How to configure an automation rule which runs when a date was added to a field which was not empty?

[Kinga Bogusz]

Hi there, 

I'm relatively new to Jira and mostly self taught and I am now stuck in trying to set up an automation which is giving me nightmares. 

I need to set up a rule where: If field X is updated, send a notification via Slack (this I have figured out), only if field X was not empty before. 

Basically, if there was a date in field X, and somebody changed it, send a notification, but if the field was empty, don't send a notification. 

This is what I tried and I thought it would work but I now understand that it won't work for what I need: 

Any ideas?

[Bill Sheboy]

Hi @Kinga Bogusz -- Welcome to the Atlassian Community!

You may use the changelog smart values to check if the prior value was empty: https://support.atlassian.com/cloud-automation/docs/jira-smart-values-issues/#--changelog--

Specifically, you could add an advanced compare condition, like this:

• first value: {{changelog.your field smart value}}{{fromString}}{{/}}
• condition: does not equal
• second value: leave this empty

The key will be using the correct smart value for your field.

Smart values are name, spacing, and case-sensitive.  And, the smart value does not always match the displayed name on the issue views.  To confirm your smart value, please use this how-to article.  Essentially you do these steps:

1. identify an example issue with your field
2. using a browser tab, call a REST API function to load the issue
3. search on the page for your field name (e.g., using CTRL-F)
4. that will show the smart value and custom field id

https://support.atlassian.com/cloud-automation/docs/find-the-smart-value-for-a-field/

Kind regards,
Bill