Manage Custom Fields

Add a Custom Field

As the project administrator, you can add new fields for the issues in your project.

When you add a field to your project, the custom field is available to other projects in the system. A system administrator or user with global project administration permissions can reuse this field in other projects. For enumerated custom fields, the set of available values can be managed for each project independently.

When you create a custom field, be sure to set the field type that you want to assign to values that are stored in the field. For most field types, the type is set when the field is created and cannot be changed. Converting values from one data type to another is a manual process that takes time and effort. For more information, see Change Field Type.

To add a field:

tip

Requires permissions: Update Project

1. From the Edit Project page, select the Fields tab.

2. Click the Add field to project button.

   • The New Custom Field dialog opens in the sidebar.

     

3. When you create a new field, the field name must be unique. If the field that you want to use already exists, follow the instructions for attaching a field to your project.

4. Enter values in the custom field settings. For a detailed description of each setting, see Custom Field Settings.

5. If the field is an enumerated type, you have the following options:

   • Select the New set option. Define the set of values after you create the custom field.

   • Select a field from the list. The set of values that is used in the select field is added to the new field.

6. Click the Add new field button.

   • The custom field is added to your project.

Attach a Custom Field to Your Project

If you want to use an existing field for issues in your project, you can attach it to your project.

To attach a field to your project:

tip

Requires permissions: Update Project

1. From the Edit Project page, select the Fields tab.

2. Click the Add field to project button.

   • The Add field to project dialog opens in the sidebar.

3. Select the Use existing tab.

   

4. Select the field you want to attach to the project. Use the search box to filter the list of custom fields.

5. Click the + icon next to the field name to attach it to the project.

   • The settings for the selected field are displayed in the sidebar.

   • If the field is used in other projects, you can only modify the set of values for the custom field when you have the Update Project permission for all of the projects that use the set. You can modify the properties of the field in your project without affecting other projects that use the field.

     

     If the current set of values is compatible with your project, you can use the field without making any changes.

6. If you want to customize the set of values for the field, click the Make independent copy button.

   • A copy of the set of values is created in your project.

   • You can freely edit the set of values without affecting the sets of values for this field in other projects.

Private Custom Fields

You can manage the availability of custom fields in your project by making them private or public. When a custom field is marked as private, only users with the Read Issue Private Fields or Update Issue Private Fields permissions in your project can view or edit the field, respectively.

When a field is public, any user who has the Read Issue or Update Issue permissions in your project can view or edit the field.

This feature can help you restrict access to data in your project in the following ways:

• Hide fields that store sensitive information, like personal data.

• Limit the number of users who can edit the values in a field. For example, you can configure access in your project so users can view the current assignee, but only managers can reassign issues.

To make a field private:

tip

Requires permissions: Update Project

1. From the Edit Project page, select the Fields tab.

2. Select one or more custom fields that you want to hide in the fields list.

3. Click the Make private button in the toolbar.

   • The custom field is only visible to users who have the Read Issue Private Fields permission in your project.

   • Only users who have the Update Issue Private Fields permission in your project can change the value for the custom field.

   • The custom field is shown with a key icon before the field name in the list.

     

The custom fields for Priority and Due Date are marked as private by default. If you want to make these fields available to all users in your project, select the fields and click the Make public button in the toolbar.

Required Custom Fields

You can configure the Empty Value setting for any custom field on a per-project basis. The option that you choose for this setting determines whether the field is required when an issue is reported in the project.

• For fields that store a simple type (string, date, period, integer, or float), the field is required when the Empty Value option is set to Cannot be empty.

  

• For fields that store an enumerated type, the field is required when Empty Value option is set to Cannot be empty and the Default Value option is set to No value (required).

  

When a user reports an issue in the project, required fields are shown with the message Set value in the input field.

Before you require a field in your project, consider the following consequences:

• If you require manual input for a field that is also private, users who don't have permission to read and update private fields are blocked from creating issues in the project.

• If you take a field that is shown on a conditional basis and configure it as a required field, the field is only required when the condition for showing the field is met.

• Field requirements are only checked when new issues are reported or when a user edits the required field directly. When a user moves an issue to a different project, the fields that are required in the new project can remain empty.

Conditional Custom Fields

In each project, you have the ability to show specific custom fields only when a value is selected in another custom field. The most common use case is to choose which fields are shown for different issue types. However, you can add a condition to show specific fields based on the selection in any enumerated field, not just issue type.

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Conditional Fields and Workflows

Before you set a condition for a custom field, check the workflows in your project. Workflows that attempt to set the value for a custom field that is hidden behind a condition produce an error.

You can add a condition to any field in a project. Conditional custom fields are subject to the following limitations:

• You can only set a condition for showing a custom field based on the selection in a custom field that stores an enum, state, ownedField, version, or build as a single value.

• It not possible to set up chained dependencies. This means that you cannot make the visibility for a custom field dependent upon multiple levels of conditions.

Before you add a condition for showing a custom field, consider the following consequences:

• Fields that are hidden behind a condition do not store values. This means that you can't use this feature just to hide sensitive information. If you want to limit access to fields that store personal data or other sensitive information, use a private field instead. For more information, see Private and Public Issue Fields.

• When you hide a custom field, its value is cleared. If you add a condition to a field that contains a value in one or more issues, the value is cleared in all of the issues that do not meet the condition. Check the custom field that you want to use to create the condition first and make sure it contains the desired value in all of your issues.

  This is especially important when the value that you want to use to hide the conditional custom field is used as the default value. To avoid losing data, set the value for the field that creates the condition to the value that shows the conditional field in all of the issues that store a value. You can then set up the condition and hide the field by default in new issues.

• If a custom field is hidden behind a condition, you cannot set the value for the field with a workflow. If you use a workflow to manage the values in a conditional custom field, make sure that your workflows don't update fields that are hidden. You can customize the workflow to check for the condition before the change is applied.

To set up a conditional custom field:

tip

Requires permissions: Update Project

1. From the Edit Project page, select the Fields tab.

2. Select the custom field that you want to show on a conditional basis from the list.

3. Expand the Conditional Settings section in the sidebar.

4. From the Show only when drop-down list, select the custom field that you want to use for the condition.

5. From the is set to drop-down list, select one or more values.

   • When one of the values specified here is selected in an issue that belongs to your project, the conditional field is shown.

Change Field Order at the Project Level

The default order in which fields are displayed on Issues list and single issue view is set at the global level by an administrator. If you prefer to order the fields differently, you can set a custom order for your project. Project-level settings override the global settings.

To change the field order:

tip

Requires permissions: Update Project

1. From the Edit Project page, select the Fields tab.

2. Set the order of custom fields by dragging them into the desired sequence.

   

Edit a Set of Values

You can edit the set of values that are used in a field.

Wherever you can change the value for a field, there is an option to add a new value to the set. As a project administrator, you can add values to fields that are unique to your project or use an independent set of values. System administrators and users with project administrator access in the global project can add values to the set in all projects. When created, the new value is added to the issue. This option is visible in the following locations:

• The Issues list

• Single issue view

• Agile boards

If the set of values is shared with other projects, you can make an independent copy of the set and edit the values for the field in your project.

To edit a set of values that is shared with other projects:

tip

Requires permissions: Update Project

1. From the Edit Project page, select the Fields tab.

2. Select the field that uses the set of values.

   • The details dialog for the selected custom field opens in the sidebar.

3. Click the Make independent copy button.

   

4. Edit the set of values. The following options are available:

   • Click the Add value button to add a new value to the list.

   • Click the Copy values from button and select a field to copy the values used in the selected field. The values from the selected field are added to the current set of values.

   • Click the Merge with button and select a field to merge existing values with the values used in the selected field. The values from the selected field are merged with the current set of values.

Sort Values in a Set

By default, the values in a set are ordered manually in the order that they were added to the field. When ordered manually, each value is assigned an ordinal value that represents its position in the list.

The sort order affects the following behavior in YouTrack:

• The values that are displayed in drop-down lists for custom fields are displayed in the specified sort order. For example, the values for the default Priority field are sorted manually from highest to lowest. The value that represents the highest priority (Show-stopper) appears at the top of the list.

  

• In search queries that specify a range of values, the sort order determines which values match the search request. For example, a search request that includes Priority: Show-stopper .. Major returns issues that are Show-stopper, Critical, and Major.

As a project administrator, you have the ability to determine the sort order for values in fields that are used in your projects. System administrators can set the sort order at the global level for fields that are used in multiple projects. For more information, see Sort Values in a Set.

You can sort values in a custom field on the Fields tab of the Edit Project page. Sort options are available for all fields that store enumerated types except for fields that store a user or group type.

• For fields that store a user type, the values are automatically sorted alphabetically by full name, with the current user at the top of the list.

• For fields that store a group type, values are sorted alphabetically by name.

Clone an Existing Field

As a project administrator, you can only update fields that are used exclusively in the projects where you have the Update Project permission. For custom fields that are auto-attached or used in other projects, you may find yourself unable to edit the base properties of the field. This includes changes to the field name, the property for the field type that determines whether the field stores single or multiple values, and the field aliases. Changes to these base properties affect all of the projects that use the field.

As an alternative, you have the option to clone the field. When you clone a field, you create a copy of the field with its base properties and assign it a unique name. You can then edit the base properties of the field without affecting the usage of the original field in other projects.

The Clone field operation is only available for custom fields that meet one of the following criteria:

• The auto-attach option is enabled for the field.

• The field is used in two or more projects.

To clone a custom field:

tip

Requires permissions: Update Project

1. From the Edit Project page, select the Fields tab.

2. Select the field that you want to modify from the list.

3. If the sidebar is not visible, click the Show Details button in the header.

4. Next to the field name in the sidebar, click the Clone field icon.

   • The form for editing field properties opens in the sidebar.

   

5. Modify the base properties of the cloned field. Note that the Field Name must be unique.

6. Click the Save button.

   • The usage of the original field is replaced with the cloned field in the project.

   • The set of values that was used in the original field is used as the set of values for the cloned field.

   • The values in the original field that are assigned to issues in the project are updated to use the same values in the cloned field.

   • The usage of the original field in other projects is not affected.

Replace a Custom Field

You can replace the custom fields that are used in your project with a custom field that is used in other projects. Use this feature if there are custom fields that are used in other projects that you want to use instead of the custom field that is set in your project. You can then use the same custom field, for example, to generate reports or display the same columns and swimlanes for all of the projects on an agile board.

Unfortunately, you can only use the Replace function with custom fields that share the same data type. To convert values from one data type to another, you need to create a new custom field with the desired type and manually update the values in the new field for all issues in the project. For more information, see Change Field Type.

To replace a custom field:

tip

Requires permissions: Update Project

1. From the Edit Project page, select the Fields tab.

2. Select the field that you want to replace and click the Replace button.

   • A drop-down list shows all available custom fields that store the same data type.

     

3. Select the custom field that you want to replace the existing field.

   • The custom field is replaced with the selected custom field in the project.

   • The set of values that was used by the previous custom field is added to the set of values for the replacement field in the project.

   • The values in the original custom field that are assigned to issues in the project are updated to use the same values in the replacement field.

   • The sets of values that are used in other projects for the replacement field remain unchanged.

Change Field Type

You can convert most fields that store simple types to another type that stores similar data. The following field type conversions are supported:

• Fields that store a string can be converted to store text. You cannot convert text fields to string.

• Fields that store a date can be converted to store date and time, and vice versa.

• For fields that store data as an integer, period, or float, you can convert the data to a target format within this set of types. For example, you can convert an integer type to a period type. Here, you have the option to convert the value that is stored as an integer to a number of hours or number of days.

For enumerated field types, the type is set when the field is created and cannot be changed.

You can't change the field type on a per-project basis. To perform this operation, you need permission to update all of the projects that use the field.

To change a field's type:

tip

Requires permissions: Update Project

1. From the Edit Project page, select the Fields tab.

2. Select the field that you want to change in the list.

3. If the sidebar is hidden, click the Edit button in the toolbar or click the Show Details button.

   

4. Select the desired type from the Type list.

If you want to replace an existing custom field with a field that uses a different type, you can't use the Replace operation. Instead, you need to add a custom field that stores values in the desired type to the project and migrate the data manually from the original field.

To migrate data from one custom field to another custom field:

tip

Requires permissions: Update Project

1. From the Edit Project page, select the Fields tab.

2. Click the Add field to project button.

3. Use the settings to define a custom field or select an existing field that stores values in the desired type.

4. If the new custom field stores enumerated values, add values to the new custom field that are used in the existing custom field.

5. When finished, update the values that are stored in the custom fields for your project:

   • From the Issues list, enter a search query that finds all of the issues that contain a specific value in the original custom field. For enumerated types, start with the first value in the set. For example: In #{Project} Status: Submitted.

   • Select all of the issues that are returned by the search query. Use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + A (⌘ + A on macOS) to select all of the issues that are returned by the query.

   • Use a command to update all of the selected issues and assign them a value in the new custom field. For example: Secondary State Submitted. To minimize notification spam, apply the commands silently.

   • Repeat this step until you have migrated all of the data that was stored in the original custom field to the new custom field.

6. Return to the Administration > Custom Fields page and remove the original custom field from the project.

   • The field and its related values are deleted from the project.

   • All of the values that were previously stored in the original custom field are now stored in the new custom field.

Custom Field Settings

Use the following settings to configure fields with simple data types:

Use these additional settings to configure fields with enumerated data types:

Use the following settings to set the condition for showing a custom field in a project.

Value-specific Settings

Enumerated sets of values have properties that are assigned to each value in the set. You can edit a standard set of properties for any enumerated set of values.

To display these settings, click the Edit icon next to a value in the set. The following settings are available for all field types:

Several field types have extended properties for values in the set. These properties are only visible when you edit the set of values that is used for the specified type.

Additional Controls for Version Fields

When you view or edit the set of values for a field that stores a version type, these controls let you find and update specific values. These options have no affect on the behavior of the custom field.