15 February 2013
Structure 2.1 adds undo, automatic daily backups, support for GreenHopper 6.1, and contains quite a few minor improvements and bug fixes.
Download the Latest Version
Structure on Plugin Exchange
1. Version Highlights
- Support for GreenHopper 6.1 with the new Epics
- Undo
- Automatic daily backup and maintenance
2. Changes in Detail
2.1. Support for GreenHopper 6.1
In version 6.1, GreenHopper team had introduced a new approach to epics, backed by a different set of custom fields, notably Epic Link and Epic Name. The old Epic/Theme field was deprecated and is used now only on classic boards. Structure 2.0 and earlier versions are not fully compatible with this change.
With Structure 2.1, you can continue using GreenHopper and Structure together:
- GreenHopper synchronizer can now work with the new epics, synchronizing structure with epic-story assignment on the Scrum Board. When installing the synchronizer, select Scrum Board Epics as the "Epic Field". The synchronizer can still work with older Epic/Theme field as well.
- When a new epic is created in the Structure Widget, and the Epic Name is not set by the user (it's a required field for epics), Structure automatically uses the value you have entered as the issue's Summary.
- Structure section on the issue details panel in GreenHopper now enters "Pinned" mode by default, showing you only the parent issues and sub-issues of the selected issue. You can pin and unpin Structure widget as usual.
If you are upgrading Structure and already have GreenHopper synchronizer installed, it will continue working with the old Epic/Theme field. To switch to the new Scrum Board Epics integration, you need to use Manage Structures page to delete or disable the old synchronizer and create a new one.
Documentation: JIRA Agile (GreenHopper) Synchronizer, Structure on Agile Boards
2.2. Undo
Structure 2.1 adds limited Undo functionality, which lets you revert a single recent change you've made to a structure. Not all operations can be undone, but those most frequently used – like removing issues from structure or drag-and-drop – can be reverted.
Documentation: Undoing Changes
2.3. Automatic Daily Backup and Maintenance
As Structure data is stored in its own database, it needs to be backed up separately from the main JIRA backup. That also means that the default automatic backup run by JIRA does not cover Structure data.
Starting from this version, Structure can automatically run daily maintenance procedure at the time specified by JIRA administrator. The maintenance procedure creates a backup of Structure data and performs several optimizations on the Structure database.
Documentation: Automatic Structure Maintenance
2.4. Structure Can Be Selected as "My JIRA Home"
You can now select Structure Board as your default page in JIRA (on JIRA 5.1 or later).
Click the profile menu in the top right corner and select Structure under My JIRA Home directory. After that, if you open JIRA in browser using its general address, Structure Board will be shown automatically, with the latest structure you've been working with.
2.5. Other Notable Improvements and Bugs Fixed
- HJ-1057 Exclude archived versions from version fields when creating new issues (with copying categories) and cloning issues
- Fixed: HJ-1069 Repetitive call to the same workflow action through operations dialog fails
- Fixed: HJ-888 minus-minus shortcut does not work in Firefox 15
- Fixed: HJ-1059 Migration failure in case exported XML contains deleted issue ids
- Fixed: HJ-1060 Export to Excel / Printable page do not work if the selected view is "Issue Navigator"
- Fixed: HJ-1093 Structure grid displays unsupported JIRA columns when "Columns" mode is turned on
- Fixed: HJ-1100 Rank to Top / Rank to Bottom actions don't close when called from "." operations menu
- Fixed: HJ-1120 Issue type drop-down does not contain default type
- Fixed: HJ-1140 Structure causes error when displaying GH tab for issue in not Structure-enabled project
3. Supported JIRA Versions
Structure 2.1 supports JIRA 5.0 — 5.2+.
4. Installation
The plugin may be installed from the Plugin Exchange or from the Administration | Plugins menu. Further information is available in the Administrator's Guide.
5. Upgrading from a Previous Version
If you upgrade from version 1.7.1 or earlier, please read the upgrade section in Structure 2.0 Release Notes.
Migration from version 2.0 to version 2.1 is pretty straightforward. Structure Backup is recommended as a safety measure.
If you're using GreenHopper 6.1 and the new epics functionality, please review the configuration of your synchronizers. You might want to delete the old synchronizers and install new GreenHopper synchronization that works with the new epics.
JIRA administrators are advised to contact the users who had installed GreenHopper synchronizers and advise them about the changes in Structure 2.1. You can find out which structures have synchronizers at the Manage Structures page.
Proper upgrade sequence:
- Create backup of Structure data. You can either use Administration | Structure | Structure Backup menu or do a cold backup by copying the whole
structure/
sub-directory under JIRA home while Structure is disabled. See Backing Up Structure for details. - Install the new version of the plugin.
Note for early adopters: if you have a pre-release version of Structure 2.1 installed, you need to uninstall it first, and only then install the released version. All structure data will be kept.
- Monitor
catalina.out
orjira-application.log
for log messages from Structure. - Recreate GreenHopper synchronizers if needed, and advise the owners of the structures about the new GreenHopper synchronizer's functionality.
6. Detailed Change List
Our public JIRA contains the full list of issues resolved in Structure version 2.1.