Configure the layout of the work item

What is the layout of a work item?

Choosing which fields appear on your team's work items, and which of those are most important, can help your team get more done in less time. If there are a few fields you fill out for every bug, for example, it makes sense that those fields are always visible and probably somewhere towards the top of the work item If you're a project administrator, you can set up the work item for your project in the way that works best for your team.

Layout settings are for individual projects. You can't share layout settings between projects right now.

In the layout of the work item, you’ll see a list of fields in a few different categories: description fields, context fields, hide when empty fields, and hidden fields. Here’s how fields in each of these categories appear when viewing a work item’s details:

1. Description fields: Since this section is the first place users look when they open a work item, your most important fields should be configured here.

2. Field tabs: If the layout's screen is configured with more than one tab, they'll show up here.

3. Context fields: Fields above the hide when empty line in configuration appear here in the Details group. Each user can pin their most important context fields into the Pinned fields group depending on what works for them.

4. More fields: Fields under hide when empty are placed in this group when they don't have a value. When they have a value, they'll appear in the Details group.

5. Configure layout of the work item: Click Configure to change the position and visibility of fields in the work item. Learn more about configuring the field layout in the work item.

Fields in the layout of a work item

You can drag and drop fields into different sections when you configure the layout of a work item.

Description fields

This section usually appears on the left side of the work item (or at the top in a single-column layout). Since this is the first place users look when they open a work item, put your most important fields here. If your layout's screen is configured with more than one tab, the other tabs will appear in this section. Only Jira admins can configure tabs (project admins can't change the order of the fields displayed in the tab). Learn more about configuring a screen's tabs and fields.

Context fields

This section normally appears down the right side of the work item (or at the bottom in a single-column layout) in the Details and More fields groups. Context fields usually contain secondary information that your team might need to sort, filter, or report on work items. Each user can customize context fields to work for them by pinning their most used ones to the top of a work item in the Pinned fields group. Learn more about pinning fields.

Hide when empty

The context fields section has a divider you can use to sort always-important fields from sometimes-important ones. Fields above the hide when empty are shown in the Details group and those below the line are hidden under the More fields group when they don't have a value. When a field in the More fields group has a value, it moves to the Details group.

Fields

This section is for fields that you don't want to appear on the work item at all. Use the search bar in this section to find and add fields to the work item. To add fields, use the search bar in this section and drag them into the Description or Context field sections.

To remove fields from the layout of the work item, you can drag fields to this section or in the field more menu select Remove field.

Customize the layout of the work item

Customizing the fields that appear on your team’s work items can help your team resolve requests faster. For example, if there are a few fields that need to be filled out for every work item, then it makes sense for those fields to be visible and somewhere towards the top of the work item.

Each project has its own layout. You can’t share layout settings between projects right now. See how to add fields that don't appear in the layout screen.

To view or edit the layout of your project’s work types:

1. Next to your project's name in the sidebar, select more actions (•••), then Project settings.

2. Select Work items > Layout.

3. Find the work type(s) whose layout you want to view and select Edit work item layout. You’ll see the work item layout for a screen that is configured for the project. Learn more about screens.

4. Drag and drop fields to move them to a different section. Fields in the hidden section won’t be visible in the work item, but will still be connected to the work type(s).

5. Select Save changes.

Select a work item in the project you’ve set up the layout for. The fields you’ve configured in the layout of the work item for the project will show up in different sections in the work item. Learn more about work items.