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Jira Misc Custom Fields (version 1.x)

JMCF 1.x only!

This documentation applies only to JMCF version 1.x. Documentation for versions 2.0.0 and above can be found here.

Overview

The JIRA Misc Custom Fields plugin's objective is to provide several new types of custom fields for use in custom JIRA workflows as well as useful JQL functions.

Included custom fields:


  • Calculated Number Field : a calculated custom field returning a number (integer or float). It is a read-only field that returns the result of the evaluation of a formula, such as the addition of two other fields.
  • Calculated Text Field (new in 1.5.5): a calculated custom field returning a String. It is a read-only field that returns the result of the evaluation of a formula, such as the concatenation of two other fields.
    • Exact Text Searcher (Statistics-compatible) (new in 1.5.6): a custom searcher that allows calculated text fields to be used in statistics gadgets
  • Calculated Date/Time Field (new in 1.5.5): a calculated custom field returning a java.util.Date (which represents a date+time). It is a read-only field that returns the result of the evaluation of a formula.
  • Transition Date/Time Field (new in 1.2): a calculated custom field returning the date and time of the last execution of a specified workflow transition.
  • Transition Caller Field (new in 1.2): a calculated custom field returning the caller of the last execution of a specified workflow transition.
  • Transition Count Field (new in 1.5.11): a calculated custom field returning the number of times a specified workflow transition was executed.
  • Last Field Value Change Date/Time Field (new in 1.6): a calculated custom field returning the date and time a field was last modified.
  • Last Field Value Change Author Field (new in 1.6.5/1.7.2): a calculated custom field returning the author of the last modification made to a field.
  • Parent Status Field (new in 1.2.2): a calculated custom field returning the Status of the issue's parent issue.

Included JQL function:

  • currentUserPropertyAsList (new in 1.1): a JQL function that returns the value of a property of the current user, transforming comma-separated values into a list of values.


Getting help

Please visit our Support Page for more information.

Installation

The plugin is a "type TWO" plugin, which means that the plugin can be installed by copying it to jira-home/plugins/installed-plugins or, better yet, using the excellent Atlassian Universal Plugin Manager.

Usage


Using calculated fields on large servers

If you are using complicated (like recursive) formulas in calculate custom fields, and you are running on a large server, you might need to tune JMCF's thread pool as documented in JMCF-173.

Calculated Number Field

  1. Create a new custom field, choosing "Calculated Number Field" for its type.
  2. During step 2, in the Description field, include the calculation formula using the syntax described below.
  3. Re-index your data, as JIRA will kindly suggest you to.
Formula syntax

The formula is written using the BeanShell language, and should be included in the field description inside an html comment (so that it remains invisible when showing the field description), preceded by the following keyword: @@Formula: (note the colon at the end). For example:

<!-- @@Formula: formula goes here -->

You can naturally include the real description of the custom field as well. For example:

This field represents the number of Affected Versions.
<!-- @@Formula: issue.get("versions").size() -->

The formula itself is a Java-style expression that can reference any issue field value, include arithmetic operators as well as any other Java operator, and Java method calls (such as the .size() example above). Access to issue field values is achieved by the following syntax:

issue.get("<field_ID_or_Name>")

where <field_ID_or_Name> is either a built-in JIRA or custom field ID (the latter in the form customfield_nnnnn), or a field name. See this page for details.

You can also access the JIRA Issue object using the issueObject variable.

To identify the custom field ID:

  1. go to Administration/Custom Fields
  2. click on the "Configure" link for the custom field you're interested in
  3. in the URL of the Configure Custom Field page, note the number after "customFieldId=" and append it to "customfield_" to build the custom field ID

Note that you must make sure the formula returns a number, or null.

Debugging the script

If the calculated field does not show up on the view issue screen, you must make sure the formula isn't raising an error. For that, you must look at the end of the JIRA log file (atliassian-jira.log) right after displaying the issue (displaying an issue will always force calculated fields to be re-calculated).

You can also include logging code into your script using the "log" object. For example:

<!-- @@Formula: 
log.error("Value of field 10114 is: "+issue.get("customfield_10114"));
log.error("Value of field 10150 is: "+issue.get("customfield_10150"));

if (issue.get("customfield_10114") == null || issue.get("customfield_10150") == null)
    return null;
 
return issue.get("customfield_10114") + issue.get("customfield_10150");   //we already made sure neither field is empty (==null) 
-->

We recommend you write to the logs using the "log.error()" method because ERROR-level logs are always written out to atlassian-jira.log (whereas DEBUG-level logs are filtered out by default).

Example
Adding two fields

To add two custom fields, such as "Business Value" and "Technical Value" to get an "Overall Value":

<!-- @@Formula: (issue.get("customfield_10114") != null ? issue.get("customfield_10114") : 0) + (issue.get("customfield_10150") != null ? issue.get("customfield_10150") : 0) -->
Custom formatting

You can also specify custom formatting for the value of the Calculated Number field. In the Description field, add your formatting formula using the following syntax:

<!-- @@Format: formula goes here -->

The formula itself is a Java-style expression that can reference the value returned by the formula using the value variable. You can also use the numberTool object to format the number value:

numberTool.format(value)

Example

To display an icon to the left of the field value depending on the field value:

<!-- @@Format:
if (value > 21)
  return "<img src='/images/icons/priority_trivial.gif'> "+numberTool.format(value);
else if (value >= 10)
  return "<img src='/images/icons/priority_major.gif'> "+numberTool.format(value);
else
  return "<img src='/images/icons/priority_blocker.gif'> "+numberTool.format(value);
 -->

Calculated Text Field (new in 1.5.5)

  1. Create a new custom field, choosing "Calculated Text Field" for its type.
  2. During step 2, in the Description field, include the calculation formula using the syntax described below.
  3. Re-index your data, as JIRA will kindly suggest you to.
Formula syntax

The formula is written using the BeanShell language, and should be included in the field description inside an html comment (so that it remains invisible when showing the field description), preceded by the following keyword: @@Formula: (note the colon at the end). See Calculated Number Field above for details.

Note that you must make sure the formula returns a String, or null.

Exact Text Searcher (Statistics-compatible) (new in 1.5.6)

When creating a Calculated Text Field, you can choose between the standard Free Text Searcher and the new Exact Text Searcher (Statistics-compatible). The latter should be used if you need either of the following:

  • Be able to search issues based on the exact value of the custom field (i.e. use the "=" operator instead of the "~" operator)
  • Be able to use the field in one of the statistics reports or dashboard gadgets


Calculated Date/Time Field (new in 1.5.5)

  1. Create a new custom field, choosing "Calculated Date/Time Field" for its type.
  2. During step 2, in the Description field, include the calculation formula using the syntax described below.
  3. Re-index your data, as JIRA will kindly suggest you to.
Formula syntax

The formula is written using the BeanShell language, and should be included in the field description inside an html comment (so that it remains invisible when showing the field description), preceded by the following keyword: @@Formula: (note the colon at the end). See Calculated Number Field above for details.

Note that you must make sure the formula returns a java.util.Date, or null.

Custom formatting

You can also specify a date/time format for the value of the Calculated Date/Time field. In the Description field, add the name of the date/time format using the following syntax:

<!-- @@Format: format_name -->

where format_name is one of the constants found here: https://developer.atlassian.com/static/javadoc/jira/reference/com/atlassian/jira/datetime/DateTimeStyle.html

To customize the formatting of the value in the List View of search results, use the @@ColFormat marker instead:

<!-- @@ColFormat: format_name -->

Transition Date/Time Field

  1. Create a new custom field, choosing "Transition Date/Time Field" for its type.
  2. During step 2, in the Description field, include the transition ID(s) (recommended) or name as described below.
  3. Optionally, specify whether you want the first or last execution of the transition(s) (new in 1.2.5 and 1.5.2)
  4. Re-index your data, as JIRA will kindly suggest you to.
Indicating the transition

The transition(s) should be indicated in the field description inside an html comment (so that it remains invisible when showing the field description), preceded by the following keyword: @TransitionId: or @TransitionName: (note the colon at the end). For example:

<!-- @TransitionId: transition ID -->

or

<!-- @TransitionName: transition name -->

If you use @TransitionId, you can specify a list of transition IDs, separated by commas (new in 1.2.5 and 1.5.2):

<!-- @TransitionId: transition_ID_1,transition_ID_2 -->

You can naturally include the real description of the custom field as well. For example:

This field represents the date and time of the Resolution of this issue.
<!-- @TransitionId: 5 -->
<!-- @Execution: last -->
Specifying whether to capture the first or last transition execution

You can also specify whether to capture the first or last transition execution, using the @Execution: keyword followed by first or last. For example:

<!-- @Execution: first -->

If you don't specify anything, the last execution will be captured.

Custom formatting

You can also specify a date/time format for the value of the Calculated Date/Time field. In the Description field, add the name of the date/time format using the following syntax:

<!-- @@Format: format_name -->

where format_name is one of the constants found here: https://developer.atlassian.com/static/javadoc/jira/reference/com/atlassian/jira/datetime/DateTimeStyle.html

To customize the formatting of the value in the List View of search results, use the @@ColFormat marker instead:

<!-- @@ColFormat: format_name -->


Transition Caller Field

  1. Create a new custom field, choosing "Transition Caller Field" for its type.
  2. During step 2, in the Description field, include the transition ID (recommended) or name as described below.
  3. Optionally, specify whether you want the first or last execution of the transition(s) (new in 1.2.5 and 1.5.2)
  4. Re-index your data, as JIRA will kindly suggest you to.
Indicating the transition

The transition(s) should be indicated in the field description inside an html comment (so that it remains invisible when showing the field description), preceded by the following keyword: @TransitionId: or @TransitionName: (note the colon at the end). For example:

<!-- @TransitionId: transition ID -->

or

<!-- @TransitionName: transition name -->

If you use @TransitionId, you can specify a list of transition IDs, separated by commas (new in 1.2.5 and 1.5.2):

<!-- @TransitionId: transition_ID_1,transition_ID_2 -->

You can naturally include the real description of the custom field as well. For example:

This field represents the Resolver of this issue.
<!-- @TransitionId: 5 -->
<!-- @Execution: last -->
Specifying whether to capture the first or last transition execution

You can also specify whether to capture the first or last transition execution, using the @Execution: keyword followed by first or last. For example:

<!-- @Execution: first -->

If you don't specify anything, the last execution will be captured.

Transition Count Field

  1. Create a new custom field, choosing "Transition Count Field" for its type.
  2. During step 2, in the Description field, include the transition ID (recommended) or name as described below.
  3. Re-index your data, as JIRA will kindly suggest you to.
Indicating the transition

The transition(s) should be indicated in the field description inside an html comment (so that it remains invisible when showing the field description), preceded by the following keyword: @TransitionId: or @TransitionName: (note the colon at the end). For example:

<!-- @TransitionId: transition ID -->

or

<!-- @TransitionName: transition name -->

If you use @TransitionId, you can specify a list of transition IDs, separated by commas (new in 1.2.5 and 1.5.2):

<!-- @TransitionId: transition_ID_1,transition_ID_2 -->

You can naturally include the real description of the custom field as well. For example:

This field represents the Resolver of this issue.
<!-- @TransitionId: 5 -->
<!-- @Execution: last -->

Last Field Value Change Date/Time Field (new in 1.6)

A date/time field that returns the last time a field's value was changed.

  1. Create a new custom field, choosing "Last Field Value Change Date/Time Field" for its type.
  2. During step 2, in the Description field, include the field name as described below.
  3. Re-index your data, as JIRA will kindly suggest you to.
Indicating the field

The field whose last modification date should be returned must be indicated in the field description inside an html comment (so that it remains invisible when showing the field description), preceded by the following keyword: @@Field:  (note the colon at the end). For example:

<!-- @@Field: <field-name> -->

The field name (indicated as <field-name> above) should be specified as it appears in the "history" tab, except for system fields for which the name should be as listed here.

You can naturally include the real description of the custom field as well. For example:

This field represents the date and time of the Resolution of this issue.
<!-- @@Field: summary -->
Custom formatting

You can also specify a date/time format for the value of the Calculated Date/Time field. In the Description field, add the name of the date/time format using the following syntax:

<!-- @@Format: format_name -->

where format_name is one of the constants found here: https://developer.atlassian.com/static/javadoc/jira/reference/com/atlassian/jira/datetime/DateTimeStyle.html

To customize the formatting of the value in the List View of search results, use the @@ColFormat marker instead:

<!-- @@ColFormat: format_name -->


Last Field Value Change Author Field (new in 1.6.5/1.7.2)

A user field that returns the author of the last change made on a field.

  1. Create a new custom field, choosing "Last Field Value Change Author Field" for its type.
  2. During step 2, in the Description field, include the field name as described below.
  3. Re-index your data, as JIRA will kindly suggest you to.
Indicating the field

The field whose last modification author should be returned must be indicated in the field description inside an html comment (so that it remains invisible when showing the field description), preceded by the following keyword: @@Field:  (note the colon at the end). For example:

<!-- @@Field: <field-name> -->

The field name (indicated as <field-name> above) should be specified as it appears in the "history" tab, except for system fields for which the name should be as listed here.

You can naturally include the real description of the custom field as well. For example:

This field represents the date and time of the Resolution of this issue.
<!-- @@Field: summary -->

Parent Status Field

  1. Create a new custom field, choosing "Parent Status Field" for its type.
  2. Re-index your data, as JIRA will kindly suggest you to.

currentUserPropertyAsList JQL function

The currentUserPropertyAsList function can be used in a JQL query in an "in" or "not in" condition. It takes one parameter: the name of a user property.
When running the search query, the function will grab the value of the user property and treat it as a comma-separated list of values.

What use is it anyway?

This function is especially useful for building shared filters (and dashboards). You can, for example, create a standard filter that lists open issues for the current user's preferred projects, which you'll store in a user property:

resolution = Unresolved AND project in currentUserPropertyAsList("myProjects")