Mirror fields

Definition

When creating a Connected item, a mirror field with the same name can be automatically created and bound to it.

A checkbox, checked by default, allows you to create, if wanted, the mirror field associated to the Connected item you're creating. 
A mirror field is a custom field of type Text field that will reflect the value of its bound Connected item when users create issues using the said Connected item.

Purpose

Mirror fields enable two features not natively available in Elements Connected items:

• Search using their names and subsequent Jira features relying on JQL, such as queues or filters.
• Export using native exporting features natively available in Jira or brought by a third-party app.

Not on screens

Mirror fields are technical fields, they are not aimed to be added on any Screen nor to be manually edited.

Search

You can search on a Mirror field the same way you search on a regular "Text field". With a Connected item named "Country" you can use the following JQL query in the Jira search issue : 

Country ~ "France"

Learn more in the section "Supported operators: text fields" of the Atlassian documentation related to JQL search.

Renaming mirror fields

Jira administrators can rename Mirror fields without affecting their proper functioning.

Changing mirror fields

Jira administrators can change the Mirror field associated to a Connected item. From the edition screen of a Connected item, a select field displays the list of available Jira custom fields usable as mirror fields.

Only text custom fields are available (short text or paragraph). The admin can select the 'None' value to disconnect a Connected item from any Mirror field.

Be aware that changing a Mirror field may cause inconsistencies with the issue search.

Indeed, Connected item values may differ from those of the newly selected custom field, leading with Jira search request that may not return the expected issues.

For Select list (multiple options) Connected items, we recommend associating their mirror fields to custom fields of type Paragraph as they support multiple lines.

Deleting mirror fields

When deleting a Connected item, Jira administrators will have the choice to move to trash the associated mirror field.

Moving mirror fields to trash helps you speed up your site's performance by removing any unused or outdated  fields. Moving unused custom fields to the trash helps you confidently audit and clean up your Jira site. You can easily restore any fields that make their way to the trash by accident. And, you don’t have to worry that you’ve permanently deleted important data while you clean.

After you move a field to the trash, you have 60 days to view or restore the field before we permanently delete it from your Jira site.

Any values associated to this custom field will be lost.

Max size

The max size of custom fields of type Text field (multi-line) is 32767 characters.
If the length of a Connected item value exceeds this limit, it will be truncated before being copied.