How to create and customize User & Project Fields

Owned by Julia Çam (evolu.software)
Last updated: Dec 19, 2020 by Andreas Spall (evolu.software)
6 min read

Since Metadata for Jira Version 4.6 Project Screens are build of Project Fields.
With Metadata for Jira Version 4.7 we have rolled out a new UI to make it even more intuetive for administrators to create and customize User and Project Fields.

Information on how to customize Project Screens can be found here.
Information on how to customize User Screens can be found here.

In this article we will show you:

What are User & Project Fields

User & Project Fields are predefined fields that can be used to define User and Project Screen. These predefined fields can make it easier for users to enter the right metadata in your screens.

User & Project Fields are defined in one place and used in all User or Project Screens, making sure that fields with the same key have always the same type.

E.g. instead of letting the user type in a value for a metadata you can predefine the field as a select with custom options to chose from. You can even add icons to these options. These icons will not only be shown in the User and Project Screens but also in the Metadata User and Project Overview.

Where to create & customize User & Project Fields

  1. To navigate to the User or Project Field configuration panel, click on the cog icon on the top right of the page and click on Manage apps.

     

  2. Click on Metadata configuration in the sidebar on the left.

     

  3. Click on the User or Project Field tab.

     

  4. Here you see the predefined fields in the left sidebar.

How to create new User & Project Fields

In this example we will create a new User Field. Creating a new Project Field works the same way.

  1. Go to the Metadata configuration page and click on the tab User Field.

     

  2. Click on the Create new field button in the sidebar on the left.

     

  3. A modal will open. Here enter a name for your new User Field and confirm by clicking on the Submit button. Note that the name of the new field has to be unique and is not allowed to contain / or \. The name of the field can not be changed after this point.

     

  4. The new field is now saved and all informations about this new field are shown. Per default the type of a new field is String.

How to delete a User & Project Field

In this example we will delete a User Field. Deleting a Project Field works the same way.

  1. A predefined field can only be deleted if it is not used in any screen.
    If it is used in at least one screen, it will say so on the bottom of the field info. Clicking on the bin icon will show you a warning that this field can not be deleted.

  2. If a field is not used in any screen it can be deleted.
    Clicking the bin button will open a dialog to confirm the deletion. Clicking Confirm delete will permanently delete the field.

How to customize User & Project Fields

In this example we will customize a User Field. Customising a Project Field works the same way.

  1. In the User Field tab click on the field you want to customize.

     

  2. You now see all the informations about the field. First the name, then the type and on the bottom the number of screens this field is used in. (Note that you can only delete a field if it is not used in any screen.)

     

  3. The name of the field can not be changed. You can only delete this one and create a new field with a new name.

  4. To change the type of the field click on the dropdown menu and pick one of the options.
    You can find a list with all possible field types here.

    We will go with the field type Select. Because it is the only field type that needs further configuration.

  5. Click on Select to create a field that is a dropdown that lets users pick one item of a list of options.

     

  6. Now we have to define the options the user can later pick from. The first one is already there. It just needs a value.
    Click on Enter new value and enter the value you want to give this option.

     

     

  7. If you want you can add an icon to this option. Simply click on none under the caption Icon and pick an icon or a lozenge design.

     

    If you pick lozenge it will show the value of the option as text inside.

  8. Add as many options as you want by clicking on the Add allowed value button and repeat steps 6 to 8.

     

  9. To delete an option click on the bin icon behind the option you want to delete.

     

  10. If you have added all your options, save the changes by clicking on the Save button on the top right (next to the name of the field). Your customized User Field is now ready to be used in your User Screens.