GR:Gravity/Web/Work Management
Work Management
Once signed in, you're welcomed by the work management page. This is the place where most of your interaction with work items will happen. For familiarity sake, have a look at the following work management screenshot before we dive into some more details in the following lines.
Visually, the Work Management page is split into three main columns. A point worth mentioning here is that details flow from left to right.
So, the left column details spill over into the middle one which in turn spills over into the right column. E.g. You click a filter in the left column then its content (work items) displays in the middle column where you select an item to have more of its details (comments, attachments, dates, fields and links) in the right column (See the following coach-marked screenshot).
You can always go back the the work management section using the main menu (top right of the page).
Search
The main search box is located at the very top of the work management page.
It comes pre-loaded with look-ahead query suggestions. You might also want to ignore them by keep typing or building your own Lucene syntax respecting queries.
Search within a filter
To perform a search within just one filter (one of those in the Filters tab), just click the filter you want, then click the switcher icon (right to the search box input) before searching. To go back to global search hit that same switcher icon.
Search by in/excluding comments and attachments
By default, a search action includes all indexed comments and attachments in addition to items. You can tune that by using the menu right to the search button.
That menu offers some search scoping combinations. For example:
- If you select only comments then your query will only search in comments then return items owning the found comments.
- If you select items and comments then your query will search both in items and comments (but excluding attachments).
List of searchable fields
The list below is a reference of all the fields that can be used in the Gravity Search engines. We use Lucene Syntax in the background which has extended help.
- id
- id:f172a2a1-84af-4e5f-a901-00f3542e546c
- item_id
- see id
- description full item and comment description
- problem AND login
- creator
- creator:admin
- application
- application:Demo
- assigned_to
- assigned_to:joe
- has_attachments
- has_attachments:true
- creation_date
- creation_date:[NOW-1DAY TO NOW] (date units: NOW/YEAR/MONTH/DAY/HOUR/MINUTE/SECOND)
- expected_completion_date
- (see creation_date)
- expected_end_date
- (see creation_date)
- expected_hours
- expected_hours:[4 TO 10]
- expected_start_date
- (see creation_date)
- has_item_parents
- has_item_parents:true
- type
- type:Issue (also is:Issue)
- work_flow
- work_flow:Helpdesk
- modified_date
- (see creation_date)
- name The work item name.
- name:R0007
- name_generated
- Whether the item name has been automatically generated: name_generated:false
- priority
- priority:"Very High" ("Very High", High, Normal, Low, "Very Low")
- realized_completion_date
- (see creation_date)
- realized_end_date
- see creation_date)
- realized_hours
- expected_hours:[10 TO *]
- realized_start_date (see creation_date)
- reported_by
- (reported_by:joe OR reported_by:mike)
- severity
- severity:Blocker (Blocker, Critical, Major, Normal, Minor, Trivial, Enhancement)
- has_source_dependencies
- has_source_dependencies:true
- stage
- -stage:End (everything not in End)
- status
- (Unconfirmed, New, Assigned, Reopened, Resolved, Verified or Closed): (status:New OR status:Assigned OR status:Reopened) for all open items (alternative for is:open)
- status_stage
- -status_stage:Working (- is a negative selection)
- has_sub_items
- has_sub_items:true (alternative for has:children)
- has_target_dependencies
- , has_target_dependencies:true
- is
- (is:closed, is:open, is:connected, is:not_connected, is:tagged, is:not_tagged, is:"item type" (: is:Issue), is:late (i.e. An item is considered late in these cases: when realized end date is after expected end date. Or, realized start date is not set and expected start date is before today. Or realized end date is after expected end date. Or, realized end date is not set and expected end date is before today), is:overdue (i.e. An item is considered overdue when realized completion date is after expected completion date. Or, realized completion date is not set and expected completion date is after today))
- has
- has:children, has:parents, has:attachments
- tag
- tag:"TDOMS / GUI", tag:API
- connection
- (A connection is a dependency between two items: connection:"See also", connection:Duplicate)
Show more / less work items
A work item UI can show four detail levels: 4, 3, 2 and 1. So, going down from 4 (for everything) to lesser and lesser details. And the less details, the more items you can show per page.
To show more items per page (but less details per item) click then the - button (of course, for less click the + button). Then hit the number between - and + to reload the page.
That would look like this:
Create new work item
Click the New button to create a new item.
Then fill in the new item fields (Optionally, also extended fields and attachments in the right column) and click the green button at the form bottom to save.
Please note that disabled fields or those having just one option are being hidden. You can view all fields by clicking the link Show hidden fields at the bottom of the new item form
Delete work item
Please note that this option will be disabled if you're not authorized to delete.
Edit a work item
Hover over an item to make its local header-menu visible. The very next sections will refer to this local menu item.
Edit the work item name
Select the "Name" link in the item top menu. An input shows up. Fill it in then click the green button to save it.
Edit the work item subject
Select the "Subject" link in the item top menu. An input shows up. Fill it in then click the green button to save it.
Transfer a work item
Click the "workflow" link in the item top menu. A graphical workflow shows up. Select the stage you want to transfer the item to, then click save button.
Add/Remove item contributors
Click the "contributors" link in the item top menu. A graphical contributors representation shows up. Use the "Add Contributor" button to add contributors. Use the delete button beside the contributor name to remove it.
Tag/Untag a work item
Click the "Tags" link in the item top menu. A graphical tags representation shows up. Type in the (initial letter of) name of the tag you want to add. Select it from the drop-down selection then click save. To remove a tag (untag an item) click the "X" button in the right side of the tag.
Click a tag to show all the items belonging to that tag,
Follow a work item
To follow an item so that you get notified (e.g, by email) whenever that item has been updated, go to the item you want to follow and click the follow link in the item top menu. You can unfollow it by clicking that same link (which is now stating unfollow after the first click)
Edit the work item reporter
Click the item subject of the item to expand it (if not yet so). Click the item's current reporter name. A UI pops up. Select a user then click the green button to save it.
Edit the work item assignee
Click the item subject of the item to expand it (if not yet so). Click the item's current assignee name. A UI pops up. Select a user then click the green button to save it.
Edit the work item priority
Click the item subject of the item to expand it (if not yet so). Click the item's current priority. A UI pops up. Select a priority value then click the green button to save it.
Edit the work item severity
Click the item subject of the item to expand it (if not yet so). Click the item's current severity. A UI pops up. Select a severity value then click the green button to save it.
Edit the work item status
Click the item subject of the item to expand it (if not yet so). Click the item's current status. A UI pops up. Select a status then click the green button to save it.
Edit the work item description
Click the item subject of the item to expand it (if not yet so). Click Edit Description link
Then, the following editor shows up. Currently, this editor offers MediaWiki, MarkDown and plain text formatting options. Hover over the editor menu icons for more info. Use the green button (top right) to save. Once done, you can close this editor by clicking Close Editor (top left).
Work item web link
Select Show item web link from the item top menu.
The item web link shows up. You can use the button on its right to copy it to clipboard.
Comments
Add a new comment
A comment can be added using the editor in the right column/section of the wok management page. But before doing so, select the item (by clicking its subject) you want to add the comment to.
Currently, this editor offers MediaWiki, MarkDown and plain text formatting options. Hover over the editor menu icons for more info.
Fill in the subject and optionally the comment's body then click Comment button.
Show / Hide the system comments
A system or mini comment is one that is automatically generated by Gravity. You can filter out those system comments and view only the ones added by users.
Show / Hide the message box
You can hide the message box ( the one you add comments with), for e.g., for more space gain.
Attachments
Add new attachment
An attachment can be added using the attachment upload area in the right column/section of the wok management page. But before doing so, select the item (by clicking its subject) you want to add the attachment to.
You can either drop files onto the upload area (the yellowish dotted section) or click the sentence saying (or click...) which will show up a file-picker dialog. Add one or more attachments then click Save All (bottom-right corner) to save and upload your attachments.
To add a description to the attachment being uploaded, click the link Add description.
You can cancel uploading attachments by clicking the Cancel All (bottom right of the upload area) or cancel uploading a specific attachment by clicking Cancel
Delete attachment
You can delete an already uploaded attachment by hovering over it and clicking the Delete link
Dates
Select the item (by clicking its subject) you want to add the dates to, then select Dates tab in the right column of work management page. To add a date, click the input field which will trigger a calendar UI. Select the date then click the green button to save.
Extended fields
Select the item (by clicking its subject) you want to fill in its extended fields, then select Extended tab in the right column of work management page. If you have enough authority and the item you clicked does have extended fields, then this tab will be filled in. To fill in a value, click within the input field. To save value click the green button.
Links
Edit/Delete a link
Select the item (by clicking its subject) you want to add links to, then select Links tab in the right column of work management page. The tab will be filled in with the current links, if any. Use the small menu in the right of each link to delete or edit that link.
Add a new link
If you're authorized to add new links then this button (also shown in the previous screenshot with text Add new link) will be shown. Click it to add a new link. Then fill in fields. Optionally, an icon for this new link can be added by uploading one (using the upload area in the bottom as depicted). Once done click save.
Tags
To tag or untag an item see: Tag/Untag a work item
Tags tab
Select the Tags tab (left column of the work management page)
Using existing tags
Then you'll presented with a tags filter input to look up already existing tags.
Start typing in some initial letters of tags you're searching for. Matching tags will dynamically be shown while you type.
To see all items having some tag(s), drag tags to the drag area (the dotted section having the text Drag tags here to view work items as shown). The found items, if any, will be shown in the middle column.
Please note that in case of multiple tags, an AND is implicitly added in between. e.g. V2MO1 Severity/Enhancement reads V2MO1 AND Severity/Enhancement
Add a new tag
Click the tags menu button:
The tag edition menu has three buttons, the left is to delete a tag, the middle one is to edit it and the right one, which you should click, is to add a new tag.
A yellow-ish form shows up where you can add the tag name and optionally its description. Once done click the save button.
Delete a tag
Click the tags menu button (See Tags menu button). Search for the tag you want to delete, then drag it to the deletion (red-dashed) area.
Then click the Save button
Update tag
Click the tags menu button (See Tags menu button). Search for the tag you want to edit, then drag it to the edition area.
An edition form with the name and description fields shows up. Edit the tag then click the Save button
Connections
Connections tab
View item connections
To see all connections belonging to an item, click the connections link within that item:
Then the Connections tab will automatically activate and get focus showing the item you just clicked in the top of the tab and its connections underneath:
Filter connections
To filter out specific connected items, use the filter input. It support Lucene search syntax and comes pre-filled with some query suggestions.
Connect an item
Before going further, here is one rule of thumb when connecting items:
Whenever you click the Connections tab, the middle column of work management page will automatically show exclusively items that can be connected to the one currently in the Connections tab.
First select the item you want to connect other items to by clicking its Connections link (See View Item Connections ).
Now you need items you want to connect using either:
- Search result by using the search box in the top of the page
- A filter (in the Filters tab)
- Tags tab (right to Filters tab. See Tags)
- Favorite Items tab (right to Tags tab)
So be it any of the options above, only connectable items will be shown with a checkbox you can use to connect. Once connected, an item is moved to the connections tab.
Connect to items from search result
Search for items you want to connect to the one currently in the Connections tab. If the Connections tab is active, the search result will automatically filter out itself showing only connectable items. Otherwise click the Connections tabs and wait for the connectable items to filters out (automatically). Use the checkbox to connect.
Connect to items from a filter
Click a filter (from Filters tab) you want to connect items from. Then click the Connections tab. As a result, only connectable items will be shown. Use the checkbox to connect.
Connect to items using tags
Select a tag so that items with tag show up (See Tags). Then click the Connections tab. As a result, only connectable items will be shown. Use the checkbox to connect.
Connect to my favorite items
Click Favorite Items tab. Then click any of the items there to open it. Then click the Connections tab. If the favorite item is connectable it would be shown.
Disconnect an item
(See above subsection on how to filter connections)
To disconnect, check the checkbox in the top-left corner of the item you want to disconnect. Check it to connect again. For both cases, no save action is needed as it's done implicitly when you un/check the box. A disconnected item keeps its place in the tab, Refresh the tab to remove by clicking the connections link in the root item (the top one in the tab)