Can't delete fix version from resolved/closed issue

[Rutger S]

In a project, people wish to delete a fix version from a set of issues (these issues have one or two other fix version values too). The issues are resolved and closed. It often proves impossible to delete this fix version: it reappears immediately after deleting it (from the View Issue screen). Also via (bulk) Edit, it doesn't work. There is no error message or so. Even if this is proper functionality, it seems not very user-friendly to have a value reappear immediately without any warning/error message.

What I did find: in some issues the fix version can actually be deleted. In others, fix version can be deleted when reopening the issue (i.e. resolution becomes empty, status becomes open). In others, it's not possible at all, even after reopening.

In the workflow, there is no status property defined such as 'jira.issue.editable', so this can't be the reason.

These issues are from an Agile project, used in the 'classic' way (so in fact these versions are sprint names).

Am I missing something? Is this a bug? What could be the reason?

[Tarun Sapra · Accepted solution]

It's not a bug, or may be you can call it a bug because things aren't very clear. There can be couple of scenarios why it's happening -

1) Are you using classic boards? Some of the classic boards in plan mode must be having issues grouped under the fix version which you are trying to delete thus resulting in "re-appearing" of the fix-version.

2) Create a new dummy fix version and bulk-edit all the issues whcih have the older fix version which you want to get rid off, migrate to the new fix version using bulk operation and now delete the old and new both fix versions.

[Rutger S]

Thanks. Nr 1 seems to be the reason. Now deleting the children under that version (sprint), thereby also deleting the parent from the issues, as wished. There are some more having only that (parent) version, looking into those now. It's not very user-friendly (or let's even say: it's a bug..?) to have a version re-appear immediately without any warning. Users cannot just know this may be a parent version. It can't be seen or managed in the JIRA admin interface under Versions either, no hierarchy is present there. It's only visible in Agile (classic boards). And there it's not immediately clear how to move them away from the parent version. I guess Atlassian will not fix this because the classic boards are being phased out.

[Tarun Sapra]

Hi Rutger, I can understand your pain as it took me one whole day to fix this issue when I first encountered it, in one of the jira instances that I was managing. Also, please accept/upvote the answer if you feel it helped.

[Rutger S]

Hi Tarun, indeed this was one of the issues it took me really long to figure out (and I've been a JIRA functional admin for some years...). I tried and in some issues, the parent could still not be removed. However the child version proved to be 'released', so we didn't recognise this in the PlanBoard as a child, it was simply not visible anymore. Unreleased it, became visible, unlinked it from the parent, and voilà: solved. Again, not very neat or use-friendly at all... But this is the reason/solution. Thanks!

[Tarun Sapra]

Well there are lot of things currently in JIRA which I find very user-unfriendly , trying migrating "issueType" scheme of a large and complex project having lot of custom fields and you would feel like jumping out the window ! :D

[Rutger S]

Thanks Jose and Venkat, see below please.

[Venkat Patchigolla]

It could be because of parent-child relation between the version you are using.

[Jose M.]

Can you reproduce, when the fix version was added to the issue? Was it added in connection to Agile? Is that really the same entry as in the Jira roadmap?

[Rutger S]

Not a single version is marked as 'archived'. FIY, some versions are released, others are unreleased. The one they wish to delete is unreleased.

[Udo Brand]

see https://jira.atlassian.com/browse/JRA-6419

[Udo Brand]

Are the versions archived?