What you can do with Epic Clone?

When you open the Epic Clone dialog, you can either adjust the cloning settings for the parent item (the one from which you accessed the dialog) on the initial screen or swiftly clone the item with just a few clicks.

Quick Clone

If you require a straightforward 1:1 copy of the existing work item hierarchy, the quick clone option is an ideal choice. This feature enables you to clone the parent along with all its child items without any additional modifications, all in just a few clicks. You can access this functionality by toggling the quick clone switch located at the top.

You will find an information panel displaying the total number of child items and the hierarchy levels present beneath the parent item. For instance, an Epic typically consists of up to two hierarchy levels: the story level and the sub-task level.

By clicking the Clone button, you can duplicate the parent item along with all its child items within the same project. However, if a specific item type is not available in the project, you will encounter an error message. For further details on how the results appear, please refer to this page.

Please be aware that attachments are currently not duplicated when utilizing the quick clone feature. We intend to introduce an option for this in the future, allowing you to choose whether or not to clone attachments.

Cloning Configuration

The quick clone option is disabled by default and you have various configuration options instead. The cloning process might take longer in this case, but you have the chance to adapt the cloned work item hierarchy according to your needs.

Parent Screen

Target project selection

Cloning typically occurs within the same project by default. Nonetheless, Epic Clone offers the flexibility to clone across projects as well. By selecting the checkbox, you can search and select a new target project for the cloned work items.

Notes for target project selection:

Only projects accessible to you will be displayed in the select list.

When you switch the target project, the system promptly verifies if the work item type of the source item is present in the newly selected project and checks your permission to create items within that project. If either condition is not met, an error message will be displayed.

Fields

Several fields of the parent can be modified in the fields section.

Summary: Define the summary for the cloned work item. The original summary is automatically shown.

Assignee: Assign a user to the cloned item. The default value shows the current assignee of the source work item. You can only choose users with permission to be assigned in the target project. If you switch the target project and the current assignee lacks this permission, the field will reset. Not selecting a user will lead to an unassigned cloned item.

Find in description: You have the option to locate specific text within the description field and substitute it with different content for the duplicated work item. This feature proves particularly beneficial when utilizing placeholders in the description of template items. It allows for a seamless transition from placeholders to the desired text upon cloning.

Replace with: Text you want as replacement if find text is found in description. Leave this field blank if you want to remove the find text from the description. If find in description field is empty or when the find text is not found, nothing happens to the description of the cloned item. Its value will be cloned like all other fields.

Clone Attachments: If the source work item contains attachments and you have permission to create attachments in the target project, you have the option to choose whether to clone the attachments. By default, it is set to clone attachments. If you do not see the field, it indicates that either the source item lacks attachments or you lack the privilege to add attachments in the target project.

Labels: Existing labels of the source item will be displayed by default. You can select additional labels from the existing ones in your instance or add additional new custom labels. The labels inserted in the field will be added to all created work items.

Components: In company-managed projects, you have the ability to define and choose components. When cloning to a company-managed project, you can conveniently select components from the ones already present in the target project. This select list automatically updates each time you choose a new target project. However, if you opt for a team-managed project as the target, the component field vanishes since components are not supported in team-managed projects.

Fix Versions: In company-managed projects, releases can be designated and chosen in the fix version field. When cloning to a company-managed project, you have the option to select releases to assign in the fix version field from the defined releases in the target project. This list of selections will be automatically filled each time you pick a new target project. However, if you designate a team-managed project as the target project, the field will vanish since releases are not supported in team-managed projects.

Due date: Select a due date to be set.

Original Estimate: In company-managed projects, you have the ability to update the original estimate field with a new value. It is important to adhere to the Atlassian time tracking format when entering the new value. Failure to follow the correct format will result in an error message, preventing you from advancing to the next screen. For instance, a valid format could be "2w 3d 4h," representing 2 weeks, 3 days, and 4 hours.

Links

When cloning a source item that has a parent, you can choose whether to replicate this parent link in the newly created work item. This specific field is only visible when there is an existing parent link.

If the source parent work item has additional linked items, the following link options for the parent are available:

Clone Link Options:

• Clone links only: This option links the target item to the same items as those associated with the source work item.

• Clone linked items: This option duplicates and links the items that are connected to the source work item to the target item.

• Don’t clone links: Selecting this option means no action will be taken regarding the links; they will not be considered for cloning.

Below these options, you will find a checkbox list of linked items. Only the checked links in this list will be considered for cloning.

By default, the last option is selected. In this case, no links can be chosen from the checkbox list.

Preview

The preview on the right illustrates how the new parent item will appear. It also indicates the number of direct child items associated with the parent. If you have entered a text to be replaced in the description, the preview will display the number of occurrences of that text within the description.

By clicking "Next," you will be taken to the second page. Here, you can select the child items you wish to replicate alongside the parent item. Alternatively, you can also click the progress indicator at the top to advance to the next screen.

Child items

Info panel

The information box at the top offers a comprehensive overview of the entire hierarchy. It displays the parent item, which was configured on the previous screen, along with the following details:

• Total Number of Child Items: This represents the count of items across all levels in the hierarchy that fall under the parent.

• Hierarchy Level: This indicates the number of hierarchy levels beneath the parent. Typically, an Epic encompasses up to two levels: the story level and the sub-task level.

• Number of Items Selected for Cloning: In the table below, you can choose which items to clone alongside the parent and which to exclude. This number reflects how many child items are currently selected for cloning.

General settings

Keep in source project

When dealing with child items originating from various projects, you have the option to choose between cloning them within their original project or transferring them all to the designated target project. Simply activate the toggle to retain these cloned items in their respective projects. By default, all items will be duplicated to the specified target project.

Link between source work items and cloned items

This option can be enabled to establish a link between original items and cloned ones. Similar to the "clones / is cloned by" relationship familiar in the default Jira clone function, you can also define such a link for the work items cloned using Epic Clone. Upon activation, a dropdown menu appears, allowing you to choose the link type for those links.

Modify work item summaries

The find and replace functionality for child item summaries allows users to search for a specific word or phrase and replace it with another term across all child item summaries. This feature streamlines the process of updating information consistently within multiple child items.

For instance, in the provided example screenshot, the word '<type of user>' is replaced with 'developer' in all summaries. This capability enhances efficiency by enabling users to make bulk changes to text elements swiftly and accurately. The preview of the work item summary is displayed immediately when the search term is found.

Moreover, users can also add a prefix and suffix to all child item summaries. This additional functionality offers flexibility in customizing the content of the summaries according to specific requirements or conventions. By incorporating prefixes and suffixes, users can further tailor the information displayed in the summary field to align with their project needs.

Hierarchy table

The child item table displays the complete hierarchy of items. By default, standard work items are collapsed, but you can easily expand them by clicking the icon at the beginning of each row if they contain additional child items.

If you wish to expand the entire tree, simply click the ‘Expand all child items’ button located at the top. Please be aware that this process may take some time, especially for larger hierarchies, as all data must be loaded from Jira.

Select for cloning

Choose which child items to clone along with the parent. The checkbox list displays the work item type, key, summary, and assignee. Hover over the assignee avatar to see more details.

Edit fields

You can also edit specific fields for the child items you wish to clone, just as you can for the parent.

Clone attachments: If the child item includes attachments and you have the necessary permissions to create attachments in the target project, you can choose whether to replicate these attachments. By default, the attachments will be cloned. If you do not see this option, it means that either the child item does not have any attachments or you do not have permission to add attachments in the target project.

Clone all child attachments: This option is available at the top of the table if there are child items with attachments. If you have several child items and prefer not to clone any attachments, simply disable the option above the table. This will deactivate all the individual clone attachment toggles.

Expand and edit: By clicking on the expand icon next to the summary, you can reveal more details about the various child items. When expanded, additional fields along with their corresponding values for the source item will be shown. Clicking on the edit icon located on the right allows you to make inline edits to the following fields:

• Summary: Revise the child item's summary.

• Assignee: Choose from users with the necessary permission to be assigned to work items in the target project.

• Original estimate: Define a fresh original estimate for the child work item. Ensure the added value follows the Atlassian time tracking format (e.g. 4w 2d for 4 weeks and 2 days).

• Due date

• Story points: This attribute is exclusive to stories.

Upon clicking the save button, the updated values will appear on the cloning screen and will be applied to the cloned items.

Reorder

The Epic Clone feature allows for convenient reordering of child items in the list through a simple drag-and-drop functionality. By rearranging the sequence of children, users can define a new order that will be applied when cloning the work items. Additionally, the flexibility extends to children in the hierarchy, enabling users to easily change their parent within the list using the same drag-and-drop method.

In cases where the position of an item becomes invalid, such as placing a sub-task at the top of the list without a parent, the system promptly responds with an error message displayed at the top of the list. This error notification ensures that the item's position is reset to a valid state, maintaining the integrity of the cloning process.

Reset

To revert any modifications made on the screen or rearrangements of child items, simply click on the reset icon located at the top right corner. This feature is visible only when alterations have been applied. By clicking the reset icon, the children on the page will be reloaded, and the field values will be restored to their default values.

Links

When dealing with work items linked to the children displayed, the process can become a bit more complex. However, it is possible to replicate these links. There are three choices available for cloning child item links:

• Clone child item links: This option ensures that the cloned child items will be linked to the same work items as the source child items.

• Recreate internal links after cloning: Internal links refer to connections among child items (refer to the explanation below for further details). Opting for this alternative will result in the recreation of internal links after cloning. For instance, if child item 1 is linked to child item 2 under the source item, then the clone of child item 1 will be linked to the clone of child item 2 subsequently.

• Don’t clone links: This choice means that no action will be taken regarding child links. They will not be considered for cloning at all.

Following these options, you will encounter a checkbox list of child item links. Only the links that are checked in this list will be taken into account.

By default, the last option is preselected. In this scenario, no links can be selected in the checkbox list.

External/internal links of child items

As the cloning of child item links can become complex, here is a table with examples for the different possibilities. Let’s assume we have a source item with child items A, B and C, and work items D and E, which are outside of the source item, so not among the children.

• Source Item

  • Child: Item A

  • Child: Item B

  • Child: Item C

• Item D

• Item E

The child item link checkboxes are only selectable when cloning of the link is possible at all. As an example, if you select to recreate internal links, all checkboxes for external links are disable and only internal links are selectable. If you deselect one of the checkboxes for child item cloning, recreation of the respective internal link is no longer possible. Therefore, the related child item link checkboxes are disabled.

If you have finished your settings, click on ‘Clone’ to start the cloning. See this page for information on the result screen.