Customizing issue creation and close dates

[Ketty Zhang]

Hi,

I've read all sorts of answers that changing the issue creation and close dates in the system can or cannot be done. A 2019 post says this can be done with csv import with admin right, but i do not see this option right now as admin (please correct me if wrong!).

We are hoping to use a function like this to import historical projects and to generate a Cumulative Flow Diagram report for them on Jira. The closest I got to this is adding custom date fields, which show up under the 'Dates' section on individual issues, but the report still does not recognize the date fields as actual project creation/close dates in the system - the visualization is just a huge rectangle with all projects created 'today'. Importing historical projects seems like such a common use case for project tracking tools, and I'm baffled that this cannot be done in a straight forward way. 

[Ste Wright]

Hi @Ketty Zhang 

You can upload via the Admin CSV Import dates which are in the past.

CSV:

1. Create a new CSV file
2. Add a column header per field - the minimum fields you will need are Summary, Created Date, Resolution Date, Updated Date
3. Enter the relevant dates into the date fields - I include "updated date" and match it to "resolved date" for closed issues. These can be just date or date/time. You can use various formats - I personally use yyyy-MM-dd hh:mm a
4. Enter at least a Summary per issue and any other relevant fields (Issue Type, etc) and save the file.

Upload:

You'll need to be a Jira Admin / Site Admin. These instructions are broadly similar for both Cloud and Server/DC:

1. Go to Jira Settings > System > External System Import
2. Choose CSV and select your file, then press Next
3. Select the Project to load the issues into - or choose "Defined in CSV". If this option is chosen, best to include Project Name, Project Key and Project Type in the CSV.
4. Enter into the field "Date Format" your date setup - for example, yyyy-MM-dd. Ensure you enter the specific layout - so if you have no time mentioned, don't include hh:mm. Also remember m is minutes, whilst M is months
5. Press Next
6. Map fields in the next screen. The three date fields are "Date Created", "Date Resolved" and for updated date, "Date Modified" - and press Next
7. If you choose to map values, do so in the next screen and press Next
8. Press "Begin Import" to import your issues

Aside from this, if you're looking to include more complex history such as status transitions or similar, you'd need to look outside of CSV uploads to JSON - see more information on this page

I'd test it first in your instance with a small data set. Let us know how it goes and if you have any questions :)

Ste

[Ketty Zhang]

Hi Stephen,

Thank you for the thorough answer. It seems the reason I am stuck is that I can only see the option of Issues -> Import from CSV even as an admin, and not Admin -> System -> External System Import you mentioned.

I'm using the browser version - is this why there's such limitation? We've only used the browser version and not planning on using the software.

Thanks,

[Ste Wright]

Hi @Ketty Zhang 

Which product is the Browser version related to? Not sure what that is referring to!

Ste

[Ketty Zhang]

Hi @Ste Wright , it's JIRA 8.1

[Ketty Zhang]

Could you please let me know what level of permission here is needed to see Admin -> System -> External System Import ?

 https://confluence.atlassian.com/adminjiraserver081/managing-project-permissions-970608878.html#Managingprojectpermissions-Extendedprojectpermissions

Right now I have the "Project permission - Extended project administration" but I can only see Admin -> Projects, not Admin -> System.

[Ste Wright]

Hi @Ketty Zhang 

It is not a project permission - but the global permission Jira Administrators.

This importer is within the back-end settings - to get there:

1. Go to the cog-icon in the top-right corner, on the navigation bar
2. Select it and press "System"
3. On the left-hand menu, select "External System Import"

If you're not a Jira Admin (for the whole platform) though, you won't see these options. You'll need to contact your platform's main administration team to assist you with the upload.

See more about this CSV uploader on this page.

Ste