User Guide

This guide is for people who use a Connected Table on a Jira issue or a Jira Service Management (JSM) customer portal request. No admin rights needed.

What a Connected Table looks like

A Connected Table is a grid of typed columns and rows attached to an issue. Your administrator decides which columns exist (their names and types) and any default rows; you fill in and maintain the data.

Where you’ll find it

Surface	How to open it	Editable?
Issue view — field cell	Click the field to open its inline editor.	Yes
Issue view — Apps panel	Open it from the issue’s Apps / gear menu; it appears in the main content area.	Read-only → click Edit
Activity → Connected Table History tab	Next to History / Comments in the issue activity feed.	Read-only (audit)
JSM customer portal — request detail	Below the Activity section on your portal request.	Read-only → click Edit

Note

The issue-view field cell itself shows nothing until you click it — the always-visible grid lives in the Apps panel (agents) and the portal detail panel (customers). This keeps the issue view uncluttered.

Editing the table

1. Open the panel and click the pencil / Edit button (panels open read-only).
2. Edit cells directly. Depending on the column type you’ll get a text box, number field, checkbox, date picker, dropdown, or a user picker (type a name to search).
3. Use + (left of the toolbar) to add a row and × to delete the current row.
4. Click the green ✓ Save to persist, or the red ✗ Cancel to discard your changes.

Column types you may see

• Text / Number — free entry.
• Checkbox — a true/false toggle.
• Date / time — pick from a calendar.
• Selection — a single- or multi-value dropdown of admin-defined options.
• User — search and pick a Jira user.
• Formula — computed automatically from other columns; you can’t edit it directly.
• Sequence — an auto-incrementing row number.

Connected Table⋯

Requirements

ABCRequirement	Components	Environments	Owner
Single sign-on	AuthAPI	ProdStaging	ANAna N.
CSV export	ReportingUI	Prod	DPDana P.
Audit log	BackendSecurityAPI	ProdStagingDev	CHChen H.
Webhook retries	Backend	Dev	ELEllis L.

Multi-select columns store several values per cell, shown as chips.

Required columns

If your admin marked a column required, every row must have a value in it before you can save. If you try to save with a blank required cell you’ll see: “Please fill in all required table columns before saving.”

Merging cells and filling down (spreadsheet actions)

While editing, two spreadsheet-style shortcuts help you enter and group data faster. Both work in the grid and transposed layouts, and your admin can turn either one off per field.

Connected Table⋯

Release tasks

ABCTask	Owner	Labels
Draft release notes	ANAna N.	Docs
Update changelog	ANAna N.	Docs
Notify customers	ANAna N.	Comms
Verify portal copy	ANAna N.	JSM

FillMerge✕

Drag the handle down a column to select a run, then Fill or Merge. Hold Ctrl/Shift while filling to increment a series.

Fill a value down a column

1. Click a cell to select it — a small square handle appears at its edge.
2. Drag the handle along the column to cover the cells you want, then release.
3. Choose Fill to copy the value into every covered cell. To increment instead, hold Ctrl or Shift while dragging (or pick Fill series): numbers count up (1, 2, 3…) and text ending in a number steps up (Item 1 → Item 2…).

Note

Fill respects the column type: numbers and trailing-number text can increment; checkboxes, dates, and dropdown/user columns are copied as-is. Formula and sequence columns are computed automatically and aren’t filled.

Merge cells within a column

1. Select a run of adjacent cells in one column the same way — click a cell, then drag the handle to cover them.
2. Choose Merge. The cells become a single cell spanning those rows (a spanning column in the transposed layout), showing one value.

Merging is non-destructive: the hidden cells keep their values underneath, and the merge is saved with the table so everyone viewing the issue or portal sees it the same way. Drag the handle on a merged cell to extend the span further down the column.

Connected Table⋯

Delivery plan

ABCPhase	ABCTask	Owner	Labels	Done
Discovery	User interviews	ANAna N.	ResearchUX
	Competitive audit	BKBen K.	Research
Build	Data model	CHChen H.	Backend
	Grid rendering	DPDana P.	FrontendUI
	Portal panel	ELEllis L.	FrontendJSM

The Phase column is merged across each group; user, multi-select label, and checkbox columns alongside.

Tip

If a formula column depends only on merged columns, it collapses to match — showing the shared result once across the span instead of repeating it on every row.

Note

Merging works within one column at a time (vertical in grid, horizontal in transposed). Adding or removing rows that break a span releases the merge.

Layout toggle

When your admin enables it, a small grid icon lets you switch between the standard grid layout and a transposed layout (columns become rows) — handy for narrow spaces. This is per-viewer and only affects your own view.

Connected Table⋯

Server inventory

ABCHost	web-01	db-primary	cache-02
Role	Web	Database	Cache
Environments	Prod	ProdDR	ProdStaging
123vCPU	4	16	2
Owner	CHChen H.	BKBen K.	ELEllis L.
Monitored

Transposed layout — column names run down the left and each record becomes its own column.

Using it on the customer portal (JSM)

On a portal request you’ll see the table below the Activity section. It opens read-only; click Edit to change values and Save. You don’t need a Jira license to view or edit it — portal and unlicensed users are supported.

Note

Saves made from a panel or the portal are recorded in the issue history under the app, so you may not see your own name against a table change.

Change history

The Connected Table History tab in the issue Activity feed shows a row- and cell-level diff of every table edit over time — what changed, from what, to what. It’s built from Jira’s own change log, so nothing is lost.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	What to do
Panel looks cut off / only one row visible	The panel resizes to fit the table’s contents. If it still looks constrained, refresh the issue.
Can’t save — “required columns” message	Fill every cell in the columns marked required, then save again.
A transition screen shows raw text instead of the grid	Don’t edit it. Tell your admin — the field should be removed from that transition screen (see the Admin Guide).