How can I assign an action to my custom field?

[Mateja Jermanis]

I have been customizing our Jira Software to our needs, and we have created a custom workflows + different stage columns on our boards.

Problem:
When I create an issue, by default it lands in the first column from the left, so I have to move manually issue by issue to their respective columns. 

Example:
My board has a HARVEST column which serves me as a task backlog, then group of TO_DO-DOING-DONE columns for my main workflow, and NOW-NEXT-LATER columns for my ideas ⬇️⬇️:

I need them all in the same board because it helps me prioritize the tasks I create (Also, my workflow is very specific so I have my own project in Jira Software).

Say I want to create some ideas for the LATER column: I would Create an issue, which would land into harvest, then move it to LATER manually.
If I have 10 ideas, I would have to move it 10 times.

What I tried to do (and failed gloriously):
I have created a custom field and added it to the screen I'm using, containing the columns. My idea was to try and find a way of selecting an option from that field which will then create the issue in the desired column. No way of finding actions to associate to this custom field, so now it just appears as a field containing the column name inside the issue. ⬇️⬇️
(Lapsus in title. Should be: This goes to the Now Column)

Is there a way of choosing to which column the issue is created into? -This would help me a lot!

[Trudy Claspill · Accepted solution]

Hello @Mateja Jermanis 

You could resolve this issue using the Automation feature to automatically move your issue from the first column to the desired status. Create an automation rule with a Trigger of "Issue Created" and then a Condition (or possibly a Branch) to check the value of the custom field, and then an Action to transition the issue to the desired status.

[Mateja Jermanis]

Thank you very much!

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

Fields hold data, they have no direct effect on what you can do with an issue, or how your workflow works, unless you choose to use the fields in workflow logic.

Your boards give you a view of your issues based on where they are in your process - unlike Trello, Jira's boards are bound to your workflow, they show you issues by their status.

Jira's workflow engine only has one entry point to a workflow - the "create issue" transition can only land in one status.  So when you create an issue, it will always land in the column that the first step in your workflow.  So, no, you can't choose a column, new issues always start their life at the first status in your process.

[Mateja Jermanis]

Thanks for your reply!
I'm going to try what @Trudy Claspill mentioned, since I believe it resolves my problem