Structure 8.1 Release Notes

Download the latest version of Structure and its Extensions

Try It: Structure Sandbox Server (no installation required)

Version Highlights

• Easier access to bundled formulas
• New bundled formulas
• Calendar support for the Time in Status Column
• Project Lead data for project groups
• Welcome to Structure page
• Additional improvements and fixes

Changes in Detail

New Bundled Formulas

We've added 3 new bundled formulas:

• Issue Health - Provides a visual health status for each item, based on issue progress by time tracking
• Tasks Since Sprint Started - Calculates the number of tasks added since the last sprint began
• Time Flagged - Calculates the total time a task was flagged

Easier Access to Bundled Formulas

It's now even easier to try one of our bundled formulas - just add a Formula column, click Load Formula..., and select the one you need.

As you select one of the bundled formulas, the results will be populated automatically. If it's not the one you're looking for, just select another from the list - the previous formula will be cleared, and the new one will take its place.

Calendar Support within the Time in Status Column

The Time in Status column now supports work calendars, which allow you to specify whether the Time in Status calculation should consider 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or just working hours (8 hours, 5 days).

If you have Structure.Gantt installed, you can also select from your custom Gantt calendars, to create custom results based on your specific work calendar, holidays, vacations, etc.

Documentation: Time in Status Column

Project Lead Data

Not sure who to contact about a project? If you've grouped your issues by Project, either using a Group generator or transformation, you can now display the Project Lead in the summary column.

Welcome to Structure Page and Help Tool

We've added a new "Welcome to Structure" page to make it easier for teams to get the most out of Structure. Quickly discover the most popular benefits, learn how to build structures for many popular use cases, and get help when you need it!

Jira admins can also add a custom Help tool to the Welcome page, where you can add team-specific tips, include helpful links, and provide contact information for your support team.

Documentation: Help Tool

Write to the Comments Field with Effectors

The Attribute to Field Effector now supports writing to the Comments field. Call attention to your Structure notes, the results of a formula, or any other data you think everyone should see, by making them the latest comment for each issue.

Documentation: Attribute to Issue Field Effector

Additional Improvements

• Calendar_duration function to use calendars in formulas
• Fixed: "Allow changes via structure" option was hidden in the Insert Structure and Extend with Linked Issues generator settings
• Fixed: export to Excel contained html tags when text was created in JEditor
• Additional performance improvements and fixes

Supported Versions

Structure 8.1 and all its extensions support Jira versions 8.13 or later. This release is for customers using Jira Server or Data Center (Jira Core, Jira Software, or Jira Service Management/Service Desk).

Compatible with:

• Structure.Gantt 3.0+
• Structure.Pages 1.6+
• Structure.Testy 2.6+

Cloud customers can learn more about our products on the “Cloud” tab of our marketplace listing.

Installation and Upgrade

Installing Structure

If your Jira server does not have Structure yet, the installation is simple:

1. Download and install Structure app, either from the Atlassian Marketplace or our Download page.
2. When Add-on Manager reports the successful installation, click Get Started to visit a page with important guidance for the Jira administrator. You may want to also check out the user's Get Started page, available under the "Structure" top-level menu.
3. Monitor catalina.out or jira-application.log for log messages from Structure.

Upgrading Structure

The upgrade procedure from versions 3.0–8.0 is simple:

1. Consider backing up Jira data. Use Administration | System | Backup System. (If you have a large instance and a proper backup strategy in place, you may skip this step.)
2. Back up Structure data. Use Administration | Structure | Backup Structure menu item. If you have a lot of structures and a large Jira, consider turning off the "Backup History" option to avoid a long backup process.

3. Install the new version of the app.

4. Monitor catalina.out or jira-application.log for warnings or errors.

Enterprise Deployment Notes

In this release we've fixed our mechanism for project reindex detection. There was a bug that caused frequent cache clearances (as a result of some Jira automation or app activity) and full recalculation of all structures in use. Now project reindex detection works more precisely.

There was also a small concurrency improvement implemented, so performance should be improved during high load hours.

There are no special tests needed, so we suggest the usual testing procedures you've done for previous upgrades.