26th of March, 2019

Structure 5.3 adds possibility to group by fix version name and several improvements and fixes.


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Version Highlights

  • Introduces the new Version Name Grouper, which groups issues by version, even across multiple projects
  • Resolved icons (green checkmarks) are now displayed when an issue is in a Done status category, rather than anytime there is a non-blank resolution
  • "Mark Manual Adjustments" option is now switched on by default when Manual Adjustments are enabled
  • Quick Transformations panel can now be hidden while transformations remain active
  • Fixed: Unable to change epic links with synchronizers installed

Changes in Detail

Version Name Grouper

The new Version Name... Grouper allows you to group issues with the same version names across multiple projects.

The Version Name Grouper is located at the bottom of the Group by list - or Just type "version name" into the search bar.

You can group issues by the Affects Version, Fix Version or a version custom field (multiple or single).

Hide Quick Transformations panel

It is now possible to hide the Quick Transformations panel (as could previously only be done with the Transformations panel), while continuing to use Quick Transformations in your structure. Just click the hide button:

When transformations are applied, but the panel is hidden, the Quick Transformations button is colored blue.

Mark Manual Adjustments

The Mark Manual Adjustments option is now selected by default, whenever manual adjustments are enabled for a structure.

Additional Updates

  • Resolved icons (green checkmarks) are now displayed when an issue is in a Done status category, rather than anytime there is a non-blank resolution. Admins can revert this to the old behavior using Advanced Configuration.
  • Fixed: Unable to change epic links with synchronizers installed.

Supported Versions

Structure 5.3 and all extensions support Jira versions 7.6 or later. All editions of Jira (Jira Core, Jira Software, Jira Service Desk) are supported. Jira Data Center is supported.

With respect to other add-ons and custom integrations, this release is backwards-compatible with Structure 3.4–5.2. Structure.Testy extension, Colors, Structure.Pages, Structure.Gantt and integrations with third-party apps should continue working normally.

Installation and Upgrade

Installing Structure

If your Jira server does not have Structure yet, the installation is simple:

  1. Download and install Structure app, either from the Atlassian Marketplace or our Download page.
  2. When Add-on Manager reports the successful installation, click Get Started to visit a page with important guidance for the Jira administrator. You may want to also check out the user's Get Started page, available under the "Structure" top-level menu.
  3. (warning) If you have Structure.Pages installed, make sure you've upgraded to version 1.3 or later, both on Jira and on the Confluence side. If your Confluence version is not compatible with Structure Helper 1.3, you should stay with version 1.2 for Structure.Pages and Structure Helper apps, but please note that there are limitations to its compatibility with Structure 4.2 and higher, so a Confluence upgrade to version 6.1 or later is recommended.
  4. Monitor catalina.out or jira-application.log for log messages from Structure.

Upgrading Structure

If you're upgrading from version 2.11.2 or earlier, please read Structure 3.0.0 Release Notes.

The upgrade procedure from versions 3.x–5.2 is simple:

  1. Consider backing up Jira data. Use Administration | System | Backup System. (If you have a large instance and a proper backup strategy in place, you may skip this step.)
  2. Back up Structure data. Use Administration | Structure | Backup Structure menu item. If you have a lot of structures and a large Jira, consider turning off the "Backup History" option to avoid a long backup process.
  3. Install the new version of the plugin.

  4. Monitor catalina.out or jira-application.log for warnings or errors.

We strongly recommend that you back up your data before upgrading. The introduction of manual adjustments required changes to our backup file format, which makes previous versions of Structure unable to restore data from backup files created by Structure 5.0 and later. For more information, see Backup Format Version Change.

Enterprise Deployment Notes

Structure 5.3 contains several changes to its core components that could be important for large installations and Jira Data Center instances.

Core Attribute Changes

The newly-introduced Version Name item type is special because its core attributes, like summary and icon, depend not on the Version Name item itself, but on the issues below it. In order to support that, we had to change how those attributes are loaded for all item types, not only Version Names.

Custom Field Scope Checks

Previous versions of Structure could show custom field values for fields that are no longer available for the project and type of the issue. Those values could also be used by generators, even though Jira itself wouldn't show or let you edit them. Starting with Structure 5.3, we check the scope of custom fields when generating structures and loading issue attributes. We use the Lucene index when possible to speed up these checks.

Testing on Staging Environment

Given the changes described above, if you have large, multi-level structures (10,000 issues or more), we advise that you test their performance on a staging system before upgrading. You can try the following scenarios:

  • Open a large, multi-level structure using a view with only a few simple columns, e.g. Key, Summary, and Assignee. Note how long it takes for the field values to appear.
  • Scroll down a few screens and note how quickly Structure loads field values for the new rows.
  • Turn on Automation mode and see how long it takes to render the structure and generator rows.
  • Add a custom field column to the Structure grid, and check how long it takes to load the values. Scroll a few screens up or down again.
  • Create a large structure with a few generators based on Jira's built-in custom fields, e.g. a grouper by a User Picker field and a sorter by a Number field. Check how long it takes to generate.
  • Edit an issue from the structure and change its custom field value. Note the structure's reaction time.

Watch the log files for errors and warnings while running these experiments.

The usual load and stress testing can also be performed.

Should you have any questions on Enterprise Deployment, let us know at support@almworks.com.