Unable to save a jira ticket because of formatting issue

[Mei Chen]

7/23/2019 Update

I am updating this and have unaccepted the original suggestion, hoping that we can get more attention from Atlassian to address this issue. I still run into the same issue from time to time, here's how I avoid/troubleshoot to overcome this while we await Atlassian to address it.

1) Do not add images, tables, or any other more complex stylings on the "Create Issue" modal. Do these things after you create the issue.

2) Avoid having a super long issue.

3) Avoid using markdowns for text stylings, use the text editor.

4) When running into this issue, deal with images, tables, and links first.

5) If all things fail, copy and paste into another new jira ticket.

6) I've also upvoted the posts that have shared how they get around the issue that might be helpful to your situation.

Reminder: we all get frustrated with things that slow us down, but it's not an excuse to be rude and unprofessional. Please do continue to share your experiences with this issue and how you get around it.

thx.

Original Post from 4/18/2019

An error message occurs while I am composing a jira ticket:

"We couldn't save your content. It may contain formatting we don’t recognize. Try removing the formatting before saving."

How do I troubleshoot for this?

[nigelgilbert]

Jira does this all the time.

It's straight up a deficiency in the product.

I am very annoyed that a simple copy-paste of another ticket results in this garbage error.  Unfortunately I have to use these comments for work.

This is a bug.

[Sam Fleming]

I was getting this error when trying to insert an image into a Ticket. Even if there was nothing in the ticket.

All the images I tend to upload are screenshots, and they have a colon (:) in their filename. This was proving to be the issue. 

If I change : to _ in the image filename, then it works without issue.

I only worked this out because I turned off the "New Issue View", tried to upload the image, and actually got a helpful error message, instead of "We couldn't save your content. It may contain formatting we don’t recognize."

tl;dr Couldn't upload images that have a colon (:) in their filename.

[Benson]

Is there an open ticket for us to state that we are affected customers because of this bug?

[Lia_Rodriguez LIA]

I'am also facing the same problem. Help!

[Shahab Ali]

I have lost so many hours thank to this stupid bug. This is unacceptable in a paid software!

[ColmS]

There is an open ticket but Atlassian can't work on it because they are being hampered by their own bug. 

Before the new ui rollout pasting this into the description box would work: 

{panel:title=My Title|borderStyle=dashed|borderColor=#ccc|titleBGColor=#F7D6C1|bgColor=#FFFFCE}
a block of text surrounded with a *panel*
yet _another_ line
{panel} 

Now it just pastes as plain text 

[Emily S]

(Removed)

[Paras_Lehana]

This bug really annoyed me after I had invested a lot of time in formatting and writing content. The error just washes all the stuff you have done. 

This generally happens when you do a paste a formatted text (even from other JIRA tickets). 

A workaround to this until it gets solved can be:

Duplicate the tab and edit the description. With the new view of JIRA, you would mostly get the unsaved content that couldn't get saved. The only extra thing is that you can now see 'Unsupported content' in the post. Just delete it and save. Viola! 

[Camille Puisais]

Hi, 

Thanks for the workaround but I'm not sure I understood it precisely.

If I duplicate the tab and edit the description and try to save I get the error message saying it's not possible to save because of the format... If I close this error message The table is in edit mode and I can only save it --> not possible or cancel the changes...

[Paras_Lehana]

I'll try to summarize it into steps. Basically, you need to look for 'Unsupported Content' in the description now.

1. Duplicate the tab. You can also refresh the same page. But this is recommended so that you don't loose your work if it doesn't get drafted. 
2. In the duplicate tab, try to edit the description. Wait for a second or two and you should see the unsaved changes now.
3. In most cases, you should see a text in a grayscale snippet 'Unsupported Content'.
4. Simply delete this snippet with backspace. 
5. Do this for all of these. 
6. Try to save now. 

I'm on the go at the moment. I can easily replicate the issue and will attach the screenshot showing that 'Unsupported Content' snippet once I get on my laptop.

Do let me know if it doesn't work or I need to explain more. 

[Camille Puisais]

I don't have the snippet for my changes :(

but Still can't save without the error message about the format (the table was created in the older version), changes are made in the newer version of Jira.

[Paras_Lehana]

Actually, my workaround was regarding the error when you copy paste formatted text from another source.

In your case, have you tried first saving it in the older view (by appending ?oldIssueView=true to the JIRA URL)? Then you can remove the parameter in URL to see the changes in newer view. 

[Camille Puisais]

Yes this is our workaround currently :)

But what will happen when it will no longer be possible to access to this older view ?

[Paras_Lehana]

I've been slowly migrating all my tables to new view and then formatting them in the new view only. Also, there's an unsolved bug regarding this so I think they may come with a resolution before going aways with the older view. 

[Taranjeet Singh]

@Mei Chen Try to find out if there are any weird unacceptable characters or links in Text-based fields like Summary, or Description. etc., remove them and see if you are able to create the ticket.

[Chris Littlefield]

Ridiculous suggestion, Jira doesn't point me in any direction here, so I'm trial and error removing items and clicking Save to no avail.

[Camille Puisais]

What are the "unacceptable characters" ?

Is there a maximum of "all types of" characters for one cell of a tab ? For the whole table ?

Is there any rule about bullet lists in a table which could cause a saving error ?

Currently we have to use the old version of Jira to be able to save our content in our table but soon this won't be possible anymore...

Where are the formatting rules published ?

Regards

[Anne Saunders]

I have only experienced this issue intermittently and seemingly randomly. Number of characters does seem to be an issue sometimes; other times, the text fields will allow me to paste in a link (as opposed to a naked URL) but then reject the content; and the other issue I've observed comes down to special characters that aren't supported (again, seemingly randomly). 

My solution in every case has been to remove all of my text, cancel creation, and then create a new issue with the barest minimum of text to get it created, then paste in my content once the issue exists. 

It's a real PITA.

[Nate Dickinson]

Looks like this is still an issue. How about some line numbers or some guidance rather than a vague error about formatting. My description is pages long. I don't have time for guesswork, but I guess I'll find it. 

[ongxxxx]

Please try to use another browser to edit the browser, it works for me!

[Chip Ach]

I copied the entire description, replaced it with "test", saved, then pasted it back in and hit save again.  YMMV, but if I save anyone else precious time in their lives working around this obnoxious bug, I'll be satisfied.

[Camille Puisais]

Thanks, I'll try if I ever get the trouble again

[omari.christian]

This is essentially how I got it working. I didn't replace the whole description, though. Here is what I did:

1. Click in the ticket description to get to Edit mode
2. Copy the entire description with Cmd+A Cmd+C (Mac shortcuts)
3. Paste the description into a text editor to make sure it copied correctly (thank goodness I did this step!!). The entire text wasn't copied, only the first few lines. No matter how many times I selected all and copied, it would only paste up to a point. That point seemed to be where the formatting problem was.
4. Just select, copy, and paste the problematic section of the ticket description. You may have to do it in parts if it won't let you copy the entire section.
5. Once you remove that section by deleting or cutting it, you can now format and edit the ticket as you see fit and it will save. Paste back the problematic section from your text editor.

[Anne Saunders]

What Omari suggested is exactly what I had to do to work around this problem in a comment. 

I can't believe it's been 6 months and this is still just as broken :/

[Andy Hockey]

So 5 years 5 months and 9 days later and this is still a problem. Nearly every time I use these products basic functionality fails. 

It seems like the system is trying to parse the file to display a preview. Well if your system cannot understand the format of the file that's jira problem not a me problem, just accept your software too poorly coded to parse files and accept the file without a preview. 

Don't male it a me problem

[Alexandros Kotzegien]

I'm still having this issue :D 5 years guys, seems that adding files with more complex names is causing it if my mp4 is called recording there is no issue, but if you try and add an image or video with a more complex name like this "Recording 2024-04-16 190353.mp4" I get the error.

[Karl Lundfall]

Still present in 2023. Please fix

[Dimitri]

I created everything for the ticket in jira aside for the video and the screenshot and I am running into this issue still, any tips would be appreciated.

[Gerald Aichholzer]

I have the same problem, wasted 60 minutes and then gave up - one hour i am never going to get back and a sub par ticket without any images and formatting. Thanks!

[vadimbo]

What a CRAP!!! just lost now a good amount of hours of work just because of this bug. I'm so infuriated now!!!!  

[ongxxxx]

The solution is simple: PLEASE TRY OTHER BROWSER~

I have tried this solution, and it works. Copying the context to notepad and pasting the Jira in the same browser, does not work.

[Ngoc Hoang]

Today I did encounter this issue and it took me 30mins to read all the comments here to find a solution, but it still didn't work. Finally, I found out that I was logged in wrong Atlassian account :D. That's why I was not able to save the content of the account I thought I had logged in to.

[ongxxxx]

Please try to use another browser to edit the browser, it works for me!

[Jaideep Guha]

@leena : our team experienced this issue today when trying to create tasks in JIRA. The workaround we are using for the moment is to clone tasks and then update as needed. Hopefully Atlassian will resolve this issue soon. 

[Leena Sinha]

I can't create an issue... i am not copying and pasting, just create, typed in a name and description.. and boom.. 

We couldn't create the issue. Copy your content, then try creating again. 

Any workarounds?

[Anh Nguyen]

It's Nov now and I also meet this issue again. I did copy and paste a very simple screenshot this morning but now I can't. 

[Kelsey Villa]

I am having a similar issue currently with our system and have spent HOURS resolving to find that JIRA will not create ticket from the helpdesk portal or email if it contains the word:

"having"

Anyone else run into this issue?

[Romen Klaassen]

Hi,

I do not experience your issue, however have you considered to try using FireFox? Every issue I have had with JIRA seems to be resolved that way.

[Fin Systems Ltd_]

its one of the most annoying things in Jira. I can't deal with copy and paste problems, I lost a lot of time because of this.

with all big companies like Jira... I just don't understand what you are doing sometimes... there are errors all over... you are big multi milion company just don't understand why there are some crucial bugs like that

idiotic bugs by multi milion company... just don't understand ...how such company with such funding can generate such dumb issues that are all over all apps

[Personal attack removed]

[Monique vdB]

@Fin Systems Ltd_ hi there, I removed some content from your post that was in the form of personal attacks, which are not allowed on this platform. Please be mindful of this going forward and keep your criticism constructive. Thanks!

[Shahab Ali]

Monique, instead of policing the forums, get this bug fixed. Its just not acceptable, I've lost countless hours due to this shit.

[Dirk Wachter]

I noticed this in Chrome today (Version 79.0.3945.130).

Tried it in Firefox (73.0.1) and it worked like a charm.  Maybe that's another 'workaround' to use FF.

Perhaps the following browser console error will help identify and fix the issue:

tslib.es6.js:71 Uncaught (in promise) Error: The call did not succeed after 1 attempts. Last error is
---
Error: Got error code 403: {"error":{"code":"JwtAuthoriser:AuthorisationError","title":"The token does not allow requested operation. \"urn:filestore:file:dfce0413-ff20-49dc-a1ca-568a17a8f586\" needs \"read\" permission","href":"https://api.media.atlassian.com#UnauthorizedError"}}

[Jeffrey Moen]

I was able to get around this issue by switching back to the old view (there should be a link if you scroll up to top of the page in Jira) and I then I was able to use the old code snippet feature which still works.

I will add that I've been disappointed in Jira lately. They have been rolling out a lot of new features and UX changes, which feel like they are poorly tested and are unleashed on users without warning. The experience of using the product has been getting worse & I am not sure what they are trying to accomplish, but it would be nice if they slowed down and thought about their existing user base rather than give you a new UX every week.

[Camille Puisais]

Hi, 

Yes indeed but until when this link will be available?

And switching back to the new view causes unwanted modifications in the table...

[Dominik Jung]

This error message is also shown when writing Shift + Return, which you usually would use to add an extra line in a list, which belongs to the same list item

1. First item
2. Second item
   Shift + Return to add an extra line to the second item  <-- This doesn't work in issues any more
3. Third item

[Dominik Jung]

Hmm I can't reproduce that anymore. Ignore for now.

[Chris Norman]

I have no special characters aside from CODE.  "@VariableName" is valid code in many languages, so if it's having issues with accepting the @ character inside of a <CODE> section, then it's a BUG on Atlassian's side that needs to be fixed.  This is ridiculous that I can paste code in some tools and not others (or, not in comments).

[Mei Chen]

@Chris Norman , so this issue happened to me again and took me a long time to debug last week. I am not sure what the character limit is for the description field, but it might be another reason when the issue is too long. Another way I overcome this was to copy and paste into a brand new jira issue, it works even though I didn't make any changes.