Variables

Variables push the automation process of Jira Issue creation with Smart Issue Templates even further. Variables are placeholders that are automatically filled with pre-configured data you need issues to contain. 

Variable types

At the moment you can only create variables of Text type.

Text type - you can use it with any text fields inside the node. This type contains any text value.

How to create Variables

You can go to the Manage Variables page and create them there or create variables inside the Hierarchy.

On the “Create Hierarchy” screen you will see a dedicated variable setting section. This section, by default, contains a single “Add” button. Click this button to create your first variable.

By clicking on the “Add” button you will be creating variables. At first, both of the fields that a variable has will be empty.
The first field is “Name” and it is pretty much self-explanatory.
The Name must not contain spaces or a “$” symbol, i.e. (my variable - NOT allowed; myVariable - OK; $uperVariable - NOT allowed.)
The second - is the “Default value”. It is important to understand that the default value is the value that will be used when creating an issue in case the variable is not given any other value.

Here, we created two variables: employeeName and month. We can use these variables for different kinds of tasks and specify employee name and month. Now, we should add a Node to this Hierarchy. Click on the Add Node -> Set up project and issue type -> Click on the Node and fill in the fields to proceed further.

How to use Variables

On this screen, we need to fill in all of the required fields and use the variables that we just created. To do that we simply need to write a dollar sign - $ followed by the name of the variable we want to use. It is important to use the $ otherwise, the add-on will not understand what you are trying to achieve. Click on the “Add” in the bottom right corner of the window to finish editing the Node. Save the Hierarchy. This will transfer you to the “Manage Hierarchies” page.

Here you will be able to see the Hierarchy that you have just created. To create the issues your Hierarchy contains, click on the “Apply” button right under the name of your Hierarchy. The next screen you see will contain information on the variables this Hierarchy Node contains.

As you can see, we can create an issue with the data we provided to the variables when creating the Hierarchy or we can bring changes to the variables before the issues are created.

Variables is an extremely powerful tool that can make the repetitive issue creation process way easier. We also have a set of system variables that will be filled in automatically.