Assignee fields are showing up as Jira id numbers, not as names

[SC]

The assignee field is populating as a number, which I have determined is the user id. This is only happening for some assignees, not others. Is there a root cause, and a way to fix this?

[Rilwan Ahmed · Accepted solution]

@SC 

1. If you are using Jira server/DC, try to manual run the sync under user directories. (admin --> User management --> user directories)
2. May be user is Anonymized. Read more about it  here: https://confluence.atlassian.com/adminjiraserver0813/anonymizing-users-1027137688.html

[SC]

Hi @Rilwan Ahmed 

Thanks for the suggestions. Nothing changed when I sync'd the directories. No one is anonymous. I checked their profiles, they are not.

When I search for the user in the user directories, they appear by their name only. It looks normal. Their profile is as it should be. But when I make one of these users who show up with the id# an assignee, their name appears in this format: Her Name [User19905].

This is only happening to a handful of users. It never changes. No other users are showing this way. I don't see a pattern. We create and manage users with AD and Crowd groups. They SSO through OneLogin and auth with Duo. Any other ideas?

[Tim Perrault]

That sounds like the user was updated in AD and then pulled into crowd/Jira like that. I would look in crowd at the directory configuration and get all of the attributes (I would focus on the Display name attribute). Then go to your AD admins and see if you can have them tell you what is in that field in AD. If it's just the name and not the weird numbers then we can at least say that AD is an unlikely culprit.

[Tim Perrault]

Hi @SC 

The users that show user ID, is it only the assignee field or is it across all of Jira for the affected users?

Thanks,

Tim

[SC]

Hi @Tim Perrault 

Yes, it is only in the assignee field. Note also when we open tickets, we can find the user by name in browsing to assign, after the assignee is added, the named users appear as a number. The same is when they are mentioned in comments in the same ticket where the numbered assignee shows, the result in comments is a number, rather than the expected name:  example is [JIRAUSER 17203]. Thanks for your quick response. This is affecting searching and creating filters on assignee is [user] because that also returns a number, rather than the name. This is only happening with some Jira users, not all users.

[Tim Perrault]

And one more quick question. What version of Jira server are you running?

[Tim Perrault]

@SCI think @Rilwan Ahmed has the same thinking as me. I'm guessing the users were Anonymized. You should be able to see records in the audit log if we are correct.

[SC]

@Tim Perrault we are on data center version 8.20.1.

That sounds exactly like what's going on. We use Crowd and AD (separate pain point for another post). Is there a way to de-anonymize users? We want their names, and not IDs to show instead? Sorry if it's in that link you sent, but I didn't see it. 

Great info. It helps knowing a possible root cause, if I can prove that theory.

[Tim Perrault]

@SC 

I honestly don't know if you can reverse it.

When anonymizing users, we’ll change or erase their personal data in all of these applications: Jira Core, Jira Software, Jira Service Desk, and Portfolio for Jira.

Hopefully someone else can step in here and has a solution, but you may have to delete the user and recreate them.

[SC]

Just a follow-up. None of these users are anonymous and yet they appear as if Jira thinks they are.  It's so random.