How to create a free form text field like "Description"

[Ben Scott]

Hello, 

I would like to add a free form text field in my tickets just like the Description field. 

I plan to call this field Acceptance Criteria and Testing, and in it I would like to outline any acceptance criteria and test results related to the task or bug. 

Is this possible? 

I've tried to create a custom field and have read that I could use a Wiki Style Renderer? But unsure which custom field to firstly select? 

Open to suggestions - and thank you!!!

Cheers, 

Ben

[Mikael Sandberg · Accepted solution]

Hi @Ben Scott,

Welcome to Atlassian Community!

The field type you are looking for is called Paragraph, that will give you a multi line field similar to Description. 

[Ben Scott]

Great - this worked! Thank you. 

[Michelle Albanese]

Were you able to apply this at each level of the hierarchy uniquely?

[Olga Cheban _TitanApps_]

hi @Ben Scott @Michelle Albanese !

There's another approach worth considering for acceptance criteria. Instead of a custom text field, you can use a checklist - it turns your acceptance criteria into a trackable, structured list right inside the work item.

With our solution, Smart Checklist for Jira, you can list each acceptance criterion as a separate checklist item with its own status. This way, your team can check off criteria one by one as they're met - instead of scrolling through a text field trying to figure out what's done and what's not.

Here's what it looks like in practice:

Agile teams also commonly use Smart Checklist for managing the Definition of Done in Jira and for optimizing recurring processes, such as onboarding and testing.



A few things that make this approach practical:

• Mandatory items. You can mark specific criteria as mandatory and set up validation. This means the work item can't be moved to Done until all required criteria are checked off.
• Custom statuses. Each criterion can have its own status - To Do, In Progress, Done, or any custom status you define.
• Reusable templates. If your acceptance criteria follow a pattern (like a Definition of Done), save the checklist as a template. It can be applied automatically to every new work item based on your conditions.
• Rich formatting. Structure your criteria with headers, add links to specs or designs, and include extra context in expandable detail fields.

This is much more convenient than plain text - you get structure, progress tracking, and enforceability in one place.

Hope this helps!

[Kh_Safal]

@Olga Cheban _TitanApps_, this topic has been locked because the thread has become a bit dated. If you’d like to keep the conversation going or have additional questions, we encourage you to start a new topic. You can read more about necro posting (“raising threads from the dead”) in our Community Guidelines.
Thanks!