click the 'Steps' link next to the workflow whose step you wish to edit. The 'View Workflow Steps' page is displayed, showing the steps that make up the workflow (as shown under Adding a Stepabove).
   • On the 'View Workflow Steps' page, you can click the following link of any step:
     • 'Add Transition' — to add an Outgoing Transition to that step. See the 'Add Workflow Transition' page (below) for details.
     • 'Delete Transitions' — to delete one or more Outgoing Transitions of that step. This link is only available if the step has at least one outgoing transition.
     • 'Edit' — to edit the step's Name or Linked Status.
     • 'View Properties' — to view and edit the step's Properties. See Using Step Properties (below) for details.
     • 'Delete Step' — to do just that. This link is only available if the step has no incoming transitions.
   • Alternatively, you can access the 'View Workflow Step' page to edit a step.
     To access this page, click the linked name of the step you wish to edit in the 'Step Name (id)' column (e.g. 'Open' or 'In QA' created in Adding a Step above). The step's 'View Workflow Step' page is displayed.
     
     • On the 'View Workflow Step' page, the following information is shown about the step:
       • On the left of the 'View Workflow Step' page:
         • Linked Status — the status (usable globally) to which your specific workflow step is linked.
       • In the 'Workflow Browser' section on the right:
         • Incoming Transitions — that is, transitions whose Destination Step is this step. To allow issues to move into this step, there must be at least one incoming transition.
         • Outgoing Transitions — that is, transitions whose Originating Step is this step. To allow issues to move out of this step, there must be at least one outgoing transition.
     • On the 'View Workflow Step' page, you can:
       • Click 'Add outgoing transition' to do just that to the step. See the 'Add Workflow Transition' page (below) for details.
       • Click 'Delete outgoing transitions' to delete one or more Outgoing Transitions of the step. This link is only available if the step has at least one outgoing transition indicated in the 'Workflow Browser' section.
       • Click 'Edit step' to edit the step's Step Name or Linked Status.
       • Click 'Delete Step' to do just that. This link is only available if the step has no incoming transitions indicated in the 'Workflow Browser' section. See Deleting a Step (below) for details.
       • Click 'View step's properties' to view and edit the step's Properties. See Using Step Properties (below) for details.
       • View and edit any of the step's Incoming Transitions or Outgoing Transitions, by clicking the name of a transition in the 'Workflow Browser' section. See Adding a Transition, Adding a Validator and Adding a Post Function (below) for details.

Using Step Properties

You can use a workflow step's properties to prevent issues from being edited when they are at that particular workflow step. For example, in the default workflow (above), issues in the 'Closed' step/status cannot be edited, even by users who have the 'Edit Issue' permission.

Please Note:

• Issues which cannot be edited cannot be updated using Bulk Edit either.
• You can only edit the properties of a workflow's step if that workflow is editable (i.e. if that workflow is either inactive or a draft of an active workflow). See Editing an inactive workflow for more information.

To stop issues from being editable in a particular workflow step, set the step's 'jira.issue.editable' property to 'false' as follows:

1. Log in as a user with the 'JIRA Administrators' global permission.
2. Select 'Administration' > 'Issues' > 'Workflows' to open the 'View Workflows' page, which shows a list of all existing workflows in your system as shown under Creating a workflow (above).
   Keyboard shortcut: 'g' + 'g' + start typing 'workflows'
3. Use either the Workflow Designer or the 'View Workflow Steps' page to set the workflow step's property.

Using the Workflow Designer to set the step's property

1. On the 'View Workflows' page, click the 'Design' link next to the workflow whose step you wish to make uneditable. The 'Workflow Designer' page is displayed, showing the steps that make up your workflow in the Workflow Design Area (as shown under Using the Workflow Designer above).
2. In the Workflow Design Area, move the mouse pointer over the relevant step and click the cog icon that appears to the right of the step to reveal a popup menu.
   
3. From the popup menu, select 'Issue Editable' to remove the tick from that menu item. This action sets the step's jira.issue.editable property and its value to false.
   Please Note:
   • Selecting 'Issue Editable' from the popup menu again (to add the tick) remove the step's jira.issue.editable property (or sets the value of the jira.issue.editable property key to true).
   • Selecting 'Step Properties' from the popup menu opens the 'Edit Properties' dialog box, which allows you to specify additional properties (other than the jira.issue.editable property) on a step.
     
     On the 'Edit Properties' dialog box, you can:
     • Add a new property to the step.
     • Edit a property's key or value, by simply clicking the property's key or value to begin editing it.
     • Delete a property, by clicking the icon to the right of the property.

Using the 'View Workflow Steps' page to set the step's property

1. On the 'View Workflows' page, click the 'Steps' link next to the workflow whose step you wish to make uneditable. The 'View Workflow Steps' page is displayed, showing the steps that make up the workflow (as shown under Adding a Step above).
2. Click the 'View Properties' link that corresponds to the relevant step. The 'View Workflow Step Properties' page is displayed, showing the step's existing properties (if any). The 'Add New Property' form appears below the list of existing properties (if any have already been defined).
   The 'Add New Property' form will not appear if the step's workflow is not editable.
3. In the 'Property Key' field, type: jira.issue.editable
4. In the 'Property Value' field, type: false
5. Click the 'Add' button.

It is not possible to edit a step's properties on this page. To change any property's key or value (or both), you must first delete the property you wish to change and add the new updated property.

Deleting a Step

Please Note: A step can only be deleted if it has no incoming transitions. Also note that you cannot delete a step from an active workflow — see Limitations for a workaround.

To delete a step from a workflow:

1. Log in as a user with the 'JIRA Administrators' global permission.
2. Select 'Administration' > 'Issues' > 'Workflows' to open the 'View Workflows' page, which shows a list of all existing workflows in your system as shown under Creating a workflow (above).
   Keyboard shortcut: 'g' + 'g' + start typing 'workflows'
3. Use either the Workflow Designer or the 'View Workflow Steps' page to delete the step from the workflow.

Using the Workflow Designer to delete the step

1. Click the 'Design' link next to the workflow whose step you wish to delete. The 'Workflow Designer' page is displayed, showing the steps that make up your workflow in the Workflow Design Area (as shown under Using the Workflow Designer above).
2. In the Workflow Design Area, move the mouse pointer over the relevant step and click the cog icon that appears to the right of the step to reveal a popup menu.
   
3. From the popup menu, select 'Delete Step' to remove the step from the workflow.

Using the 'View Workflow Steps' page to delete the step

1. Click the 'Steps' link next to the workflow whose step you wish to delete. The 'View Workflow Steps' page is displayed, showing the steps that make up the workflow (as shown under Adding a Step above).
2. Click the 'Delete Step' link that corresponds to the relevant step.
   This link will only be shown if the step has no incoming transitions.

Working with Transitions

Adding a Transition

To add a transition to a workflow:

1. Log in as a user with the 'JIRA Administrators' global permission.
2. Select 'Administration' > 'Issues' > 'Workflows' to open the 'View Workflows' page, which shows a list of all existing workflows in your system as shown under Creating a workflow (above).
   Keyboard shortcut: 'g' + 'g' + start typing 'workflows'
3. Use either the Workflow Designer or the 'View Workflow Steps' page to add the transition to the workflow.
   The Workflow Designer provides more options for creating your new transition.

Using the Workflow Designer to Add the Transition

1. On the 'View Workflows' page, click the 'Design' link next to the workflow you wish to add a transition to. The 'Workflow Designer' page is displayed, showing your workflow's existing steps as well as the lines and labels of transitions between these steps (as shown under Using the Workflow Designer above).
2. Click the appropriate 'Create Transition' button in the Workflow Designer's Main Toolbar (above), according to the type of transition line you wish to create.
3. In the Workflow Design Area, click the step that will be the Originating Step of the transition.
4. Click the step that will be the Destination Step of the transition. The 'Add Transition' dialog box opens.
   
5. Choose between creating a new transition ('New Transition'), copying an existing transition ('Clone Transition') or using a 'common transition' ('Use Common Transition').
   • If you choose either 'New Transition' or 'Clone Transition':
     1. In the 'Transition Name' field, type a short name for the transition.
        This name will be shown to users as the transition link in the list of 'Available Workflow Actions' on the 'View Issue' page.
     2. (Optional) In the 'Description' field, type a short description of the purpose of the transition.
     3. If you chose:
        • 'New Transition', then in the 'Transition View' field, select either:
          • 'No view for transition' — choose this if you do not need to prompt the user for input before the transition is executed (i.e. the transition will occur instantly when the user clicks the transition).
          • The name of a screen that will be shown to users, asking for input before the transition is executed. You can choose one of JIRA's default screens or any other screen you have created. If no existing screen is suitable, you may want to create a new screen.
            Many of JIRA's default screens are used in the default workflow (above) and named after the transitions they are used in (e.g. 'Start Progress' and 'Resolve Issue').
        • 'Clone Transition', then in the 'Transition To Clone' field, select the transition you wish to copy.
          Copying an existing transition creates a new independent copy of a transition, which does not result in a 'common transition'.
   • If you choose Use Common Transition, select an existing transition (currently used in your workflow which also leads to your Destination Step) from the Transition To Reuse dropdown list. See Using 'common transitions' (below) for details.
     Please Note:
     
     • Existing transitions in your workflow which do not lead to your Destination Step will not be available from the Transition To Reuse dropdown list.
     • You can select either an existing 'common transition' or an ordinary transition (i.e. a transition that has only been used once on the workflow). If you select an ordinary transition, it will be converted to a 'common transition'.
6. Click the 'OK' button to complete the addition of your transition.

Using the 'View Workflow Steps' Page to Add the Transition

1. On the 'View Workflows' page, click the 'Steps' link next to the workflow you wish to add a transition to. The 'View Workflow Steps' page is displayed, showing the existing steps that make up the workflow and each step's Linked Status and Outgoing Transitions (under 'Transitions (id)').
   
2. Identify the step from which your new transition will originate and click the 'Add Transition' link next to the step. The 'Add Workflow Transition' page is displayed.
   
3. In the 'Transition Name' field, type a short name for the transition.
   This name will be shown to users as the transition link in the list of 'Available Workflow Actions' on the 'View Issue' page.
4. (Optional) In the 'Description' field, type a short description of the purpose of the transition.
5. In the 'Destination Step' field, choose the step to which issues will move when this transition is executed.
6. In the 'Transition View' field, select either:
   • 'No view for transition' — choose this if you do not need to prompt the user for input before the transition is executed (i.e. the transition will occur instantly when the user clicks the transition).
   • The name of a screen that will be shown to users, asking for input before the transition is executed. You can choose one of JIRA's default screens or any other screen you have created. If no existing screen is suitable, you may want to create a new screen.
     Many of JIRA's default screens are used in the default workflow (above) and named after the transitions they are used in (e.g. 'Start Progress' and 'Resolve Issue').

Editing or Deleting a Transition

To edit or delete an existing transition of a workflow:

1. Log in as a user with the 'JIRA Administrators' global permission.
2. Select 'Administration' > 'Issues' > 'Workflows' to open the 'View Workflows' page, which shows a list of all existing workflows in your system as shown under Creating a workflow (above).
   Keyboard shortcut: 'g' + 'g' + start typing 'workflows'
3. Use either the Workflow Designer or the 'View Workflow Steps' page to edit or delete the transition of the workflow.

Using the Workflow Designer to edit or delete the transition

1. On the 'View Workflows' page, click the 'Design' link next to the workflow whose transition you wish to edit or delete. The 'Workflow Designer' page is displayed, showing your workflow's existing steps as well as the lines and labels of transitions between these steps (as shown under Using the Workflow Designer above).
2. In the Workflow Design Area, move the mouse pointer over the relevant transition label and click the cog icon that appears to the right of the label to reveal a popup menu.
   
3. From the popup menu, you can:
   • Select 'Edit Transition' to edit the 'Transition Name', 'Description', 'Destination Step' and 'Transition View' of the transition. See the 'Add Workflow Transition' page (above) for details.
   • Select 'Delete Transition' to do just that.
   • Select 'Transition Properties' to edit the step's Properties. See Working with Transition Properties (below) for details.

Using the 'View Workflow Steps' page to edit or delete the transition

1. On the 'View Workflows' page, click the 'Steps' link next to the workflow whose transition you wish to edit or delete. The 'View Workflow Steps' page is displayed, showing the existing steps that make up the workflow and each step's Linked Status and Outgoing Transitions in the 'Transitions (id)' column (as shown under Adding a Transition above).
2. In the 'Transitions (id)' column, click the link of the Outgoing Transition of the step you wish to edit. The 'View Workflow Transition' page is displayed.
   
   On the 'View Workflow Transition' page, the following information is shown about the transition:
   • On the left of the 'View Workflow Transition' page:
     • Transition View — the screen (usable globally) that your specific workflow transition uses. If your workflow transition does not require a view (i.e. no screen has been specified), then 'None - it will happen instantly' is shown.
   • In the 'Workflow Browser' section:
     • Originating Steps — that is, steps whose Outgoing Transition is this transition.
       If the transition has more than one originating step, then it is either a global or common transition.
     • Destination Step — that is, the step whose Incoming Transition is this transition.
3. On the 'View Workflow Transition' page, you can:
   • Click 'Edit this transition' to edit the 'Transition Name', 'Description', 'Destination Step' and 'Transition View' of the transition. See the 'Add Workflow Transition' page (above) for details.
   • Click 'Delete this transition' to do just that. This link is only available if the step has at least one outgoing transition indicated in the 'Workflow Browser' section.
   • Click 'View properties of this transition' and edit the step's Properties. See Working with Transition Properties (below) for details.

Using a Screen with a Transition

When a user clicks a particular transition, a screen can be used to gather input from the user before the transition is executed.

Example: Using a Screen to Set the 'Resolution' Field

For a particular step in a workflow, you might need to create a transition that will move the issue to a 'closed' status (e.g. 'CLOSED', 'RESOLVED', etc) - see 'open' and 'closed' issues. As part of this transition, you might need the user to set the 'Resolution' field. To do this:

1. (Optional) Create a screen (e.g. named 'Resolution Screen'), that contains the 'Resolution' field (and any other fields you want to show). See Defining a Screen for details.
   JIRA already includes a screen named 'Resolve Issue Screen', which contains the 'Resolution', 'Fix Version/s', 'Assignee' and 'Log Work' fields.
2. Create or edit your transition and then choose the screen that contains the 'Resolution' field (e.g. 'Resolution Screen') in the 'Transition View' field:
   

Applying Conditions to Transitions

Conditions control who can perform a transition and the circumstances under which they can perform the transition (such as their project permissions, the status of any sub-tasks, or the state of source code associated with issues).

If any part of a transition's condition fails, the user will not see the transition link on the 'View Issue' page.

JIRA's built-in conditions

JIRA includes the following individual conditions, which can be added immediately to any transition:

You can also create your own conditions via the plugin system. See the Workflow Plugin Guide for details.

Adding a Condition

To add a condition to a transition:

1. Log in as a user with the 'JIRA Administrators' global permission.
2. Select 'Administration' > 'Issues' > 'Workflows' to open the 'View Workflows' page, which shows a list of all existing workflows in your system as shown under Creating a workflow (above).
   Keyboard shortcut: 'g' + 'g' + start typing 'workflows'
3. Use either the Workflow Designer or the 'View Workflow Steps'  page to add the condition to the transition.
   • Using the Workflow Designer to add the condition to the transition:
     1. On the 'View Workflows' page, click the 'Design' link next to the workflow whose transition you wish to add a condition to. The 'Workflow Designer' page is displayed.
     2. In the Workflow Design Area, move the mouse pointer over the relevant transition label and click the cog icon that appears to the right of the label to reveal a popup menu.
        
     3. From the popup menu, select 'View Conditions' to view a list of the transition's existing conditions.
        
   • Using the 'View Workflow Steps' page to add the condition to the transition:
     1. On the 'View Workflows' page, click the 'Steps' link next to the workflow whose transition you wish to add a condition to. The 'View Workflow Steps' page is displayed.
     2. In the 'Transitions (id)' column, click the name of the relevant transition. The 'View Workflow Transition' page is displayed.
     3. Click the 'Conditions' tab (if not already selected) and a list of the transition's existing conditions is displayed.
        
4. Click the 'Add' link (in the 'Conditions' section). A list of all available conditions is displayed. See above for a list of JIRA's built-in conditions.
5. Select a condition from the list and click the 'Add' button.
   If the condition requires additional parameters (e.g. the name of a group or project role), the 'Add Parameters To Condition' dialog box/page will be presented.
   • Specify your criteria on the 'Add Parameters To Condition' dialog box/page and click the 'Add' button.
6. The 'Conditions' tab is displayed again, showing your new condition at the bottom of the list of conditions.
   From here, you can:
   • Click the 'Edit' link next to the condition's name to edit its additional parameters (if applicable to the condition).
   • Click the 'Delete' link next to the condition's name to remove the condition.
   • Combine your conditions into 'AND'/'OR' groups. See Combining Conditions into Groups (below).

Combining Conditions into Groups

You can construct complex conditions by combining two or more 'individual conditions' (added using the procedure above) using AND or OR boolean logic to form a 'grouped condition'. For example, the following simple grouped condition could be constructed:

• Only the assignee of this issue can execute this transition
  AND
• Only users in group jira-users can execute this transition

This grouped condition will only be true (and hence, allow execution of the transition) if the user is the assignee of the issue AND the same user is in the jira-users group.

An overall 'complex condition' can be constructed for your transition by combining multiple grouped conditions using AND or OR boolean logic or even nesting grouped conditions. A transition with a complex condition (as such), can only be executed if all individual and grouped conditions that constitute the complex condition, have been satisfied, e.g:

Converting an Individual Condition into a Grouped Condition

To convert an individual condition into a grouped condition:

1. Follow the Adding a Condition procedure (above) to step 3.
2. Instead of clicking the 'Add' link at step 4, click the 'Add grouped condition' link of the individual condition you wish to convert into a grouped condition.
3. Continue on from step 5.
   Please Note:
   • You can use this procedure to create grouped conditions out of individual conditions which are already part of another grouped condition. This allows you to nest grouped conditions.
   • If you only have a single individual condition on the 'Conditions' tab, the 'Add grouped condition' link will not be available on that condition. Hence, just click the 'Add' button instead to create your grouped condition.

Please Also Note: It is not possible to add an individual condition that is separate from the outermost grouped condition. Clicking the 'Add' button only adds an individual condition to the outermost grouped condition. Bear this in mind when creating a complex condition and refer to JRA-25179 for more information.

Adding Individual Conditions to a Grouped Condition

To add an individual condition to a grouped condition:

1. Follow the Adding a Condition procedure (above) to step 3.
2. Instead of clicking 'Add' link at step 4, click the 'Add condition to group' link associated with the grouped condition you want to add your individual condition to.
3. Continue on from step 5.

Switching a Grouped Condition's Logic

The logic of all individual conditions within a grouped condition can be switched between AND and OR. To do this, simply click the 'Switch to OR' or 'Switch to AND' link associated with the grouped condition whose logic you wish to switch.

If you need to switch the logic of only some (not all) individual conditions within a grouped condition, create a nested grouped condition as described above.

Applying Validators to Transitions

Validators check that any input available to the transition (such as user-supplied input) is valid before the transition is performed. For example, a validator can be used to ensure that the comment entered by a user on a transition's screen meets a certain project permission criterion.

If a transition's validator 'fails', the transition's Post Functions will not be executed and the issue will not progress to the destination step of the transition.

JIRA ships with a couple of default validators that validate whether or not the user who performed the transition had a particular project permission, which can be added immediately to any transition.
You can also create your own validators via the plugin system.

How do validators differ from conditions?

• Conditions are used to determine whether an issue's transition can be executed by a particular user, including a range of other circumstances such as the user's project permissions and the current state of the issue. However, conditions cannot validate input parameters provided by the user on the transition's screen, since if a condition fails, the user is prevented from executing the transition and cannot access the transition's screen.
• Validators have access to any input available to the transition (such as input gathered from the user on a transition's screen) and thus, can validate this input.

Adding a Validator

To add a validator to a transition:

1. Log in as a user with the 'JIRA Administrators' global permission.
2. Select 'Administration' > 'Issues' > 'Workflows' to open the 'View Workflows' page, which shows a list of all existing workflows in your system as shown under Creating a workflow (above).
   Keyboard shortcut: 'g' + 'g' + start typing 'workflows'
3. Use either the Workflow Designer or the 'View Workflow Steps'page to add the validator to the transition.
   • Using the Workflow Designer to add the validator to the transition:
     1. On the 'View Workflows' page, click the 'Design' link next to the workflow whose transition you wish to add a validator to. The 'Workflow Designer' page is displayed.
     2. In the Workflow Design Area, move the mouse pointer over the relevant transition label and click the cog icon that appears to the right of the label to reveal a popup menu.
        
     3. From the popup menu, select 'View Validators' to view a list of the transition's existing validators.
   • Using the 'View Workflow Steps' page to add the validator to the transition:
     1. On the 'View Workflows' page, click the 'Steps' link next to the workflow whose transition you wish to add a validator to. The 'View Workflow Steps' page is displayed.
     2. In the 'Transitions (id)' column, click the name of the relevant transition. The 'View Workflow Transition' page is displayed.
     3. Click the 'Validators' tab and a list of the transition's existing validators is displayed.
4. Click the 'Add' link (in the 'Validators' section). A list of all available validators is displayed.
5. Select a validator from the list and click the 'Add' button.
   If the validator requires additional parameters (e.g. the name of a group or project role), the 'Add Parameters To Validator' dialog box/page will be presented.
   • Specify your criteria on the 'Add Parameters To Validator' dialog box/page and click the 'Add' button.
6. The 'Validators' tab is displayed again, showing your new validator at the bottom of the list of validators.
   From here, you can:
   • Click the 'Edit' link next to the validator's name to edit its additional parameters (if applicable to the validator).
   • Click the 'Delete' link next to the validator's name to remove the validator.

Please Note:

• The logical relationship between multiple validators applied to a transition is AND only.
• Unlike Conditions, it is not possible to create 'grouped validators' or to change the logical relationship between multiple validators.

Applying Post Functions to Transitions

Post functions carry out any additional processing required immediately after a transition is executed, such as updating an issue's fields, generating change history for an issue, adding a comment to an issue, or generating an event such as an email notification. There are two categories of post functions in JIRA — essential and optional.

Essential Post Functions

JIRA includes the following 'essential' post functions, which are automatically added to every newly-created transition and performed in this order:

These 'essential' post functions cannot be deleted from a transition or reordered relative to each other, as this could compromise other issue functionality within JIRA. However, you can insert other (optional) post functions around or between them.

Optional Post Functions

JIRA includes the following optional post functions which can be added to transitions:

You can also create your own post functions via the plugin system. See the Workflow Plugin Guide for details.

Note that the four optional post functions must be positioned before the 'Update change history for an issue and store the issue in the database' post function (above), with the exception of the 'Create' transition.

The Initial Transition ('Create' or 'Create Issue')

When creating an issue, it is sometimes useful to be able to perform specific processing tasks (such as setting a particular field's value). You can perform such tasks by adding post functions to the workflow's 'initial transition'.

The 'initial transition' is executed whenever a user creates an issue, which in turn, places the newly-created issue into the workflow's 'initial step'. Every workflow has only one 'initial step', which is the first step in the issue's workflow and is the 'initial step's' first incoming transition. By default:

• The 'initial transition' is called 'Create' (if you created a 'blank' workflow) or 'Create Issue' (if you copied the default workflow).
• The 'initial step' is called 'Open' after having created a workflow above.

JIRA includes the following 'essential' post functions which are specific to a workflow's 'initial transition'. These post functions are automatically added to this transition of every newly-created workflow (and performed in this order):

The optional post functions (above) can also be added to a workflow's initial transition, as well as the following optional post functions (which, with the exception of 'Store Issue', are essential to all other newly-created transitions):

Please exercise caution when adding one of these optional post functions to your 'initial transition'. A bug in JIRA (JRA-25070) currently prevents these post functions from being deleted once they have been added.

Optional post functions added to the workflow's 'Create' transition (for example, an 'Update Issue Field' transition to set the 'Assignee' field to a particular user when an issue is created), must be placed before the 'Creates the issue originally' post function.

Special case:

If you need to set the 'Resolution' field when creating an issue, add the 'Update Issue Field' post function after the 'Creates the issue originally' post function and after that, use the 'Store Issue' post function. The 'Store Issue' post function is useful for setting the 'Resolution' field during issue creation.
However, keep use of the 'Store Issue' post function to a minimum, since this post function:

• Does not generate change history.
• Is incapable of persisting fields that have a one-to-many relationship with the issue (e.g. 'Version' or 'Component').

Adding a Post Function

To add a post function to a transition:

1. Log in as a user with the 'JIRA Administrators' global permission.
2. Select 'Administration' > 'Issues' > 'Workflows' to open the 'View Workflows' page, which shows a list of all existing workflows in your system as shown under Creating a workflow (above).
   Keyboard shortcut: 'g' + 'g' + start typing 'workflows'
3. Use either the Workflow Designer or the 'View Workflow Steps'  page to add the post function to the transition.
   • Using the Workflow Designer to add the post function to the transition:
     1. On the 'View Workflows' page, click the 'Design' link next to the workflow whose transition you wish to add a post function to. The 'Workflow Designer' page is displayed.
     2. In the Workflow Design Area, move the mouse pointer over the relevant transition label and click the cog icon that appears to the right of the label to reveal a popup menu.
        
     3. From the popup menu, select 'View Post Functions' to view a list of the transition's existing post functions.
   • Using the 'View Workflow Steps' page to add the post function to the transition:
     1. On the 'View Workflows' page, click the 'Steps' link next to the workflow whose transition you wish to add a post function to. The 'View Workflow Steps' page is displayed.
     2. In the 'Transitions (id)' column, click the name of the relevant transition. The 'View Workflow Transition' page is displayed.
     3. Click the 'Post Functions' tab and a list of the transition's existing post functions is displayed.
        The default workflow (above) has the following built-in post functions for the 'Start Progress' transition:
        
4. Click the 'Add' link (in the 'Post Functions' section). A list of all available post functions is displayed.
5. Select a post function from the list and click the 'Add' button.
6. If the post function requires one or more configuration parameters (e.g. the name of an event), the 'Add Parameters To Function' dialog box/page will be presented. Enter the appropriate information and click the 'Add' button.
7. The 'Post Functions' tab is displayed again, showing your new post function at the bottom of the list of post functions.
   From here, you can:
   • Click the 'Edit' link next to the post function's name to edit its configuration parameters (if there are any).
   • Click the 'Move Up' link to move the post function higher up in the list (i.e. it will be executed earlier).
   • Click the 'Move Down' link to move the post function lower down in the list (i.e. it will be executed later).
   • Click the 'Delete' link next to the post function's name to remove the post function.

Using a Post Function to Set a Field

You can use a post function of type 'Update Issue Field' to set the value of an issue's field(s) after a particular transition is executed.

Example: Using a Post Function to Set the 'Resolution' Field

For a particular step in a workflow, you might need to create a transition that will move the issue to a 'closed' status (e.g. 'CLOSED', 'RESOLVED', etc) - see 'open' and 'closed' issues. As part of this transition, you might want to automatically set the 'Resolution' field. To do this:

1. Create or edit  your transition (above).
   • In the 'Transition View' field on the Add/Update Workflow Transition page (above), select either 'No View For Transition' or the screen that does not contain the 'Resolution' field (such as the 'Add Comment And Assign' screen).
2. Add a new post function of type 'Update Issue Field' (above).
3. Do the following on the 'Add Parameters to Function' page:
   1. Select 'Resolution' from the 'Issue Field' select list.
   2. Select a suitable resolution from the 'Field Value' select list.
4. Click the 'Add' button and the transition's list of post functions will be displayed with your added post function highlighted in blue:
   

To create a transition that clears the 'Resolution' field, follow the same steps above for adding an 'Update Issue Field' post function to your transition. However, on the 'Add Parameters To Function' page, select 'None' from the 'Field Value' select list.
The list of post functions for this transition will include the following statement:

• The Resolution of the issue will be cleared.

Each time one of these transitions is executed, the 'Resolution' of the issue is automatically set or cleared as specified in these post functions.

Using a Post Function to Send a Notification

You can use the 'Fire an event that can be processed by the listeners' post function to fire the 'Generic Event', which is a built-in JIRA event that can be used to trigger the sending of email notifications after a particular transition is executed.

Alternatively, you could fire a custom event that you have created specifically for this transition.

When a transition is performed, JIRA will:

• Look up the notification scheme associated with the issue's project and identify the users associated with the fired event;
• Send an email notification to each user.
  The fired event is also propagated to all registered listeners.

Example: Using a Post Function to Fire the 'Generic Event'

You can use the 'Generic Event' to send email notifications. To do this:

1. Create or edit your transition (above).
2. Click the transition's 'Post Functions' tab and edit the 'Fire an event that can be processed by the listeners' post function.
3. On the 'Update parameters of the Fire Event Function for this transition' page, select 'Generic Event' from the list of events.

Working with Transition Properties

Properties are key-value pairs that are can be used to further customise transitions. For example, transition properties help to extend the default workflow (above) to allow language translations.

To view and edit the properties of a transition:

1. Log in as a user with the 'JIRA Administrators' global permission.
2. Select 'Administration' > 'Issues' > 'Workflows' to open the 'View Workflows' page, which shows a list of all existing workflows in your system as shown under Creating a workflow (above).
   Keyboard shortcut: 'g' + 'g' + start typing 'workflows'
3. Use either the Workflow Designer or the 'View Workflow Steps' page to view and edit the properties of a transition.

Using the Workflow Designer to view and edit the properties of a transition

1. On the 'View Workflows' page, click the 'Design' link next to the workflow whose transition properties you wish to view or edit. The 'Workflow Designer' page is displayed.
2. In the Workflow Design Area, move the mouse pointer over the relevant transition label and click the cog icon that appears to the right of the label to reveal a popup menu.
   
3. From the popup menu, select 'Transition Properties', which opens the 'Edit Properties' dialog box that allows you to view a list of the transition's existing properties and edit them.
   
   On the 'Edit Properties' dialog box, you can:
   • Add a new property to the transition.
   • Edit a property's key or value, by simply clicking the property's key or value to begin editing it.
   • Delete a property, by clicking the icon to the right of the property.

Using the 'View Workflow Steps' page to view and edit the properties of a transition

1. On the 'View Workflows' page, click the 'Steps' link next to the workflow whose transition properties you wish to view or edit. The 'View Workflow Steps' page is displayed.
2. In the 'Transitions (id)' column, click the name of the relevant transition. The 'View Workflow Transition' page is displayed.
3. Click the 'View properties of this transition' link. The 'View Workflow Transition Properties' page is displayed listing the properties currently set up for the transition. You can this page to add and delete properties for this transition.
   It is not possible to edit a transition's properties on this page. To change any property's key or value (or both), you must first delete the property you wish to change and add the new updated property.

For more information on specific transition properties, refer to the Workflow Properties page.

Customising Workflow Transitions on the 'View Issue' Page

When viewing an issue, most of the operations and workflow transitions accessible to a user are available from a row of buttons towards the top of the issue, known as the 'Operations Bar'. As shown in the following screenshot, workflow transitions appear in the right-most set of buttons of the operations bar.

Screenshot: Workflow Transitions on the View Issue Page

By default, the first two transitions appear as separate buttons in the set of transition buttons. Any additional transitions 'spill over' into the 'Workflow' button dropdown menu. The order in which these buttons appear on the view issue page is based on the order of the default workflow (above), or for custom workflows, the order in which a JIRA administrator has added transitions to the custom workflow.

Hence, in the example above, the workflow transition order is: 'Start Progress' -> 'Resolve Issue' -> 'Close Issue'.

JIRA provides the ability to customise the appearance and order of these transitions on the View Issue page.

Changing the Number of Transition Buttons

To change the number of transition buttons from the default of two (with any remaining transitions spilling over into the 'Workflow' button dropdown menu):

1. Shutdown JIRA.
2. Edit the jira-config.properties file in your JIRA Home Directory.
   See Making changes to the jira-config.properties file for more information.
3. Change the value of the ops.bar.group.size.opsbar-transitions property to the number of transition buttons required before the 'Workflow' button.
   If this property does not exist in your jira-config.properties file, add it. Otherwise, a default value of 2 is assumed.
4. Save the updated jira-config.properties file.
5. Restart JIRA.

Changing the Order of Transition Buttons and 'Workflow' Menu Items

To change the order of transition buttons, including additional transitions in the 'Workflow' dropdown menu on the 'View Issue' page, you need to add the property key opsbar-sequence to each workflow transition that you wish to re-order. Each opsbar-sequence property key requires a property value that defines the order of the transition action on issue views.

To add an opsbar-sequence property key and value to a workflow transition:

1. Access the workflow transition's properties, as described in Working with transition properties (above).
2. In the 'Add New Property' section of the workflow transition's 'View Workflow Transition Properties' page, type 'opsbar-sequence' into the 'Property Key' field.
3. In the 'Property Value' field, type a positive integer value (starting at '0') that defines the order of the transition action on issue views.
   For each workflow transition, you may wish to use gaps in your opsbar-sequence property values (for example, 10, 20, 30, etc.) rather than consecutive values. This will allow you to 'insert' new workflow transitions more easily at a later point in time.
4. Click the 'Add' button.

Please Note: Be aware that adding the opsbar-sequence property to a workflow transition does not change the order of these transitions on the 'View Workflow Steps' page (above). The addition of this property only affects the order of transitions on the 'View Issue' page.

Using 'Common Transitions'

A 'common transition' is a transition that is defined only once in a given workflow but is used more than once in the same workflow. A common transition has more than one originating step leading to a single destination step, but provides the added advantage of only requiring you to edit or update the transition in one place.

Please Note: Global transitions (above) are similar to common transitions and provide the same editing advantages. However, they differ from each other in the following respects:

• For common transitions, the destination step of the transition has only a subset of the remaining steps in the workflow as incoming steps.
• For global transitions, the destination step of the transition has all remaining steps in the workflow as incoming steps. Be aware that global transitions can only be deleted through the Workflow Designer (above).

You can create common transitions using the Workflow Designer by following these steps:

1. Create a transition to a destination step as described in Adding a transition (above).
2. Create another transition from another step to the same destination step, but in the 'Add Transition' dialog box, choose the 'Use Common Transition' option.
3. In the 'Transition To Reuse' dropdown menu, select the transition you created in step 1 above.

You can edit existing common transitions via the 'View Workflow Steps' page, but as described in Adding a transition (above), they cannot be created.

If you are only able to use the 'View Workflow Steps' page to create or edit workflows, you can do either of the following to edit common transitions in a JIRA workflow:

• Copy the default workflow — the default workflow (above) contains common transitions (e.g. 'Start Progress', 'Resolve Issue', 'Close Issue'). Although you cannot edit the default workflow, you can copy it and then edit its steps and transitions (via XML) to suit your requirements.
• Create your workflow in XML — see Using XML to create a workflow (below).

Using XML to Create a Workflow

JIRA's workflow editor generates OSWorkflow XML definition files that are stored in JIRA's database. If you need to take advantage of an OSWorkflow-based feature that is not available in JIRA's workflow editor (such as 'common transitions' above), you can define the workflow in XML and then import it into JIRA as described below.

Once the XML workflow has been imported, JIRA's workflow editor should be able to display most OSWorkflow definitions even if it does not support creating or editing them.

For example, conditional results of workflow transitions are displayed in the 'Other' tab on the 'View Workflow Transition' page. The 'Other' tab is only visible if a transition has elements that the editor does not directly support.

Importing an XML Workflow into JIRA

To import an XML workflow into JIRA:

1. Log in as a user with the 'JIRA System Administrators' global permission.
2. Select 'Administration' > 'Issues' > 'Workflows' to open the 'View Workflows' page, which shows a list of all existing workflows in your system as shown under Creating a workflow (above).
   Keyboard shortcut: 'g' + 'g' + start typing 'workflows'
3. Locate the 'Add New Workflow' form at the bottom of the page and click the 'import a workflow from XML' link. The 'Import Workflow' page is displayed.
4. In the 'Name' field, type a name (usually 2-3 words) to identify your new workflow.
5. (Optional) In the 'Description' field, type a detailed description of your new workflow.
6. Do either of the following:
   • In the 'File' field, type the full path to the file; or
     This path must be local, so your file must be located on your JIRA server.
   • In the 'Workflow Definition (XML)' field, paste the contents of the workflow XML file.
7. Click the 'Import' button.

Copying a Workflow Between Systems

Sometimes it is useful to create a workflow in a test system and then copy it into a production system. To do this:

1. In the test system, export the workflow to XML by clicking the 'XML' link next to the workflow in the list shown on the 'View Workflows' page (above) and save the output into a file.
2. In the production system, import the file via the 'import a workflow from XML' link as described in Using XML to create a workflow (above).

When importing an XML workflow into JIRA:

• JIRA's XML workflow definitions contain references to JIRA meta attributes. For example, the id of the linked JIRA status of each workflow step is stored as a 'jira.status.id' meta attribute in the step's definition. Therefore, when manually creating workflows in XML, please ensure that all referenced external entities exist before you import the workflow into JIRA.

When copying a workflow between systems:

• Please note that conditions, validators and post functions can have parameters that might be valid in one system and not in another. For example, different systems might contain different sets of values for the 'Resolution' field (since it is possible to define your own values). This would be a problem if the 'Update Issue Field' post function is used to set the 'Resolution' field to a value that exists in one system but not the other.