Need help using !~ operator when searching for comments using JQL

Question

Hi Everyone.

I need help using the !~ operator when it comes to finding tickets via JQL based on comments.

Here is my JQL:

project in (A, B, C, D, E, F) AND status in ("Waiting for Approval", "Waiting for approval") AND resolution = Done AND comment !~ "Help Desk"

Basically, I want to show tickets that are Waiting for Approval (with resolution reason of Done) where they don't contain a comment featuring the string "Help Desk".

This is so that I know I can then add a reply to them to follow up.

However, when I run this JQL, which does run, it still shows the tickets where I have already followed up with the full comment 'Help Desk update, this ticket will be closed soon'.

Surely, they should be removed?  That is what I am trying to acheieve.

If I change the JQL to use ~ then no tickets are displayed:

project in (A, B, C, D, E, F) AND status in ("Waiting for Approval", "Waiting for approval") AND resolution = Done AND comment ~ "Help Desk"

I just read in the Atlassian docs about !~ that *If the issue contains more than 1 comment, this operator will fail, because all comments will be included in the search" - which is what seems to be happening, it fails as there are multiple comments, so how can I do what I am trying to achieve?

Sorry if this doesn't make sense, happy to answer any questions - thanks!

Harald Seyr · Answer

Probably something like filter not in ("Tickets to update")

You can always type the command directly without the selection, also use copy/paste.

Ian _I_ - Aware · Answer

I checked this too and the filter I made is set to My Organisation, but still doesn't show up.

Can you possibly give an example of the correct JQL syntax?

Harald Seyr · Answer

Maybe you check if the filter from first step needs to be a public filter, not privte to your user. There is some way to set access rights for each filter you save.