"Due Date" not found in automation

Question

In our organisation we have a form for new starters, where one of the fields is "Start Date", and I am trying to use an automation that will auto populate the "Due Date" field with the date in "Start Date".

The aim of this is to add New Starter tickets to a calendar view, and from my research and testing it needs a "Due Date" value. I could change the form to link to the "Start Date" but we are using this for other purposes. And I do not want to add a redundant field to the form.

The automation I have so far is:

* When: Field Value Changed* Fields to mointor - Start Date
* Change Type - Value Added
* For - Create work item

* Then: Edit work item* Fields - Due Date
* Smart Value - {{issue.Start Date}}

I have checked and "Due Date" is in all the correct screens, but I keep getting a  "

We excluded the configured field from this action as it couldn't be found:" error.

Bill Sheboy · Answer

Thanks for the additional information.

You are working with a JSM project's work items, and I believe the Due Date field is not added to the types by default.

Is the Due Date field available when you manually create / edit a work item?  If not, it must be added to the issue type first from the configuration view.  (Unfortunately, automation actions do not dynamically show / hide fields based on what is available for a project and type.)

Ben Culbert · Answer

HI Bill,

Thank you for your response on my issue.

I tried what you suggested, but unfortunately it did not resolve the issue.

But I am getting the same error "We excluded the configured field from this action as it couldn't be found: Due date"

Bill Sheboy · Answer

Hi @Ben Culbert -- Welcome to the Atlassian Community!

Usually, the Edit Work Item action can update a field in two ways: from the dropdown list or using "additional fields" with a JSON expression.  But, it cannot to both for the same field in the same edit, as your rule shows.  Please remove the JSON and only use the dropdown field to set the Due Date.

Next, smart values are name, spacing, and case-sensitive.  When an incorrect one is used, that returns as null, often without showing an error.

The correct one for the Start Date field is: {{issue.Start date}} or its assigned custom field ID.

To learn the correct smart values / custom field ID values supported by rules, please use this how-to article: https://support.atlassian.com/cloud-automation/docs/find-the-smart-value-for-a-field/

Kind regards,
Bill