Why does description behave differently than other rich text fields?

Question

I am importing issues into Jira from an external tool (polarion).  For some reason, the default description field renders the imported table as expected.  But when I map the same field to a custom rich text field (type paragraph), the table is not rendered.  I tried to changing to wikistyle markup but no change.    As you can see below, Description is working but not my custom field "Test Steps"

Ste Wright · Answer

Hi @supportadmin

The field supports rich text, but it's not the default.

Not sure on the exact reason - but at least there's a simple way to switch between the two options :)

Ste

supportadmin · Answer

Thanks, Stephen!  Yes the custom text field was changed to Wiki Style Renderer.  The custom field type is Paragraph (as pictured below).  The name of the this field is "Test Steps" and I created the custom field specifically in a test project.

I am just curious why the table is rendered in the OOTB Description field but not my new custom field?  This could have something to do with my Connector.  The field values are synced from a third-party tool (Polarion) and the Connector designed by Polarion may treat the JIRA field Description differently I don't know.

Ste Wright · Answer

Hi @supportadmin

Is the text field set to Wiki Style Renderer, i.e rich text? Without this, it won't recognise the markup.

You'll need to be a Project Admin to check this, but a Jira Admin to modify it:

* Go to Project Settings > Fields
* Check if the Renderer for this field is "Wiki Style Renderer"
* If it is "Default Text" or similar, as a Jira Admin...* Select Actions > Edit Fields
* Search and locate the Test Steps field
* Select the hyperlink Renderers
* Change it to "Wiki Style Renderer" and update it

A few notes on this...

* Test Steps could be part of an App - if it is and it's locked (i.e you can't change the Renderer), you'd need to either keep it as standard text, or create a new Custom Field to house this information
* Making this change to a Field Configuration will impact all Projects that use it

Let us know if this works for you!

Ste