How to get list of epics which do not belong to a list of initiative

[jviola]

I want to search for epics which do not belong to a list of initiatives through the parent-link relation. With JQL, there is no option of not in operator with Parent Link.

[John Funk]

Hi @jviola 

The Parent Link field has been deprecated. You should just use the Parent field. 

So, the query would simply be: issuetype = Epic and parent is empty

[jviola]

Thanks you for your prompt answer. OK to use parent.
But how can I use parent to exclude the epic which belongs to a list of initiatives.
Something like:
... issuetype = Epic AND parent not in (Initiative_1, Initiative_2)

Thank you

[John Funk]

issuetype = Epic AND (parent not in (Initiative_1, Initiative_2) or parent is empty)

[jviola]

Thanks John, I don't have the "is empty" option for parent.
When I use this 
 issuetype = Epic AND parent not in (Initiative_1, Initiative_2)

I still have issues returned which belongs to Initiative_1 and Initiative_2.

Is there a way to check the value of parent for a given epic?

Thanks

[John Funk]

If you are using that query, there should not be issues showing up. Can you share a screenshot? 

Why can you not use the parent is empty? What do you mean you don't have? Did you try the query as I have above? 

[jviola]

Hello,

First, our epics are linked to initiatives thanks to the Parent Link attribute. Maybe that explains why this does not work with parent. Should I link epic and initiative with "is parent of" then?

Second, I don't have the "is" operator for parent as shown in the picture

[John Funk]

Have you done this as a linkage? Or you have put a value in the Parent Link field? If you add the Parent field to the screen, is it populated? 

For the "is" problem, try using parent = ""

[jviola]

Indeed, we have a value in the Parent Link field and the parent field is empty, that's why.

Thanks for your help

[John Funk]

Were you able to populate the Parent field and getting it working? 

[jviola]

I've made a try on my own and yes this works.
Do you confirm that Parent Link should not be used anymore and we should migrate to materialize this relation with linkage?
A part from my filter, is there any other drawback to continue using Parent Link?