📢 Enhanced Smart Values Panel: Better Organisation and More Precise Data Types

[#1]

Hey Automation Community! 👋

The Automation team have made some exciting updates to the Smart Values Help Panel that will make it easier than ever to build powerful rules.

What's new?

We've completely reimagined how smart values are organised and displayed in the panel, along with introducing more precise data types for date and time operations. Here's what you can expect:

🏗️ Component-based organisation

Before: Smart values were grouped in generic categories. It wasn’t always clear where they came from.

Now: Smart values are organised by the actual rule components they come from! This means:

• You'll immediately know which component (trigger, condition, or action) provides each smart value.

• No more guessing about compatibility - you'll only see smart values that work with your current rule.

• Cleaner, more intuitive navigation through your available options.

 

🎯 Nested structure with visual hierarchy

The new panel supports multiple levels of nesting, making it easier to explore complex smart value structures:

• Visual indicators show when smart values will be overridden by later components in your rule:

• Visual indicators also let you know if some smart values may not be available for your rule:

• Clear hierarchy helps you understand relationships between different smart value properties.

• Enhanced navigation lets you drill down into nested objects more efficiently:

📅 More precise date and time types

We've expanded beyond the single "date" type, giving you more clarity on how to use date and time advanced functions:

• date - For date-only operations (like calculating business days).

• datetime - For full date and time with timezone support.

• dateDiff - For calculating differences between dates (days, weeks, months, years).

• datetimeDiff - For calculating time differences (milliseconds, seconds, minutes, hours).

• string - For formatted date/time outputs.

• number - For numerical results from date calculations.

🎨 Array formatting support

Working with lists just got easier! The panel now shows you exactly how array smart values will be formatted, taking the guesswork out of list operations.

Why do these changes matter?

For new users:

• Faster learning curve - The component-based organisation makes it easier to understand where smart values come from.

• Better guidance - Clear visual indicators help you understand what each smart value does.

For power users:

• More precision - Granular date/time types provide more clarity on what variables you can use for advanced date and time functions.

• Enhanced debugging - Visual hierarchy makes it easier to trace smart value relationships.

When will this be available?

These improvements are rolling out now across all Automation products! You'll see the enhanced panel in:

• Jira Automation

• Confluence Automation

• Adminhub Automation

We want your feedback!

This is just the beginning of our Smart Values Panel improvements. We'd love to hear:

• How the new organisation affects your rule-building workflow.

• Whether the new date/time types solve problems you've encountered.

• Any suggestions for further improvements.

Drop us a comment below or reach out to the Automation team directly!

[Brandon Davies]

This is a great update! I've never seen the Admin hub automation area, where can we access this?

[Camilo Gomez]

Hi @Brandon Davies, looks like we jumped the gun a little bit there :) - we are actively working on supporting Automation in Admin Hub and and we’re aiming to release the first version before the end of the year.

We’ll share a detailed update as soon as it’s ready. Stay tuned!

[Tomislav Tobijas]

Nice! I've recently discussed how groups and advanced branching should have something like this smart values help panel. Glad to see it's also being improved 🙌

[Bill Sheboy]

Hi @Luna Ye 

Thanks for this information.  The changes seem primarily to support inexperienced automation users, however, it it could still confuse them regarding missing context for smart values.

What has the team considered for these ideas?

• When a rule component is selected and using this feature, only show the possible smart values at that context, using a dynamically generated list, rather than everything believed to be possible in the rule based on the product type (i.e., Jira, Confluence, etc.)
• Add type-ahead search to smart value expression entry, with the ability to enable / disable this feature at a global and project level
• Regarding the section on "More precise date and time types", that shows aligned types: date and date, versus date / time and date / time.  Have you considered showing what happens for the mix of date and date time, in both different orderings and different functions?
• Please explain how this supports what is stated for Power Users to "Enhanced debugging - Visual hierarchy makes it easier to trace smart value relationships". 
  • In my opinion, better support for verbose debugging and returning the UX to show the rule side-by-side with the audit log would be better for Power Users than what is described. 

Kind regards,
Bill