Locked "Start date" field isn't searchable using JQL

[Andrew Horvatits]

My organization has just started using the Advanced Roadmaps feature in Jira. One of our teams requested that the "Start date" field be automatically populated instead of requiring a manual update. 

(Note: Most of the issues we are looking at for this example were created before Advanced Roadmaps was enabled for us, in case that is relevant).

I went to create an automation for one project to set the "Start date" (lowercase "d", since that's what displays on the Advanced Roadmap view) when a sprint is started, if the "Start date" field is empty. 

However I'm not able to query for "Start date" is EMPTY because I receive the following error: "Field 'Start date[Date]' is not searchable, it is only sortable."

I found the following KB article to address this issue: https://confluence.atlassian.com/jirakb/jql-fails-with-field-field_name-is-not-searchable-it-is-only-sortable-message-1097184358.html but it only works for unlocked fields. "Start date" is locked, which means I can't change the search template.

Am I doing something wrong with my attempts to use JQL on this field? It seems strange that I'm effectively unable to query it, especially given filters are one of the options for determining your issues for a plan.  

[Odis Johnson]

Try this:

(project = "Insert project name here" ) AND "Start date" >= -90d ORDER BY cf[10015]




^This is for 90 days. Adjust "90d" to your liking. 

[Sara Hekmat]

Hi @Andrew Horvatits 

In Advanced Roadmaps, you can config your plan such that the issue's Start date and End date be inferred from their assigned sprint automatically and there is no need to set them explicitly.

Note that the inferred values are not saved in Jira issues, but just are visually shown in the plan.

To do that, you need to configure your plan as:

  

[Andrew Horvatits]

Thanks for sharing that, Sara. In this specific use case that unfortunately won't work since it requires the source to be a scrum board. We're using filters to pull in issues from across multiple projects for cross-team coordination. I do find it a bit strange that Plans can't pull in sprint dates for non-board sources and that we have to resort to an automation to do so. 

[Josh Costella]

@Andrew Horvatits 

Hi Andrew. Can you confirm your query looks like this when you search? Are you able to verify there are no other custom fields named the same? 

[Andrew Horvatits]

Yep, my query looks like yours: 

We do have some duplicate custom fields, which I'm guessing might be the issue here. They were both created prior to our plan change, although I'm not sure if we had the locked field before then. 

[Josh Costella]

That is my suspicion as well. I would rename or delete the other Start date field. You definitely want to avoid having duplicate fields, if possible. Please let me know if that resolves the issue. 

[Joe Doherty]

I'm also looking to reduce duplicate "start date" fields similar to what Andrew is showing. However, I cannot use the standard "Start date" (LOCKED) because this field is not searchable with JQL. So this means:

• "Start date" (LOCKED) - used for Advanced Roadmaps only
• "Start date" (custom) - used for "normal" projects (along with system "Due date" field) to define start/end dates, able to be used in filter queries.

@Josh Costella - is there any existing suggestion request to be able to use JQL with this Start Date field so it can be leveraged similar to the "Due Date" standard field?

[Josh Costella]

@Joe Doherty The Start date field you reference that is locked is the same as the system Start date field. That field is supposed to be searchable by default. 

I would open a ticket with https://support.atlassian.com/ so they can take a look at your instance directly. I'm not able to replicate what you are experiencing. 

The "Start date" field in Advanced Roadmaps is configurable and can be associated with other date picker fields.  In this example, Start date (id: 10015) is the locked system Start date field. And Start date (id: 10112) is the custom field I created.

[Josh Costella]

@Joe Doherty To confirm, have you tried the steps outlined here? https://confluence.atlassian.com/jirakb/jql-fails-with-field-field_name-is-not-searchable-it-is-only-sortable-message-1097184358.html

You would do this for the custom Start date field, not the locked one. 

[Nicholas Ellis _ALM Works_]

Hi @Andrew Horvatits,

Welcome to the community!

It looks like the article you linked shows how to do this.  You simply need to edit the field to use the date range picker for the search template.

Is there a reason you cannot or are unable to make this change?  Or have I misunderstood your question?

Cheers,
Nick [Tempo / ALM Works]

[Andrew Horvatits]

The "Start date" field used in the Plans function is Locked, so you're unable to follow the steps in the article even as an Admin.