How to add unavailable actions for bulk update

[Mark Ormiston]

How to add unavailable actions for bulk update

[Martin Sturm - JXL]

Hello @Mark Ormiston ,

Native bulk change in Jira only ever offers the actions that Jira supports, so there is no setting that lets you add a brand new action to the list. That said, an action being unavailable for you usually comes down to one of a few reasons you can influence.

When you run a bulk change (More actions (•••) then Bulk change work items from the Work item search, or Edit from the list toolbar), a field or operation can be missing because:

• Permissions. Each operation requires a matching permission for every selected work item, for example Edit work item, Assign work item, Schedule work item, or Modify reporter. If even one selected item is outside your permission, the action drops off.
• Field configuration. If the field is hidden in any field configuration that applies to the selected items, it will not appear. Unhiding it in the relevant field configuration brings it back.
• Mixed selection. Some operations need all selected items to share one space, work type, or scheme (for example Components, Versions, work type custom fields). Narrowing your selection often re-enables the action.

A few fields simply have no bulk edit operation by design, and Jira points you to a different tool instead:

• Status / Resolution are changed via Bulk Workflow Transitions, not Edit.
• Project / Space moves use Bulk Move.
• Summary, Description, Environment, Attachments, and Time Tracking fields (Original/Remaining Estimate, Time Spent) cannot be bulk edited at all.

If you can share which specific action is greyed out, I can suggest the exact path to enable it.

Hope this helps, Martin

[Martin Sturm - JXL]

Following up on my earlier answer about why native bulk change actions can be unavailable, @Mark Ormiston .

If you are open to solutions from the Atlassian Marketplace, this is also a gap that JXL for Jira can help close. JXL is a spreadsheet-style view of your Jira work items, and it lets you edit fields inline and bulk edit them with Excel-like copy and paste across many items at once.

The practical upshot for your case: instead of being limited to the operations Jira exposes in the bulk dialog, you select a column, paste or fill values down, and every selected item updates in one action. That covers plenty of field edits that the native bulk Edit step does not offer as a discrete action.

To be honest about scope: this is field editing, not workflow operations, so status changes and project moves still belong to native Bulk Workflow Transitions and Bulk Move.

Disclosure: I work on the team that builds JXL.

Hope this helps, Martin

[Marc -Devoteam-]

Hi @Mark Ormiston 

What actions, as asked by other community members?

But only the actions currently are avaible are there, you can't add options.

[Shalini Pradhan]

Hello @Mark Ormiston ,

Good day! Welcome to Atlassian community :)

Could you elaborate what do you mean by adding add unavailable actions ?

[Arkadiusz Wroblewski]

Hello and Welcome to Atlassian Community @Mark Ormiston 

Your question are too broad. Can you be a little more precise?

Best,

Arkadiusz🤠