Generator Scope
The scope of a generator is defined by its position in the structure and the Levels option.
- If you place the generator under the top-level root item (the structure's name), the generator will be applied to the whole structure.
- If you place it under some static item within the structure, the generator will only affect the descendants of this item.
To limit the scope further, you can set which levels the generator should be applied to within the generator's options dialogue – either when creating the generator, or by double-clicking the generator within the structure.
Most generators allow you to select from the following Levels:
- All levels - the generator will be applied to all descendants of the parent item.
- Current level only - the generator will only be applied on the level where the generator is added.
- Manual levels range - you can define the specific levels where the generator should work.
Manual Levels Range
The From and To fields define the range of levels to which the generator will be applied. The number entered into each field represents a level in the hierarchy, where 1 equals the level the generator is on, 2 is the next level down, etc.
Be Specific
If you wanted to pull in issues linked to the issues on level 2, set the From field to 2 and To field to 2. This will limit the generator to that specific row.
If the To field is set to 3, this would:
- Pull in all issues linked to the issues in level 2, and
- Pull in all issues linked to the new issues you just pulled in (because they will be placed on level 3).
You can also leave the From or To field blank:
- When the From field is blank, the generator is applied from the current level to the level indicated in the To field.
- When the To field is blank, the generator is applied to the level indicated in the From field and all levels below it.
For Group generators, the levels created by other Group generators are not taken into account when applying the specified manual levels limitation, unless the Consider other groups option is selected.
Building Hierarchies
The Manual levels range is especially useful when you want different levels in your hierarchy to have different types of relations. For example, you may want the top level and 2nd to be connected with issue links, the 2nd and 3rd with epic links, and the 4th level to be sub-tasks.
In this case, you will have three generators added under the root of the structure with the following Levels settings:
- Linked Issues Extender working only on the top level - Current level only
- Stories Under Epics Extender working on the second level - Manual levels range: from 2 to 2
- Sub-tasks Extender working on the third level - Manual levels range: from 3 to 3
