Templates and Variables

Templates enables you to capture issues even faster during testing, by automatically populating fields in issues with your predefined values. Templates are remembered on your JIRA server, so your templates remain the same regardless of which browser you are testing in. Templates are also shared, so you can create one template that your whole team can use.

Creating and using templates

To create a new template, go to the "Templates" tab in the Bonfire browser extension, then click "Add Template" under the "Mine" section. Here you can pre-fill an issue creation form with any information you would like. (e.g. a particular project, version, or component you are working). Selecting the option "Attach Screenshot by Default" will include a screenshot attachment automatically when you are applying a template.

You can have as many templates as you like, so you can have very specific templates for issues that you may wish to raise during testing.

Templates are used when creating an issue. To do this, simply choose one from the "Use Template" menu on the Create Issue tab in the Bonfire browser extension. The "Use Template" menu will only show templates that you have marked as "Favourite" with a star (). By default, all templates you create are marked favourite for you.

Using a template will keep it selected until you choose otherwise – even across multiple uses of the browser extension.

A template can also be assigned as the default template for a shared test session, allowing all participants of the test session to create consistent issues. For more information on creating test sessions, please read Working with Sessions#CreatingSessions

Using variables in a template

Variables allow templates to contain dynamic information, and are only evaluated into actual values when the template is used during issue creation. Variables previously only worked when used in a template, but as of Bonfire 2.2 they can be used at any time during the issue creation process.

To use a variable, enter the variable name surrounded by braces ("{" and "}") into a text field on the template or issue creation forms.

By default, Bonfire ships with four variables:

• {cookies} - Are cookies turned on? Value is either true or false.
• {useragent} - Browser information.
• {title} - Current page title.
• {url} - Current page URL.

Creating your own variables to use

The default variables shipped with Bonfire are only a start, but you can create your own variables to do different things. To create another variable, simply click "Add Variable" in the Templates tab of the browser extension. For each variable, you need to provide 2 pieces of information:

• the name - this is the variable name. You use the variable in templates by enclosing the variable name in '{' and '}'
• the javascript selector - this is the javascript that will evaluate when you run the variable. This happens when you select a template to use in the create issue tab.

Some other examples:

jiraVersion

document.getElementById('footer-build-information').innerHTML

date

new Date().toDateString()

selectedText

window.getSelection().toString(); 

document.getSelection().toString();

document.selection.createRange().text;

Sharing templates and variables

Once you have templates working the way you want, you can also opt to share it with your team by marking the "Share this template" checkbox.

Your teammates will now be able to see this template in their list of available templates to use.

If they "favourite" the template, it will be made available for use in their issue creation under the "Use Template" menu. Note - using a shared template will also include any variables which are included in the template.

Control field visibility using templates

The checkboxes on the template form control the visibility of the field when the template is used. This means that you can choose to view only the fields that matter to you when using the template. These hidden fields will also apply for anyone using your shared template. Mandatory fields that are required for issue creation will always be visible, to minimise the chance of issue creation errors.