Fields & screens

How the pieces fit together

Piece	Decides
Issue type scheme	Which issue types a project offers (Task, Bug, Story, Epic, Sub-task…) and the default one.
Priority scheme	Which priorities a project offers.
Custom field and its contexts	An extra field, and for which projects and issue types it exists.
Field configuration	Whether each field is visible and required.
Screen	Which fields appear, and on which tab, when creating, editing or transitioning.
Workflow scheme	Which workflow an issue type follows — see Workflows.

Each scheme is assigned to projects from the scheme’s own page (Assign to project) or from the project’s Schemes tab.

Issue types and schemes

Open Issue Type Schemes and press the create button: name the scheme, tick the Issue Types it includes (drag to reorder), pick a Default Issue Type, then assign it to projects. Sub-task types are used for sub-tasks only. Separately, a work-item type switch on an issue moves it between types with a preview — see The issue view.

Priorities

Priority schemes choose which priorities appear for a project, so a service desk can use Highest–Lowest while an engineering team uses its own set.

Custom fields

Open Custom Fields and press Create Custom Field: give it a Name, a Description and a Type:

• Text Field (single line) / Text Field (multi-line)
• Number Field
• Date Picker / Date Time Picker
• Select List (single choice) / Select List (multiple choices), Radio Buttons, Checkboxes
• User Picker (single user) / User Picker (multiple users)
• URL fields are available as well

Contexts

A context says where the field exists. Choose Global (available in all projects) or limit it by Projects and Issue Types. A field with no matching context is not offered for an issue.

Options

For choice fields add options. Each option can have a colour and a description. An option that issues already carry is archived instead of deleted, so history stays intact. The same applies to deleting a field that issues use: it is archived.

Field configurations

A field configuration lists fields with Visible and Required tick boxes. Create one for the case “bugs must have a priority and a component”, add the fields, tick what applies, and assign it to a project. A required field blocks creating or saving an issue without a value. Hidden fields disappear from every screen of that project.

Screens

A screen is an ordered form made of tabs, each holding fields. Open Screens, create a screen, add tabs and add fields to them. Typical screens: Create issue, Edit issue, View issue and the small dialogs shown on workflow transitions (transition screens). Screens are connected to issue types and operations through a screen scheme, so a bug can ask for different fields than a story.

Issue templates

Global issue templates (Administration → Issues) are offered in every project; project administrators can also add templates for one project. See Projects & templates for placeholders such as {week} and for recurring issues.

Terminology

If your teams say “ticket” or “work item”, change it under Instance settings → Terminology. Only visible labels change; the API and JQL keep their names.

Check your configuration

Configuration health (Administration → System) looks for common mistakes — a project without a workflow scheme, a required field with no screen to enter it — before your users meet them. See Instance & operations.