Atlassian IDE Plugin : Using JIRA in your Plugin

This page last changed on Jun 12, 2008 by smaddox.

The Atlassian IDE Plugin allows you to monitor, add and update JIRA issues right there in your integrated development environment.

On this page:

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Contents of the JIRA Tab in the Plugin Window

The JIRA tab of the plugin window shows a list of issues on the selected JIRA server. To build this list, you will use a filter defined either locally in the plugin window, or as a filter saved on the JIRA server. There are more guidelines on filters below.

Screenshot: JIRA tab of the plugin window, showing an issue context menu

The tool bar above the list of issues provides the following functionality:

— Open the plugin configuration panel. (See Configuring the Plugin.)
— Get help on the usage of the JIRA tab (i.e. open this page in your browser).
— Refresh the contents of the list by re-running the currently defined filters.
— Select your JIRA server from the list of configured servers. (See Configuring the Plugin.)
— Add a JIRA issue. (See below.)
— Quick search for issue (launches a web browser).
- Tick this box if you want to use a filter from the JIRA server. If not ticked, you will define a local filter in the plugin window. (See below.)
— Select a filter defined on the JIRA server. (See below.)
— Define a local filter. (See below.)
, — Page through the search results.

Viewing and Updating Issues

You can perform the following functions for each issue in the list:

Hover over a line to see a preview of the issue information.
Double-click a line to open the selected issue in a new browser window.
Right-click a line to show a popup context menu (pictured in the screenshot above) with actions that can be performed for the selected issue:
- View — Open the selected issue in a new browser window.
- Edit — Open the selected issue for editing in a new browser window.
- Add Comment — Add a comment to the issue. (See below.)
- Log Work — Record the time worked against the issue. (See below.)
- Create ChangeList — Add a changelist relating to the issue. (See below.)
- Assign Issue to Myself — When you select this option, the issue is immediately assigned to your username on the JIRA server. The plugin will send JIRA the username which you used to authenticate to the JIRA server (as described in Configuring the Plugin).
- Assign Issue to User — When you select this option, the plugin prompts you for a username. Enter the JIRA username of the person to whom you wish to assign this issue. Note that the username is only validated when the request reaches the JIRA server. If the username is unrecognised, you will receive a remote validation exception message at the bottom of the plugin panel. Please try again.
- Perform Issue Actions — Hover over this option to see a list of available actions. Simple actions will be completed when you click the menu option. If the action needs more information, it will open in a browser window.

If your update does not appear in the issue preview, click the refresh icon .

Filtering the List of Issues

First, select your JIRA server from the dropdown list in the tool bar. This list will show all JIRA servers defined in the plugin configuration panel.
Now you will see all relevant JIRA issues on that server.
The plugin will 'remember' your selection of the JIRA server and filter next time you start your IDE.
Decide how to filter the issues on the server — there are two ways to do this:
- Use the filters defined on the JIRA server. These filters cannot be modified by the plugin. You can run the filter and display results in the JIRA tab of the plugin.
- Or define your filter locally in the plugin window and send the filter values to the JIRA server.

Using Filters Defined on the JIRA Server

Put a tick in the 'Use server filters' checkbox in the plugin window.
Select the saved filter from the dropdown list. This list will show all saved filters which you have permission to view on the JIRA server.
Click the 'Refresh' icon .

If your filter does not appear in the list, click the selected JIRA server in the dropdown list again. This will refresh the list of filters.

For more information on JIRA filters, please refer to the JIRA documentation.

Using Filters Defined in the Plugin

Click the icon on the plugin's JIRA tab. The filter definition panel will open, as shown below.
Screenshot: Defining a filter in the JIRA tab of the plugin window

The filter definition panel provides a number of criteria which you can use to filter the issues. You can collapse and expand sections of the panel by clicking the arrow icons on the left of the panel.
Select one or more criteria.
For each criterion, you can select multiple values by Control-clicking (Windows/Linux) or Command-clicking (OS X).
Click the 'Apply' icon to apply and save your filter.

The filter definition view contains the following icons:

— Applies the defined filter and saves it, so that it is used next time you restart your IDE.
— Cancels the definition of the filter and opens the issue list view.
— Resets the filter to default values.

Creating a New JIRA Issue

Screenshot: Creating a New JIRA issue

To add a new JIRA issue:

Select your JIRA server from the dropdown list on the tool bar.
Click the plus icon on the tool bar.
A dialogue box opens, as shown above. The information requested is the same as required when you add an issue using the JIRA UI:
- Project — Select the JIRA project on the JIRA server.
- Type — Select the issue type, as defined within the JIRA project.
- Priority — Select the priority of the issue.
- Summary — Enter the title of your JIRA issue.
- Description — Enter a detailed description of the problem you wish to record or the feature you wish to request.
- Assignee — Enter the JIRA username of the person to whom you wish to assign this issue. If you leave this field empty, the issue will be added as 'unassigned'.
  Note that the username is only validated when the request reaches the JIRA server. If the username is unrecognised, you will receive a remote validation exception message at the bottom of the plugin panel and the issue will not be added. Please try again.
Click the 'Create' button to add the issue to the selected JIRA server.

For more information on JIRA, please refer to the JIRA documentation.

Commenting on a JIRA Issue

Screenshot: Commenting a JIRA issue

To add a comment to an existing JIRA issue:

Select your JIRA server from the dropdown list in the tool bar.
Use the filter and search functions to find your issue.
Right-click the issue in the list and select 'Add Comment'.
A dialogue box appears, as pictured above. Add your comment text.
Click the 'Comment' button to append the comment to the issue on the JIRA server.

Logging Work

Screenshot: Creating a worklog entry against the JIRA issue

To log work performed against a JIRA issue:

Select your JIRA server from the dropdown list in the tool bar.
Use the filter and search functions to find your issue.
Right-click the issue in the list and select 'Log work'.
The 'Add Worklog' dialogue box appears, as pictured above.
'Time spent' — Enter the number of weeks, days, hours and minutes you have spent on the task, in the format *w*d*h*m. For example, 1w2d3h30m.
'End time' — Optionally, you can change the end time of your work. 'End time' has been pre-filled with the current time so that if you enter the log details right after you finish your work, you don't have to change anything.
'Stop progress' — Put a tick in the checkbox if you want to move the issue out of 'In Progress' status.
'Comment' — Optionally, you can enter some notes about the work done.
Click the 'Add Worklog' button.

Screenshot: Selecting end time for a worklog entry

To change the end time of your worklog:

Click the 'Change' button next to 'End time' on the 'Add Worklog' dialogue box.
The 'Set End Time' dialogue box appears, as pictured above. Select the end date ('Day') from the calendar widget.
Select the end time: the 'hour' in 24 hour format and the 'minute'.
This is the time at which you finished the task, not the time taken to complete the task.
Click OK.

Creating a Changelist from a JIRA Issue

A changelist, or change set, is a collection of code changes committed at the same time. You may want to create a changelist in your IDE, based on the issue key and description from JIRA. This eases working on several issues simultaneously — you can drag and drop files you have modified from one changelists to another, and commit the whole changelist in one operation. The commit dialogue's comment box will be pre-populated with the name of the changelist.

Screenshot: Creating a changelist from a JIRA issue key

To create a changelist from an existing JIRA issue:

Select your JIRA server from the dropdown list in the tool bar.
Use the filter and search functions to find your issue.
Right-click the issue in the list and select 'Create ChangeList'.
A dialogue box appears, as pictured above. Enter any additional information required.
Click the 'Create' button.

Screenshot: Changelists defined from the JIRA issue keys