Created variable not being expanded/substituted in JIRA automation - rookie mistake?

Question

I have added a custom variable to the first step of my automation,

Smart Value of variable (which worked fine when I used it directly in the HTTP step):

postBody = {{issue.comments.last.body}}

When I try to use this variable {{postBody}} in the later Web Request step, I get nothing.

{
"jirakey":"{{issue.key}}"
,"statusid":"{{issue.status}}"
,"statuscode":"{{issue.status.name}}"
, "externalref":"{{issue.Ext Ref}}"
, "author":"{{issue.comments.last.author.emailAddress}}"
, "note":"{{postBody}}"
}

Example from Validate:

{
  "jirakey": "SCM-227",
  "statusid": "10001",
  "statuscode": "Done",
  "externalref": "436976",
  "author": "xxx@yyyy.com",
  "note": ""
}

Trudy P Claspill · Answer

Can you add a Log action to print the value of the variable to the rule audit log? Add it after creating the variable and before the web request step. This will confirm that the variable has a value.

Is there a reason you aren't using {{issue.comments.last.body}} in the web request?

Hugh Kelley · Answer

I think the issue is that the variable (from a previous step) is not set when the Send Web Request Validate option is used.   If I add comments using a real issue, the variable seems to work as expected.

Hugh Kelley · Answer

I've uploaded pics.  If there's a cleaner way to show it (JSON or XML) then I'm happy to learn that.

My issue seems similar to the one in Using-variables-in-functions-in-smart-values-in-JIRA  where the variables don't seem to be usable.