Enable "+ Create new choice" in custom field type "Select list (multiple choices)"?

Question

Some fields, like Component, let Jira users create a new list entry right in that field in a ticket screen. This is great!

I created a custom field of type "Select list (multiple choices)". It doesn't have this option on it. Is this something I can configure? Being able to let users create entries for this list would be very useful for us.

Nic Brough -Adaptavist- · Answer

I understand the desire there, but it's not possible in Jira.  I have seen an app (for server) that provides a field that does this, but I'm afraid the places I've seen it used, we had very strong needs to get rid of it - the users were regularly adding junk, and the admins didn't have the time to clean up after them.  It was a mess.

For your case, I would very strongly recommend the use of a select list, which can only be amended by admins.  I would then give your users a way to request new items

The obvious one that needs no coding is to have an option of "new" in the list, and a text field that accepts their data.  Create a filter for "company name = new" or "requested company name is not empty", and subscribe your admins to it so they get reminded to check regularly.  When a new company is requested, they can run a filter for each new name requested, add the name to the field, then use (bulk) edit to update the selection on the issue(s) and blank out the "requested company" field.

Whilst that seems like a bit of a faff for your admins, it is a lot less than trying to get them to regularly scan the entire list for variable spellings, merges and updates.

eirens · Answer

Thanks for your reply.

The reason I want non-admin users to be able to add entries to this particular list is that it's for customer company name. For this field, I want users and admins to have a balance between:

* Consistent customer company names used, not a bunch of variations due to random spellings (so a simple text entry field won't work). Values get looked up as user types, so they're more likely to be consistent.
* Easy for a user to add an entry when it's not in the list already.
* Easy editing of the entries on the admin side so I can tweak spellings, merge the occasional duplicate company name with varied spellings, etc.

Using a custom filed of Type = Label will not work for us because Label field values cannot contain spaces. Our customer names contain spaces.

Nic Brough -Adaptavist- · Answer

Components is a system field and does not quite allow what you're saying.  The function is actually limited to people who have project administration rights, which should not really be "everyone".

No other fields have this function - select lists, multi-selects, radio, check-box etc - they're all expected to be managed by your admins and used in places where you don't want people just adding all sorts of random items to them without any thought.

The other type of field you might look at though is labels.  It's not quite a drop-down, but it is effectively a select-list that anyone can add to.