Adding a sub-task to a story does not work.

Nora Rieger

Hello,

I have an issue with sub-tasks in an next-gen project, maybe you can help here, too?

In an existing issue I am offered the option "add a child Issue" and then the option "choose an existing issue". (My Jira is in German so I am not sure that I translated correctly, the German wording ist "Untergeordneten Vorgang hinzufügen" und "Bestehenden Vorgang auswählen"). But the search for existing issues does not give any results, unless I create a new sub-task directly in an existing issue. Which is not an option for me, as I have a list of appr. 40 issues, that need to be attached to other issues in a parent-child logic. I am also not able to change a task or story into a sub-task. (I was hoping this would make the issues appear in the search results). The issues I want to select are not having sub-tasks themselves, and sub-tasks are enabled in the project setup.

Thanks a lot for your support. Best, Nora

Nic Brough -Adaptavist-

Hi Nora, welcome to the community.

I do not think you have misunderstood anything, but I think Jira is not clear on explaining the way it works for some things.

Sub-tasks are always part of their parent, they cannot exist outside the context of their parent.

I think when you say "search for existing issues", you are using the "create issue" option, which asks you for project and issue type.  This does not offer you sub-task as an issue type because it is outside the context of an issue. 

You have to create sub-tasks within the context of a parent issue.  This is why you have to create a new sub-task directly in an existing issue - it is the only place where you are acting within the parent context.

Next-gen projects do not yet have a function to convert a parent type issue to a sub-task, or sub-task to parent type.

This gives you a problem with "I have a list of appr. 40 issues, that need to be attached to other issues in a parent-child logic".   You will either need to take a different approach to treating them as parent-child, trying to do it with issue links, or duplicate the 40 issues, repeating them using "create sub-task" in their intended parent issues.