We’re removing Jira’s dot menu to make way for a new and improved command palette

[#1]

Hi Jira Community,

Starting August 19, we’ll be removing the dot menu in Jira and replacing it with the new and improved command palette.

What is the Dot menu?

Jira’s dot menu allows users to quickly update issues and settings and is accessed by pressing . on your keyboard

What is the command palette?

The command palette is a keyboard-first feature that allows you to search for your work in Jira, update your issues, manage admin and project settings, and more. It’s already available for use within Jira.

To get started with the command palette:

1. Open the command palette.

   1. If you’re a Mac user, press command + K to open the command palette.

   2. If you’re a Windows user, press Ctrl + K to open the command palette.

2. Search for commands in the search bar or use a forward slash / to search for your work.

More about the command palette

When and why is the dot menu being removed?

We’ll start removing the dot menu from August 19 2024. This will allow us to invest our efforts into the command palette and improve it based on your feedback. Unlike the command palette, the dot menu is constrained by its code, making it difficult to update. Furthermore, the dot menu is only available in parts of Jira while the command palette can accessed regardless of where you are in the product.

The command palette aligns with features already used by our customers in other applications and will provide more seamless and intuitive experience, not to mention a much quicker way to complete tasks.

Can I still do the same things with the command palette?

There are a few features that we haven’t brought over into the command palette yet, including:

• converting to issues and subtasks

• search criteria

• connecting your issues to a Slack channel

• actions related to Marketplace Apps

However, the command palette offers much more functionality than the dot menu. Depending on where you open the command palette in Jira, you can:

• complete actions on your issues, including linking issues

• update issue fields directly from the command palette, including:

  • • sprint

    • labels

    • due dates

    • fix versions

    • components

• search and navigate to your work, including issues, projects, boards

• access settings

• switch between light and dark themes

• create issues

• check notifications

• open keyboard shortcuts and help menus

This is just a snapshot of what can be achieved with command palette - so make sure you start exploring it as soon as you can!

More about updating issues with the command palette

What do I need to do?

If you’re an admin, we recommend notifying your organization about the dot menu removal in advance and preparing users to switch over to the command palette.

If you’re a user, we recommend you start exploring the command palette for a quicker way of completing your work!

Thanks from the Atlassian team

[Yatish Madhav]

Great stuff - thanks @Yousef Abusamak  - I really hope that once the dot shortcut is removed it is then readded back as per my suggestion comment on https://community.atlassian.com/t5/Jira-Command-Palette-Beta-Group/Exciting-Update-Issue-Actions-Now-Available-in-Jira-Command/ba-p/2748037 - it seems simpler to just press '.' then 'Ctrl + k' :)

Thank you though for this article. Love the consolidation of the 2 shortcuts

[Frank Hess]

I was just writing the same as Yatish - we are used to '.' and 'gg' please add those shortcuts to the command palette. 

[Brad Pennington]

Cmd-K is a frequently-used shortcut for adding links across many existing applications. It would be helpful to let users configure . as the shortcut to avoid this loss of muscle memory.

[josh]

This post could be improved by adding a quick summary of what the dot menu is.

Thank you!

[Dave Perini]

How are users supposed to discover this command palette on their own?

Will there be any visual call-to-action whatsoever?

[tduryea_primtek]

had no idea that the "dot menu" even existed until i saw this post

this is mainly because i see no on screen indication that it even exists until i hit a keyboard short cut and it pops up

[Luqman Jamil]

Mostly people don’t know what is Dot menu. It would be good if you can add what is dot menu so we can have differences between both menus. Thank you 

btw great work Atlassian

[Luqman Jamil]

Those Who don't know about Dot menu: 

In Jira, the dot menu, often referred to as the "more options" menu, is a user interface element represented by three vertical dots (⋮) or three horizontal dots (⋯). This menu provides additional actions and options that are not immediately visible in the main interface.

The dot menu typically contains various actions related to the item you are viewing, such as issues, projects, or boards. Common options found in the dot menu might include:

- Editing an issue
- Linking issues
- Assigning issues
- Moving issues to another project
- Adding comments
- Cloning an issue
- Deleting an issue

The exact options available in the dot menu can vary depending on the context and permissions of the user.

[Mac McCardle]

Great effort team, I know this one will be hard to unlearn for those like my colleagues who've used the dot menu for years.  The good news is, the command palette is much more standardised with common control shortcuts, not to mention being consistent across all Atlassian.

This is a big win moving forward. 

[Samuel]

I like the new menu, but I still miss its velocity when changing ticket status. With the dot menu I was able to do:
- Press `.`
- type "Dev Doing" for example
- Hit Enter

Now I need to:
- Press Cmd + K
- Search status
- Type "Dev Doing"
- hit enter

It doesn't seem too much work but there's a debounce applied to the input that's making things slower

[Greg Skerman]

I may be a bit thick, but it's not clear from this post and the comments whether: 

1. It's only the "hit the dot key to display a menu" that's going away, or,
2. It's both the "hit the dot key to display a menu" and the three dots "Actions" menu on the top right that is being removed.

Can anyone please clarify?
  

[Eric Martin]

WTF, now linking a ticket is a multi-click chore. I hate this shit.

[Sergio del Mazo]

Hello

This is one of the worst changes in Jira that i have seen.

If sometimes is difficult for the user to find the icon with the 3 dots, how they are going to remember that they have to press CTRL+K or click the "."??? We need to have any button in the screen, if not the people is not going to remember the combination or the key and it is going to be stucked.

The "improvements" that you told are all lies, the new option does not give anything good to the user. It is just your problem about how you develop that menu. 

Can you tell me, why it is important to have the dark view option when i am working on one issue???

Please, consider to let the admin of the instance choose between your new anti-ux palette or the old dot menu.

[Peter Karsten]

'Search Jira Admin' shows the message linking to this post. However you cannot search Jira admin using the Ctrl + K menu. How will this work in the future?

[Sergio del Mazo]

I have added one critical comment and i think it has been deleted... this is they way you manage the feedback from your users???

[Sergio del Mazo]

"the dot menu is constrained by its code, making it difficult to update"

How can you argue that the reason of the change is this??? If you have a bad code, correct it, remake it if you want or you think it is needed. If it is difficult to update is your problem, not a user problem or a feature problem.

Create a new anti-ux behaviuor has no sense at all

Please reconsider this decission

[Sergio del Mazo]

Proposal...

Let admins decide to have both options, then measure how many activate it.

And for the activations, check how many they come back to the previous menu.

Take some metrics to be sure that this is the correct way. From my point of view, these metrics will show you that your new palette is useless or at least, it need something in the screen to be launched.

[Oleksandr Butenko]

Cmd+k usually should be clicked by 2 hands. Just why? 
There are many combinations that requires 1 hand involvement. 

the dot click is great. 

Can it stay as alias to this cmd+k short cut?  

[Serso]

Hello Atlassian, please reconsider this, and allow the dot menu to be used as a legacy feature.

I know that CTRL/CMD + K is the standard nowadays, but pressing a combination of two keys, will never be as fast as pressing one key, which is easily accessible.

Furthermore, Jira DC will still rely on the dot menu, which will make it even harder for admins who have to work on both types of instances.

We know this is your product, and you do whatever you want with it, but shouldn't you ask your customers what they want, instead?

[Matthias Gaiser _K15t_]

Hey @Yousef Abusamak

thank you for your update here. I like the look and feel of the new command palette - and think it is a good evolution of the old menu.

I landed here because I tried to open with the shortcut "gg" an action for an app in the global administration section. Can you please clarify if the "gg" menu will be going away?

If yes, I really will miss is the ability to access app shortcuts!! With the old approach, every app was automatically added as soon as they add a menu item to the global administration. Now, they're just not there.. 🫤

I'd like to ask you to rethink your strategy about retiring the old menu until you've readded the global menu items for marketplace apps.

[Alain Kovacs]

Typical Atlassian BS! 

One step forward, two steps back. Remove a perfectly working feature with something worse.

In my case, I use the dot menu to access the scriptrunner functions. Well guess what, that is no longer available with the new way... fantastic! And we're supposed to be excited about this?

Honestly, how about starting doing the things that your PAYING users are asking for, in the thousands of "Gathering interest" requests, and stop modifying the stuff that actually works and nobody wants! 

[Kristján Geir Mathiesen]

I am a bit sad. Please do as @Yatish Madhav and @Frank Hess suggest. Takk, KGM

[Carlos Morais]

The Dot menu will be missed...

[Yousef Abusamak]

Thank you for your feedback on the transition from the dot menu to the command palette. We acknowledge that the dot menu's single-click access and additional features are valuable. However, we believe that the overall improvements and future capabilities of the command palette will more than compensate for the functionalities that are not yet available. I also want to clarify that the 'More actions' menu and the dot menu are not the same thing (please check the updated article above).

We appreciate your patience and suggestions as we work to enhance the command palette. Your input is crucial in making this transition smooth and beneficial for all users. Please continue to share your experiences and feedback.

Upon analyzing the feedback, we believe there are four main categories:

1. Wanting to Press Dot to Open the Command Palette:

   • We understand that muscle memory and quick access are important, which is why we chose the industry-standard Cmd+K. However, we are considering ways to introduce personalization in the future, allowing customers to pick their trigger.

2. Missing Functionality - App-related Commands:

   • We acknowledge that this functionality has not shipped yet and will consider ways to introduce it in the future

3. Admin Commands:

   • All admin commands are available in the command palette. If you encounter any issues, please let us know.

4. Link Issues:

   • The typical method of linking issues through the issue view takes longer and requires more clicks. However, linking issues and other actions can be done entirely with your keyboard in the command palette. This capability is designed to allow future updates to issues without needing to open them.

Thank you for your continued support and collaboration!

[David Rutherford]

This is a classic example of developers making changes that make sense to them, but screw over many other users.

Keyboard shortcuts are an extra, not a replacement.  You've already messed up workflows moving more and more functionality to the ... that used to be directly available else where on issues, and now you want to get rid of those entirely.

How are having only keyboard shortcuts ADA compliant?  

Two thumbs down for this short sighted change