Easier linking, syncing, and customization for Advanced Roadmap users with Elements Copy & Sync

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Jira Software Data Center users have access to Advanced Roadmaps (formerly Portfolio for Jira) as part of their subscription since February 2, 2021, and now customizing how you copy, link, synchronize and display your roadmap is even easier with the latest features available with Elements Copy & Sync.

The Data Center and Server version is now completely compatible with Advanced Roadmaps and allows you to set the parent link of an Epic to an Initiative, synchronize issues that are linked with a "Parent link" and hide the Child issue panel so you can use an Elements Copy & Sync Data Panel.

Let's take a look at what each new feature does.

Setting parent link to link Epic to Initiative

Looking to create an Epic from an Initiative, similar to how you can link to Stories directly from an Epic?  

This is the process many Advanced Roadmaps users use today

1. Create an Initiative
2. Create a lower level issue
3. Access the created issue
4. Edit the Parent Link
5. Repeat steps 2 to 4 for each lower level issue within the Initiative

A shortcut to be able to create the issue from the Initiative with the parent link already set would be much easier. With Elements Copy & Sync for Data Center, you can set up an operation to create an Epic with the parent link to the Initiative preconfigured. From your Initiative, trigger your operation either from the button or the More menu, and the app creates the issue and adds the parent link automatically. If you want to copy fields from the Initiative to the Epic, Elements Copy & Sync takes care of that too.

For information, for this type of link to work, the custom field "Parent Link" must be displayed on the issue "Create screen" and "Edit screen" when the operation is used manually.

Synchronize issues linked by Advanced Roadmaps Parent Links

Make a change in a Parent issue, like updating a field, adding an attachment, or making a comment that you want to be automatically propagated to child issues? It's now possible with Elements Copy & Sync.

Here are the main steps to set this up:

1. Create a field mapping to configure which fields you want synchronized, like CustomField_A and CustomField_B
2. Create a new synchronization a give it a name, like "Custom fields A&B"
3. Configure the issues tab (which issues will be synchronized?). In the synchronization rules, make sure to choose has parent (←) or is parent of (→) links to synchronize Epics and Initiatives. Activate the Trigger on link option.
4. Choose which Jira user will show up as the author of the synchronization in the author tab.
5. Add the field mapping from step 1 through the Fields tab

By activating the trigger on link option in step 3, your issues will be synchronized as soon as they match the synchronization rules you set, like having a parent or is parent of link type.

Now you know your fields (or comments or attachments) will be automatically updated in your child issues when you update the parent.

Want the synchronization to be bi-directional? That's possible too, you'll just need to create another Elements Copy & Sync synchronization with the other type of link (if you chose "is parent of" for the first one, choose "has parent" for the second one).

Allow hiding of child issues panel in Advanced Roadmaps (Portfolio for Jira)

Here's what our customers told us "We love using the Data Panel functionality to customize display of linked issues in Jira. The one roadblock we've run into is when using Advanced Roadmaps (Portfolio for Jira). We'd like to replace the Child Issues panel with an Elements Copy & Sync Data Panel."

We listened, and now you can hide the native Child issues panel and instead use an Elements Copy & Sync Data Panel.

What is an Elements Copy & Sync Data Panel?

A Data Panel lets you design the way the linked issues and Confluence pages are displayed on the issue view. 

You can customize which fields or data from your issues you want to display, and drag and drop them to order the columns in the panel based on your needs.

If you need help setting up Elements Copy & Sync, don't hesitate to reach out to our Support team.