Defining a Screen

On this page:

What is a 'Screen'?

Screens group multiple issue fields. Using Screens, you can control which fields are displayed, and the fields' vertical display order, during issue operations (e.g. 'Create Issue' and 'Edit Issue') or workflow transitions (e.g. 'Resolve Issue'). You can also split fields on a Screen into multiple tabs.

Screens overlap slightly with Field Configurations in regards to field visibility. Note that when a Screen is displayed to a user (during issue creation, for example) the user will see only the issue fields that:

1. the user has permissions to edit (e.g. the 'Due Date' field can only be edited by users with the 'Schedule Issues' permission).
2. are present on the Screen that is associated with the 'Create Issue' operation for this issue.
3. are not hidden in the Field Configuration applicable to the issue.

Configuring a Screen's Fields

1. Log in as a user with the 'JIRA Administrators' global permission.
2. Bring up the administration page by clicking either the 'Administration' link on the top bar or the title of the Administration box on the dashboard.
3. In the Issue Fields section of the left-hand side column, click the 'Screens' link. (If the Issue Fields section is collapsed and is hiding the Screens link, click the 'Issue Fields' section heading itself to expand this section.) You will then be directed to the View Screens page:
   
   From this page you can:
   • Add a new screen
   • Configure a screen's fields
   • Edit a screen's name and/or description
   • Copy a screen
   • Delete a screen.
4. Click the 'Configure' link next to the Screen of interest. You will now see that Screen's Configure Screen page.
   

Adding a Field to Screen

In the Add Field form, located at the bottom of the Configure Screen page:

1. Select the field/s that you wish to add to the screen from the 'Fields to add' option.
2. If you wish, specify the position at which the field will be placed, by entering the position number in the 'Position' option.

   If you have selected multiple fields and specified a position, the topmost field selected will be placed in the corresponding position and the other fields directly below it.

3. Click the 'Add' button.

Removing a Field from a Screen

In the table of fields on the Configure Screen page:

1. Select the check boxes next the the fields you wish to remove.
2. Click the 'Remove' button located at the bottom of the table.
3. The fields will be removed from the Screen and will be made available in the Add Field form at the bottom of the screen, for subsequent re-addition.

Reordering Fields on a Screen

To change the vertical display order of fields on a screen, in the table of fields on the Configure Screen page:

1. Specify the number of the position to which a field should be moved inside the field's text box within the Move to Position column. (You can repeat this step for multiple fields by specifying a different position for each field you wish to move.)
2. Click the 'Move' button located at the bottom of the table in the Move to Position column.
3. All the fields will be moved to the positions that you specified.

Adding Time Tracking capabilities to a screen

You can add the ability to log work or specify/modify time estimates to a screen by adding the Log Work or Time Tracking fields, respectively.

By adding both of these fields to a screen, your users will be able to log work and specify time estimates on that screen. For more information about how this works for a user, please refer to Logging work and/or specifying time estimates on the same JIRA screen.

To add abilities to log work and/or specify/modify time estimates on a screen, in the Add Field form located at the end of the Configure Screen page:

1. Select one or both of the following fields from the 'Fields to add' option, depending on your requirements:
   • Log Work — adds a group of fields which provide the ability to log work
   • Time Tracking — adds a group of fields which provide the ability to specify/modify time estimates
2. Click the 'Add' button.

Adding a Screen

In the Add Screen form, located at the bottom of the View Screens page (see 'Configuring a Screen's Fields', above):

1. Enter the name of the new Screen in the 'Name' field.
2. You can optionally add a description in the in the 'Description' field.
3. Click the 'Add' button. The the Screen list will automatically be updated with the new Screen.

Editing a Screen's Details

To change Screen's name and/or description, on the View Screens page (see 'Configuring a Screen's Fields', above):

1. Click the 'Edit' link next to the appropriate screen.
2. You will now be directed to the Edit Screen page where you can edit the name and/or description of the Screen.
3. Click the 'Update' button. You will be brought back to the View Screens page with your updates now applied to the Screen.
   

Copying a Screen

On the View Screens page (see 'Configuring a Screen's Fields', above):

1. Click on the 'Copy' link next to the Screen you wish to copy. You will be directed to the Copy Screen page.
2. Enter a name and a description for the new Screen in the respective 'Name' and 'Description' fields.
3. Click the 'Copy' button. You will be brought back to the "View Screens" page, and the newly added Screen will have the same issue fields and field positions as the original field screen.
   

Deleting a Screen

To entirely remove a Screen from the system, on the View Screens page (see 'Configuring a Screen's Fields', above):

1. Click the 'Delete' link next to the Screen you wish to delete.
2. Click the 'Delete' button to confirm this action. You will be brought back to the View Screens page and the Screen removed from the list of Screens.
   

Configuring Tabs

Splitting a Screen into multiple tabs can help to group related fields. For example, the following screenshot shows a simple Screen that only shows the issue 'Summary' and 'Description' on the first tab ('Main'), and 'Affected Versions' and 'Components' on the second tab ('Other Details'):

This functionality is very useful for organising complex Screens, as you can place less used fields ('Attachment' and 'Environment', for example) onto separate tabs:

Screen tabs are available from the "Configure Screens" page (see 'Configuring a Screen's Fields', above).

Adding a Tab

In the Add New Tab form, located at the bottom of the Configure Screen page:

1. Enter the name of the new tab in the 'Name' field.
2. Click the 'Add' button.

Moving fields between Tabs

If your screen contains multiple tabs, you can move fields from one tab to another.

In the table of fields on the Configure Screen page:

1. For the field you wish to move, select the field's destination tab in the Move to Tab column. Repeat this for all the fields you wish to move.
2. Click the 'Move' button located at the bottom of the table in the Move to Tab column.
3. All the selected fields will be moved to the appropriate tabs.

Navigating between Tabs

To navigate between the Tabs of a Screen, simply click on their linked tab names at the top left of the table of fields on the Configure Screen page.

Deleting a Tab

In the table of fields on the Configure Screen page:

1. Navigate to the Tab you wish to remove.
2. Click the 'Delete' tab link. You will now be directed to the Delete Tab confirmation page.
3. Click the 'Delete' button to confirm. You will be returned to the Configure Screen Page.

Renaming a Tab

In the table of fields on the Configure Screen page:

1. Navigate to the desired Tab.
2. The 'Rename' text field is located in the top left of the Configure Screen Tab form.
3. Enter the new name of the Tab.
4. Click 'Enter'.

Reordering Tabs

It is possible to configure the horizontal order of Tabs by clicking on the selected tab's arrows to move that Tab left or right (in the direction of the arrow).

Activating a Screen

To make a Screen available to users, you can either:

• Associate the Screen with an issue operation (e.g. 'Create Issue'), via a Screen Scheme — see 'Associating Screens with Issue Operations', or
• Associate the Screen with a Workflow Transition (e.g. 'Resolve Issue') — see 'Configuring Workflow'.