Connected fields configuration

Elements Connect lets you bring external data inside Jira through two different types of fields: connected custom fields and connected items.

In this page, you will learn how they differ and how your specific business needs will let you know when ones should be used over the others.

Connected fields types

Connected custom fields

Connected custom fields are fully integrated Jira custom fields which can be connected to external data sources. From a technical standpoint, these are Forge custom fields made possible by our free companion app.

Here is when you should use connected custom fields:

• if you don’t need your external data to be visible in Jira Service Management projects

  • Indeed, connected custom fields can only be used in Jira projects due to an Atlassian limitation. You should watch and vote the related Atlassian ticket if you need this limitation to be resolved.

• if you need your external data to be available on issue creation screens

• if you need your external data to be compatible with workflow validators or conditions

• if you need your external data to appear in advanced reports created with native Jira JQL

• if you need your external data to be integrated with Automation or 3rd-party apps

• if you need your external data to be imported from Jira Data Center

Learn everything there is to know about connected custom fields in: Connected custom fields settings.

Connected items

Connected items are the only way to bring external data directly on the customer portal in Jira Service Management, to satisfy all your ITSM needs. It should be noted that from a technical standpoint, connected items are not exactly Jira custom fields, which can lead to some limitations.

Here is when you should use connected items:

• if you need your external data to be visible on request creation forms in Jira Service Management customer portal

• if you don’t need your external data to be used in Jira issue creation screens (they are still usable in the view screens of any project type)

• if you need your external data to be displayed with advanced customization

Learn everything there is to know about connected items in: Connected items settings.

How do connected fields work?

The diagram below summarizes how Elements Connect works through an example. Here we retrieve data from an external database, but the same concept is used for REST APIs.

Let's say we have access to a database where our printers are stored in a "Printers" table.

1. The first step is to execute a Query to get the printer list from the database.
   This query execution returns a “result set”: the printer list.

2. The second step is to apply a Template on each row of this “result set”.
   Each row is thus converted into a text which is used as an option in the connected field.

Notes

• This is how it works for a "Text - Select list" field. For a "Text - Read only" item the templating part differs: the template is called once on the entire result set.

• For performance purposes, Elements Connect will only read the first 1,000 rows of a result set. To access the subsequent row, use the userInput parameter

Known limitations

For now, it is only possible to create up to 250 connected fields in total (custom fields + connected items). If you need to create more, please contact us and tell us why.