New Jira workflow editor doesn't reflect changes from drafts in old editor

Summary

If you have an unpublished draft in the old workflow editor and switch to the new editor, the drafted changes from the old editor won't be present. Similarly, if you make changes to a workflow in the new editor, switching to a draft in the old editor won't reflect your changes either.

Diagnosis

To see this behavior in action:

1. Open a workflow that has an unpublished Draft in the Old workflow editor

2. Change to the New workflow editor

3. Add a new transition in the New workflow editor and save it

4. Return to the Old workflow editor and notice the draft does not reflect the change you just made

In this situation, Jira shows a message at the top of the screen to warn that the draft being viewed is older than the published workflow and publishing it may cause more recent changes to be lost. The draft can be discarded, allowing a new draft to be created based on the published workflow. Please refer to JRACLOUD-83818 for more details.

Cause

The new workflow editor in Jira modifies the Active (published) workflow directly and does not create or act on drafts. Changes made in the new editor won't reflect in drafts in the old editor, and vice versa.

Solution

If your newest changes were published by the new workflow editor

1. Switch to the old editor

2. Discard any drafts in the old editor

3. Switch to the new editor for any and all future changes

If your newest changes are in a draft in the old workflow editor

1. Switch to the old editor

2. Continue making changes in your draft

3. Publish your draft in the old editor

At this stage, we'd recommend that you switch to the new editor to make any future changes. You can continue using the old editor for the time being, though access to it may go away at any time in the future.