How to change a preset Description for a custom worktype

Question

I have several custom worktypes. For 2 of those I have this problem:

When I create an issue of either type, the Description field has a preset value, which was set when we set up the Space. The description apears at creation, before automations.

I have edited this in the past, but cannot seem to find where it is done now :-(

It is a company managed software project, in Jira cloud

We did not use any apps for this.

Thanasis Nikolaou · Accepted Answer

Hey @Aleksander Kiriakow

* Most likely: a custom paragraph field standing in for Description, with a default value per context — this is Atlassian's own KB workaround. Edit it under gear icon → Work items → Fields, find the field, ⋯ → Contexts and default value → Edit default value. Contexts can be scoped per work type, which fits "only 2 of my types" exactly.
* If it's that setup, there'll also be a workflow post function on the Create transition copying the text into the real Description — worth knowing before you rename anything.
* Otherwise it's a Marketplace app (Default Values for Jira, one of the description-template apps): gear icon → Apps → Manage apps and look through what's installed; each keeps its templates in its own config page.
* The native per-type default (Project settings → expand the Description field on the work type) only exists in team-managed projects, so that's not where yours lives.

If the field on your create dialog really is the system Description with text already in it, it's almost certainly an app doing it — Jira itself can't in company-managed.

James Gamble · Accepted Answer

Hola Aleksander,

Since this is a company-managed software space and the text appears in the Create dialog before automation runs, I’d first confirm whether the field you’re seeing is Jira’s system Description field or a custom paragraph field with a similar name.

Atlassian’s documented native workaround for company-managed spaces is to add a custom paragraph field to the Create screen, set a default value for the selected work types, and use a workflow post-function to copy its contents into the real Description field when the work item is created. That would fit your situation, especially since only two work types have the preset text, and you didn’t install an app.

As a Jira administrator, go to Settings > Work items > Fields > Fields, locate any paragraph field named Description, Template Description, or something similar, then select More actions > Contexts and default value. Check whether its context is limited to those two work types. If it is, select Edit default value to change the preset text.

You can then confirm the second half of the setup under Space settings > Workflows > edit the workflow used by those work types > Create transition > Post functions. Look for a post function that copies the custom paragraph field into Description and possibly clears the custom field afterward.

Atlassian documents that exact company-managed setup here.

If the field in the Create dialog is definitely the system Description field, could you share a screenshot of the field configuration and Create screen? Jira Cloud doesn’t natively support assigning a default value directly to the system Description field in a company-managed space, so that would point to a different configuration that isn’t visible from the question alone.

Thanks,

James