Why isn't my automation editing a custom field?

[Phil Bustin]

In an automation, I can't edit a custom field.

Beginning of automation and log

Automation edit action

Custom field context

[Trudy Claspill]

Hello @Phil Bustin 

Is the issue in a Team Managed project or a Company Managed project?

Who have you set as the Actor on the rule?

If you view the specified issue directly can you edit the field?

[Phil Bustin]

Your question reminded me: I don't know for sure if the field is on the screen, but I think it is.  That raises another question I almost posted: What steps can I follow to find the view/edit/default screen so I can add the field?  Also, my Dashboard that contains the project and displays the field seems to be evidence that the field is already there.  I have to find the screen and make sure the field is there; and if not, add it.  I have many questions, but finding the screen should resolve them.

[Phil Bustin]

Also, I modified the trigger action (and edited the post with updated screen shots showing the new automation version), because although the automation worked once, with the trigger based on a field change, it has not worked in subsequent tests.  Now it's working again with the trigger based on a status change, followed by the condition in both versions, that the field value = yes.

[Trudy Claspill]

What steps can I follow to find the view/edit/default screen so I can add the field? 

If it is a Company Managed project go to Project Settings > Issues > Screens. That will show you the Issue Type Screen Scheme for your project, listing the Screen Scheme(s) used by the issue types in the project. Expand the Screen Scheme for the issue type to see links to the Screens used for the various issue operations.

You may also want to Layout option under Project Settings > Issues, to confirm the field is on the screen.

And you may want to review the Field Configuration to ensure that the field is included and not marked as Hidden.

[Phil Bustin]

I found the screens by finding the project in the list of Issue type screen schemes.  The field is not only there, but it is being populated with the issue key, so I must have created or added to an automation to do that.  I now wish to remove that automation edit, but there is no notification being sent to me for the automation, and I haven't yet discovered which automation is running by examining automation lists.  Is there a way of finding out which automation ran?

[Phil Bustin]

Incidentally, by "Layout option", did you mean Issues > screens > [screen name] > Configure?  

[Phil Bustin]

I know I took a detour, but just to put first things first, I need to stop populating the field when the JSM issue is created, and then start populating it when the JSM issue is cloned to a Jira software issue via the second automation, triggered by the transition that resolves the JSM issue.  So, first remove the successful field edit action in the first automation (after I find the automation), and then fix the field action that tries to populate the field in the second automation.

[Phil Bustin]

If I just look at all the automation logs and find out which one fired today, I should be able to find the first automation.

[Phil Bustin]

I just remembered--I set the value of the field in a Create transition post action--no automation.

Now I can concentrate on why the automation edit action isn't working.

[Trudy Claspill]

Incidentally, by "Layout option", did you mean Issues > screens > [screen name] > Configure? 

No, I meant Project Settings > Issues > Layout.

[Phil Bustin]

After I solve that, I need to modify another existing automation triggered by the creation of a "Dev Story" issue, like this:

If a parent issue exists, populate its Global ID custom field with its issue key. 

I think that most if not all of the Dev Story issues will be created from Epics, but I can't make that assumption yet, so I'd like to just add the above-described field edit action to the existing automation that allows creation of the Dev Story using the Create button.  In other words, I'd like the automation to test for a parent, and if the parent exists, populate its Global ID field.

Perhaps I need to post a new question for that.

[Phil Bustin]

In answer to your reply about the Layout option, I found it.  I had been looking under Settings > Issues instead of Project Settings > Issues > [open the arrow].

[Phil Bustin]

If I move a field to Hidden, will an automation action still work on it?

[Trudy Claspill]

It sounds like you are asking a new question that is not about the rule you were asking about originally. If so, yes, do start a new Question. In that new Question please post a copy of the rule you want to modify. Also, please state the requirement for the rule, which I think is....

When a Dev Story is created, if it has a parent Epic, then populate the Dev Story field "Global ID" with the issue key of its parent Epic.

[Trudy Claspill]

What do you want to accomplish by setting the field to Hidden?

[Phil Bustin]

Regarding the new question, the automation already populates the child issue's Global ID field with the parent's issue key; it's the parent's field I need to edit.  I'll give it a try before I post.

Since I'll treat the new question separately, I'd like to resolve this one, of course.

[Phil Bustin]

Trudy, as to what I want to accomplish by setting Global Id to Hidden: If the users understand that for Epics and JSM issues, the Global Id always equals the issue key, my thought it that it serves no purpose to display the field.  I'm also interested in general in knowing whether automations can act on hidden fields.

[Phil Bustin]

I just noticed the following:

When I create a JSM issue, the Global ID field is visible in the context area > More fields, along with several other fields.

After I run the transition that triggers the automation in which I try to edit Global Id, and the JSM issue has therefore transitioned to the Resolved status, there is only one field in More fields, and it is not Global Id. 

Does that mean that different screens are being used for the JSM issue after creation and when it is in Resolved, and that Global Id is not in the Resolved screen?  If that is the case, how do I identify the Resolved screen.  If it is not the case, why aren't the same fields in More fields as in the In Progress status, and is that the problem (which would make sense)--that Global Id is not present in the screen?

Below is the screen scheme for the Sandox Level 1 issue type that is in question.  All 4 screens listed contain Global Id in the Default tab.

Issue type screen scheme

*** Updates: ***

1) When I added a Parent branch to the automation, there were no errors in the log.

1a) I had originally tried copying the automation to another in which I created a Parent branch for editing Global Id, and I couldn't get that automation to fire, even though all the other components and conditions were unchanged, and the global configuration was unchanged.  Even when I removed the Parent branch and seemingly restored the automation to be exactly like the original, it wouldn't fire.

2) I had moved the Global Id to Hidden when empty in the user interface view screen > Configuration.  That made me realize that I was not clear on our exchange about Hidden fields; I hadn't remembered that using the user interface view screen > Configure wasn't about Hidden fields, but rather Hidden when empty fields.  So I still don't understand why Global Id isn't appearing in the JSM issue user interface issue screen.  In desperation, I moved Gobal Id back to context fields from Hidden when empty, but it still doesn't appear in the UI.

[Phil Bustin]

Log actions confirm that Global Id is empty after the attempt to edit it in the parent, and after the clone edit action in the child (of course, since it's empty in the parent)

[Phil Bustin]

Update: I finally succeeded in reaching the goal, without automation actions, as described below. 

Having reasoned that Global Id in the JSM issue can't be updated in the Resolved status, I added a post action in the transition to copy Key to Global Id (same project for each), and removed the edit action in the automation. 

Also, I had forgotten (I will begin keeping a document of workflow post actions) that I had already added a post action in the cloned issue Create transition to copy the Global Id from the parent.

Thank you for your help.  Regarding "Global Id" not appearing in the context area of JSM issues in the Resolved status, a couple of filters seem to show that Global Id doesn't appear in the context area if it's empty when the Status = "Resolved".  Does that make sense?