How to switch between 'Visual' and 'Text' mode of Issue description in Jira cloud?

[Deleted user]

Issues in my project, when viewed full-screen mode, show all the wiki markup syntax when you put the issue description in edit-mode. On Jira server you used to be able to switch between 'Visual' and 'Text' modes to hide/show the markup.

This however doesn't occur when putting the description of an issue in edit mode, when viewing the issue in the side panel on a Board.

Any ideas?

[dmitry.popov]

That is really disgusting that I can not use the markup instead of the visual editor in Jira Cloud.
For example, I cannot set a non-standard text color (i.e. apart from those colors that are present in the color-selector), which is critical when describing, for example, the css styles.

Please return the text editor! That was perfectly working for years (at least for local Jira installations).

[Mikołaj]

It's not a total disaster since it's possible to use Markdown and you can choose the language for the code block.
https://support.atlassian.com/jira-software-cloud/docs/markdown-and-keyboard-shortcuts/

[William L Harms]

The ability to communicate effectively is the reason why Jira is a good product.  When you limit that ability, the product is damaged, devalued.  I feel that I've lost at least an hour a week fiddling with the buttons to get the same content pre migration.  

I can use markdown and formatting in plain text with bugzilla.. 

[Alexander Rink]

I totally agree with dimitry.popov. Even typing this text, I miss the markup for typing quick formatting.

There is no better way for editing and formatting quickly any type of text.

I think anywhere, where you type text it should be possible to use markup.

**Please bring back markup for Jira at least**

[jblazek]

Indeed, it's stupid decision to remove such a cool feature like textual editing and force us use that horrible visual editor. I can only imagine that it's like this because someone decided to push forward useless AI on cost of users experience.

[Timo Toivonen]

Please bring back the text-edit view. It is the most useful feature.

[Gabriel Straub]

Agree!

[Garett Goodale]

Please add the text editor to Jira Cloud. Consider the fact that Jira is largely used by software developers who are much faster at typing markup than clicking between functions in the UI. I suspect nothing will happen since this has been up for a while but maybe if we keep commenting it will someday get added back. 

[adam.edell]

agreed. Please bring it back. Years of practice at editing Jiras in text editor to make better looking descriptions is now made much harder with only WYSIWYG.

[Joe Matazzoni]

If Jira is going to hide the text-edit view, please Atlassian folks, fix your editing bar so that it floats with the window as the user scrolls down. When I write a long ticket, I now have to scroll ALL the way up to the top to do something like change color or apply a heading level.

That is a very bad UX

[Laurentiu Ionescu]

Yes, I really need the markup language back.
You shouldn't expect a developer to spend a lot of time in WYSIWYG editor, this is shitty.

I used to generate some of the comments from code, also tables and jira accepted markup language, now everything takes a lot of time to put some good info in comments and stories.

Not a very great move.

[Michael Lutz]

Same here, upgrade to the cloud slowed down my speed in creation of tickets :-( 

As many others I can just kindly ask you to bring such a useful mode back!

[Lyndon Armitage]

What is even the point in this page https://jira.atlassian.com/secure/WikiRendererHelpAction.jspa?section=all if you can't actually use the markup anywhere? Why keep outdated, unusable documentation around? Just to confuse your users?

There's literally no option from what I can see to use markup. And there's no option to produce tables in a Jira ticket beyond slowly doing it by hand, which is not only error prone but a complete waste of time when you could generate them in a matter of seconds and copy and paste them. 

Giving no option other than a WYSIWYG editor is crazy and dumb, it reeks of some poor decision making. You don't even need to have a toggle, just some CLEAR way of allowing someone to insert raw Jira Markup, that is supported according to Jira's own documentation.

[Michelle Brügger]

even worse... don't know why, but when I use *xxx* in OUR jira-tickets the text goes italic and not bold... and yes _xxx_ formats text still italic

Since I had loads of times problems with the wsywyg-editor when pasting something from a darkmode-site into the ticket, I often used the text-only instead of the visual. Same with thumbnails where I could adjust the size of a placed picture in the text-editor, which is not possible in de visual one. 

Too bad, we can't switch anymore 8-/ And if anyone finds out what the new markdown for bold is... let me know (yes, I know I can use shortcut cmd+b)

[Ed]

The text representation for bold is ** around the text. Beats me why * doesn't work, since it was a decades-old convention.

[Felippe]

Please bring back the text editor for Jira Cloud.  

[adam.edell]

Yes, please

[Bram]

Three years later, and we're still stuck with this crap editor. So far I haven't found a single thing that Jira Cloud does better than Jira Server. It's one giant regression.

Even something as simple as editing text is beyond Atlassian ...

[David Kozisek]

Please bring this back, it's the ultimate power user tool when making a lot of tickets. If you aren't going to do it, please offer a reason.

[Michael Lutz]

Due to upgrading to the Jira cloud version and the lack of text edit mode, entering ticket templates via text insertion tool (macOS inbuilt) is not practical any more. As a result the ticket creation workflow is more complicated now and requires more time :-(

Things like tables and formating of headlines cannot be preserved in templates and have to be copy pasted from other tickets (takes more time) or manually inserted (takes yet more time).

Taking out the edit mode is a real downgrade. I would appreciate it very much if you could bring it back.

[Alexey Matveev]

Hello,

Do you mean that you do not have the Visual and Text options in Jira Cloud? If so, then it is the correct behaviour. You use the old issue view. You should use the new issue view.

[Deleted user]

Hello, I wanted to know how you switch between Visual and Text in Jira Cloud, not if it behaves the same as the server version.

My problem is that when I go to edit a description, the text is all marked up (wiki markup), and there is no option to hide the markup and show the formatted version.

[Alexey Matveev]

You can not switch between Visual and Text in Cloud. Cloud behaves differently from Server.

[Deleted user]

So how do I 'hide' the wiki markup then? Do I have to apply a different view or something?

[Alexey Matveev]

You need to use the New Issue View. You will not be able to see the markup codes there. The New Issue View is set by default:

New Issue view is available from boards:

[Deleted user]

Thanks @Alexey Matveev  can the 'new issue view' be applied to issues when they are not viewed from a board?

[Deleted user]

Here is an example:

Description field in view mode:

Description field in edit mode:

As you can see, when the Description field is in edit mode, the markup syntax is shown.

[Alexey Matveev]

You can not switch the new Issue View on, where the old issue view is shown. 

[Deleted user]

Yeah so I've confirmed that I'm using a 'classic' project, which would explain why the New Issue view isn't on. So why does the description field show markup when in full screen mode, and not when viewing an issue on a board?

[Alexey Matveev]

When you view on the board, you use the New Issue View

[Deleted user]

Ok so there’s  no way to hide/turn off the markup (so it renders like the new issue view) when viewing an issue in full screen mode for a classic project?

[Tiffany Stull]

The WYSIWYG editor does NOT provide the same amount of control that editing in Jira markup allows.  For example, if I want to create a numbered list with a bulleted sub-list, that can only be done via markup.  This capability is essential when I'm creating a list of testing steps that also includes multiple selections beneath a step.  Example:

# Select the link to this page.
# Select the following checkboxes:
** Item 1
** Item 2

I'm able to create new jiras in Jira cloud with markup.  Why can't I edit existing jira descriptions or other fields using markup?

If Atlassian is removing the markup editing capability, the WYSIWYG editor needs to be improved so it will support all functionality that exists when writing descriptions using markup.

[Ian Wermerling]

I have the opposite frustration because I like the WYSIWYG view for some of my stakeholders, but they have to see their content in markup when they first create the ticket.

Consistency between create and view would be good, as well as the option to use either WYSIWYG or markup on both you be good to see to.

btw I'm using cloud.

[Manabu Tokunaga]

I would also like the "New Issue" Editor to be *not* stuck in Markup. I use Markup in README.MD but for a good chunk of non-coders like PMs and CEOs that won't go over very well.  Personally, also for quick edits of an issue, it's better not to be Markup.

[Gabriel]

There are quite some folks out here, which work way more efficient with markup-style. I understand that not everyone likes it. So no need to use it. But please, please, please, bring it back for those who are used to it and can (better) work with it!

[Mikołaj]

@Manabu TokunagaThat's fine, but nobody forces you to use markup editor, right?

[Jonathan Ellis]

Just switched to Jira cloud. I commend Atlassian for implementing better markdown (it actually works similarly to other markdowns now), BUT BRING BACK THE ABILITY TO USE BASIC TEXT!

I assume the idea was to save time by preventing people from wavering over it, but the formatting and spacing that Jira forces on us is terrible and WASTES A LOT OF TIME BECAUSE WE HAVE TO SIT AROUND TRYING TO FIX IT. This standard looks like it was designed by the same 3rd grader in a remedial writing class who came up with SOLID.

We're big kids and can make our own decisions. If I want your ugly extra space between my paragraphs, I'll add one (real writers make that decision based on type and length of document). If I want my bullet points a certain way, let me. Even Microsoft (cue thunder crash) lets you do that. Quit forcing poor and unprofessional writing practices on people who know what they're doing.

If, for some stupid reason, you think forced formatting is a good thing, leave it up to the teams to create their own requirements. 

[Ben Ernest-Jones]

Agreed with everyone. Vote for it on https://jira.atlassian.com/browse/JRACLOUD-73906

[s_kudal]

Hello All,

I've a question about "Custom Fields". I want a field just like "Description" which has format panel on the top side. But there is only "Text Field" which I can add. But this is not just like "Description" field. Its is only an empty free-text field. There is no any formatting panel (which allows us to change the style and widht of the writings)... Is there any alternative way to do so?

Thank you 

[kanglong_ma]

Hi, you can edit the Renderer of the "Custom FIeld" in the "Field Configuration" page, find your field and change its Renderer to Wiki Style Renderer.

[Warren Goldman (SDG Contractor)]

edit mode does not show the text view for the description field, like it does here (I typed an asterisk/star then hello). In edit mode (double click on description) the below shows as a bullet with hello

* hello