Documents for Jira Cloud

The content of this page applies to Documents Cloud app.

On this page:

Why Documents app?

• Makes the documents quickly accessible for the project members.
• No more project-related documents stored on people’s workstations. Everyone will know that the latest version of a specific document will be found on the Documents tab of the project.
• The documents are hosted in Jira providing common interface for all the project related work-items such as tasks, issues and documents.

Working with documents and folders

Accessing and viewing documents

The documents of a Jira project can be visualized on the Documents tab of that project. They are displayed according to the current layout and visualization mode.

The current layout and visualization mode can be changed by using the menus from the top-right corner of the page.

NOTE The Documents tab is visible only if the current Jira user has View permission.

The table below shows details about the columns of the documents table available in list view.

Item	Description
Type	Shows the icon of the document or folder. The app has its own icon set which contains icons for the common file extensions. Every File type document will have the icon specific to the extension of its attached file. If the extension is not in the icon set of the app, the default icon is displayed. The URL type document will always have a URL specific icon.
Icon indicators	The icon indicators are small icons displayed near the regular icon of the document that indicate specific states of the document. For instance, if the document is locked for editing or not. In this version the following indicators are available: (black) – indicates that the document is locked for editing by you. A tooltip showing the locker, lock date and the lock message is displayed when hovering the mouse pointer over it. (gray) – indicates that the document is locked for editing by another user. A tooltip showing the locker, lock date and the lock message is displayed when hovering the mouse pointer over it.
Key	The key (or ID) of the document or folder. It uniquely identifies the document within the Jira system. It has numeric value and is automatically generated during document or folder creation.
Title	The title of the document or folder. If the title is too long it will not be entirely displayed. The title is fully displayed in the tooltip that is shown when hovering the mouse pointer over it. By clicking the title of a File type document the user will download the file attached to the document. If the user clicks the title of a URL type document, he will open the URL in the default browser of the system. By clicking the title of a folder the page will display the content of that folder.
Revision	Shows the value of the Current Revision attribute of the document. It is always empty for folders.
File size	The size of the file attached to the document. This column only applies for File type documents. It is always empty for URL type documents or folders.
Posted by	Shows the Jira user that posted the document or created the folder.
Posted on	Shows the date and time when the document or folder was posted. The date is displayed in the format and time zone of the current Jira user.
Updated by	Shows the Jira user that made the latest update of the document or folder. It will be empty if the document or folder was never updated.
Updated on	Shows the date and time of the latest update of the document or folder. It will be empty if the document or folder has never been updated. The date is displayed in the format and time zone of the current Jira user.
Actions menu	An icon () that offers a menu with the actions that can be performed on each document or folder. The icon becomes visible when hovering the mouse over that document or folder. See below a description of all available actions.

The actions menu is available in both list view and icon view. It is displayed when hovering the mouse over a document or folder.

Possible actions are:
Download – use this action to download the file attached to the document. It is only available for File type documents and for folders if the current user has View permission. When downloading a folder, its content will be downloaded as a ZIP archive. The URL type documents are not included in the ZIP archive.
Open URL – use this action to open the URL of the document. It is only available for URL type documents if the current user has View permission.
View – use this action to view document properties in a read-only page. It is available for both File and URL document types and also for folders if the current user has View permission.
Edit – use this action to edit the document. It is available for all document types and also for folders if the current user has Edit permission.
Lock Editing – use this action to lock the editing for the document. It is available only for all document types if the current user has Edit permission.
Delete – use this action to delete a document or folder. It is available for all document types and for folders if the current user has Delete permission.
Move – use this action to move a document or folder to another folder or project. It is available for all document types and also for folders if the current user has Move permission.
Copy Folder Structure – use this action to clone the structure of a folder into another folder or project. It is available only for folders.
Show in Folder – opens the parent folder of the document or folder. It is available for all document types and also for folders but only in the context of a search result.

NOTE: The Project Lead can perform all the above actions on all the documents of the Jira project.

Searching for documents

You can search for documents or folders by typing a text (and then pressing Enter) in the search box available on the Documents tab of the project.

Optionally, you can use the advanced search options to make the search operation more precise.

The search is text-based and covers the following properties of the documents: Key (document number), Title, Description, Current Revision, Current Revision Author(s), Current Revision Notes and the name of the attached file. Only the documents of the current Jira project are searched.

NOTE The search does not include the content of the attached files.

The search results are displayed on the Documents tab of the project.

Follow the next steps to search documents:

• In Jira, go to Projects.
• Make sure that you are on the right project.
• Click the Documents tab. You can also navigate to a folder belonging to that project.
• In the Document Search box, type the text or the document number that you want to search for and then press Enter. The search results are displayed on the page.
• Optionally, click the icon from the search input field and select the advanced search options. Press Enter or click Do search for the selection to take effect.

Adding a new folder

Follow these steps to add a new folder:

• In Jira, go to Projects.
• Make sure that you are on the right project.
• Click the Documents tab and navigate to the folder where you want to create the folder.
• Click the Add > Add Folder. The Add Folder dialog will open.
  NOTE The Add button is available only if the user has Create permission.
  
• Enter a Title (or a name) for your folder. This field is mandatory.
• Optionally, enter a short Description for the folder.
• Click Create. If all the required fields were properly completed, the folder is added and displayed in the Documents table. A message with the result of this action will pop up on top of the page.

Adding documents

Besides folders, the Documents app supports two document types:

• File – consists in a file that is uploaded and stored in Jira, plus data about that file like Title or Description.
• URL – consists in a URL (link) to a remote file or web-page, plus data about that remote file or web-page like Title or Description.

Adding File documents

A File document consists in a consists in a file that is uploaded and stored in Jira, plus data about that file like Title or Description.

Follow these steps to add (post) a new document of type File:

• In Jira, go to Projects.
• Make sure that you are on the right project.
• Click the Documents tab of the Jira project and navigate to the folder where you want to add the new document.
• Click Add > Add File
  NOTE The Add button is available only if the user has Create permission.
• Enter a Title (or a name) for your document. This field is mandatory.

• Optionally, enter a short Description for the document.
• Attach a File. Use the Choose file button to upload the file. The file that you select cannot exceed the maximum file size configured by the Jira administrator.
• Optionally, if you use a version numbering for your documents, type the current version of the document in the Current Revision field. You can also specify additional info about the current version of the document:
  Revision Date – the date when the version of the added document was created.
  Revision Author(s) – the name of the person(s) who created the version of the added document.
  Revision Notes – a short description of the changes made to the version of the added document.
• Click Create. If all the required fields were properly completed, the document is added and displayed in the Documents table. A message with the result of this action will pop up on top of the page.

Adding URL documents

A URL document consists in a URL (link) to a remote file or web-page, plus data about that remote file or web-page like Title or Description.

Follow these steps to add (post) a new document of type URL:

• In Jira, go to Projects.
• Make sure that you are on the right project.
• Click the Documents tab of the Jira project and navigate to the folder where you want to add the new document.
• Click Add > Add URL
  NOTE The Add button is available only if the user has Create permission.
• Enter a Title (or a name) for your document. This field is mandatory.

• Optionally, enter a short Description for the document.
• Specify the URL of the document. The URL that you specify must include the protocol ("http://", "https://", "ftp://" or "file:").
  NOTE For security reasons, most of the browsers do not allow opening links of type "file:". This means that you will not be able to open the file by clicking the links available on the Documents tab. Be aware of this limitation when using URLs of type "file:"!
• Optionally, if you use a version numbering for your documents, type the current version of the document in the Current Revision field. You can also specify additional info about the current version of the document:
  Revision Date – the date when the version of the added document was created.
  Revision Author(s) – the name of the person(s) who created the version of the added document.
  Revision Notes – a short description of the changes made to the version of the added document.
• Click Create. If all the required fields were properly completed, the document is added and displayed in the Documents table. A message with the result of this action will pop up on top of the page.

Editing a document or folder

Follow these steps to edit a document:

• In Jira, go to Projects
• Make sure that you are on the right project
• Click the Documents tab
• Locate the document that you want to edit and click on its Edit option under the Actions menu. The Edit Document page will open.
  NOTE The Edit action is available only if the user has Edit permission.
• Make the necessary changes and click Save. A message with the result of this action will pop-up on top of the page.
• For documents of type File you can only edit the properties of your document and replace the file attached to the document. If you want to modify the content of the file attached to a document, you have to first download it locally on your computer, make the necessary changes locally with the appropriate program and then attach the new file to the document.

Deleting a document or folder

Follow these steps to delete a document or folder:

• In Jira, go to Projects.
• Make sure that you are on the right project.
• Click the Documents tab.
• Locate the document that you want to delete and click on its Delete option under the Actions menu.
  NOTE The Delete action is available only if the user has Delete permission.
• You will be asked if you really want to delete the document. If you are sure that you want to delete the document, click OK. A message with the result of this action will pop up on top of the page.
  NOTE The document is permanently deleted along with its version history; you cannot restore it after deletion.

Moving a document or folder

Follow these steps to move a document or folder to another folder:

• In Jira, go to Projects.
• Click the Documents tab.
• Make sure that you are on the right project.
• Locate the document that you want to move and click on its Move option under the Actions menu.
  NOTE The Move action is available only if the user has Move permission.
• In the Move window, select the Destination Project and the Destination Folder in the folders tree hierarchy.
  NOTE: To be able to move a folder in another project, you must have View and Create permissions in that project.
  

The Split Pane Layout mode allows moving items (documents and folders) from a pane to another by using drag & drop.

Locking/Unlocking Editing

While working on a new version of a document you might want to prevent the other users to edit that document until you finish working and publishing the new version. You can do this by using the Lock Editing menu-option, which is available in the actions menu of the document. When locking the document for editing you can leave a message that will be displayed to the other users each time they attempt to edit the document. After finishing the work on that document and publishing a new version you can unlock the document's editing by clicking the Unlock Editing menu-option or directly from the Edit Document screen. A document can be locked by any user that has Edit permissions. The unlocking of a document can either be done by the user that locked the document or by the Project Lead.

Lock editing for a document

Follow these steps to lock editing for a document:

• In Jira, go to Projects
• Make sure that you are on the right project
• Click the Documents tab
• Locate the document that you want to lock editing for and click on its Lock Editing option under the Actions menu. The Lock Editing page will open.
  NOTE The Lock Editing menu-option is available only if the user has Edit permissions.
• Optionally, you can leave a message that will be displayed to the other users each time they attempt to edit the locked document.

• Click Save. A message with the result of this action will pop-up on top of the page.

The documents that are locked for editing have the "lock indicator" displayed near their icon:

Unlock editing for a document

Editing can be unlocked only by the user that locked the editing for that document or by the Project Lead.

Follow these steps to unlock editing for a document:

• In Jira, go to Projects
• Make sure that you are on the right project
• Click the Documents tab
• Locate the document that you want to unlock editing for and click on its Unlock Editing option under the Actions menu.
• A message with the result of this action will pop up on top of the page.

You can also unlock editing for a document directly from the Edit screen, by checking the option Unlock editing for this document.

Installation and configuration

Installing app

• Log into your Jira instance as an admin.
• Click the admin dropdown and choose Apps.
• Open Find new apps tab.
• Search for "Documents Cloud".
• Once you locate the "Documents Cloud" app, click on it.
• Click Try it free to download and install it.
• Click Close in the "Installed and ready to go" dialog.

At this stage the app is installed, but the users cannot use it yet. Some post-installation steps are required. Please continue with Configuring the app repository section below.

Configuring the app repository

The app requires a dedicated Jira next-gen project to serve as data repository. The repository is the place where all the documents added via the app, including files and metadata, will be stored. Right after the app installation you have to create and configure a Jira next-project that will serve as the app repository. For more details about the app repository, see the File & metadata storage section below.

Follow these steps to create and configure the app repository project:

• Log into your Jira instance as an admin.
• Create a new next-gen project that will be used as the app repository:
  • Go to Projects>Create project.
  • Choose to create a next-gen project.
  • In "Create project" screen enter a suggestive project name, select Private access and keep the default Kanban template.
  • Click Create. The project is created.
• Disable the notifications on the new next-gen project:
  • Go to Project settings > Notifications.
  • Delete all the notification events from the table.

• Navigate to Apps > DOCUMENTS > Repository. The current displayed status indicates that the repository is not yet configured.
• The repository project must have a specific configuration in terms of issue types and custom fields in order to be used as the app repository. The selected project can be automatically or manually configured. It is recommended to attempt the automatic configuration method first because it is much faster and, if this (by any reason) cannot be performed, to use the manual configuration method instead. But you can choose any of them.
• To configure the repository project automatically:
  • At Repository project select the Jira next-gen project that you created before.
  • Click Configure project to start configuring the selected project automatically.
  • You will be prompted to provide your email address and an API token. This is required by the app to automatically configure the project. Click the "here" link and generate an API token.
    
  • Copy the generated token and paste it in the API token field.
  • After entering the email and API token, click Configure.
  • The automatic process of configuring the selected project will start. You can revoke the API token once this step is completed; it is no longer required.
  • If it is successful, click Set as repository. The repository project configuration is now fully completed!
  • If the configuration fails, try configuring the project manually by performing the steps below.

• To configure the repository project manually:
  • Open the next-gen project that will be used as the app repository.
  • Go to Project settings > Issue types.
  • Click Add issue type and then Create issue type.
  • At Name enter Document and type a suggestive description.
    
  • Click Create to add the new issue type.
  • You can delete the other issue types from this project.
  • Select the Document issue type.
  • Create all the fields from the table below and add them to the Documents issue type. Make sure that you set their name and type as in the table.

• • Keep the default issue fields Summary, Description, Status and Reporter.
  • In the end, the project configuration should look like this:
    
  • When you finished configuring the project, go back to Apps > DOCUMENTS > Repository
  • At Repository project select the Jira next-gen project that you created and just configured.
  • Click Validate. The app will verify if the selected project was properly created and configured. If not, you can correct the issues listed in red-color text and try again.
  • If the validation is successful, click Set as repository. The repository project configuration is now fully completed!

At this stage the repository is configured and the users can start using the app. To test, open a Jira project, click on its Documents tab and create a new folder or File.

VERY IMPORTANT!

• Do not modify the issue-types or the fields configuration of this project because this impacts the app's functionality.
• Do not manually create, delete or modify the issues of this project because this can cause invalid app repository data.
• Ensure that the regular users do not have access to the repository project.
• Do not delete this project. Deleting the project will cause the lost of the entire Documents data from your Jira Cloud instance.

Configuring the app permissions

You can restrict the access to the "Documents" tab or restrict specific privileges (create, edit, delete, move) regarding documents or folders through the app permissions configuration. Follow these steps to configure the app permissions:

• Log into your Jira instance as an admin.
• Navigate to Apps > DOCUMENTS > Permissions.
• On the Permissions tab, check the actions that you want to allow for each project role. The list includes the project roles from both classic and the next-gen projects. See the table below for a complete description of the available permissions.

The table below shows details about the available permissions.

• Click Save to apply the changes.

NOTE If a Jira user is member of a project role that has a specific permission but is also member of another project role that does not have that permission, it is considered that the user in question has that permission.

NOTE The Project Lead has full permissions and can perform all the actions on project's documents.

File & metadata storage

All the documents and folders created in Documents app are stored as Jira issues in a dedicated Jira next-gen project (aka "app repository"), which must be configured in a certain way by the Jira administrator during the app's post-installation steps (see Configuring the app repository). The files uploaded are stored as attachments to these issues while the metadata is stored in the specific Jira custom fields of the repository next-gen project.

Backing-up the repository project assures the backup of all the documents from the entire Jira Cloud instance, which includes attachments and metadata.

VERY IMPORTANT!

• Do not modify the issue-types or the fields configuration of this project because this might affect the app's functionality.
• Do not manually create, delete or modify the issues of this project because this can cause invalid app repository data.
• Ensure that the regular users do not have access to the repository project.
• Do not delete this project. Deleting the project will cause the lost of the entire Documents data from the entire Jira Cloud instance.

Bulk documents import and migration

You can import multiple documents and folders in a bulk manner by using Documents Cloud Uploader, a Java multi-platform desktop application.

This app supports two import methods:

• Import folder content. Using this method you can quickly import the contents (files and folders) of a local folder from your computer. The imported documents will have the Title set to their file/folder name. The folders structure will be preserved. Only documents of type Folder and File can be imported by using this method. Also, it does not support importing metadata attributes like Description or Current Revision. This method is recommended to be used when you just installed the Documents app and you want to move your existing project files to Jira Cloud or to migrate the files from your previous document management system other than Documents for Jira Server / Data Center.
• Import documents with metadata. This method is based on an input CSV file, which must contain the metadata attributes (like Title, Description, Revision Notes, etc) of the items to be imported along with the local path to their corresponding file from the local disk that has to be imported. It supports importing documents of type Folder, File and URL. This method is recommended to be used when migrating Documents data from Jira Server (or Data Center) to Jira Cloud - in this case the CSV file along with the files and folders to be imported being easily generated by bulk downloading in Documents for Jira Server the documents to be migrated.

IMPORTANT!

• The user running the import via Documents Cloud Uploader must have administrative permissions over the Jira project that serves as the app repository (see Configuring the app repository).
• The migration of documents of type "Wiki" is currently not supported.

The most common scenarios of using these import methods are described below.

Bulk importing local project-related files and folders to Documents

If you just installed Documents in your Jira Cloud instance, you might want to upload the existing project-related files to the Jira projects.

Follow these steps to bulk import existing files and folders into a Jira project:

• Centralize all the files to be imported in a folder on your local computer. You can organize these files in sub-folders as necessary.
• Make sure that Documents app has been installed and configured and you can access the Documents tab of the Jira project where the data will be imported into.
• Download Bulk Documents Uploader on your local computer.

• Extract the downloaded archive and open it. Execute run_gui.bat if you are on Windows or run_gui.sh if you are on Linux. The Documents Cloud Uploader will open.
• At Import type choose Import folder content
  
  
  
  
• At Source folder click ... and select the folder that contains the data to be uploaded. The folder content will be loaded in the DATA TO IMPORT table. Check for eventual errors in the MESSAGES field.
• At Destination folder's key you have to enter the key (id) of the existing folder from Documents where the data will be imported. To determine the key:
  • Log on to your Jira Cloud instance
  • Open the Jira project where you want to import the data into
  • Click its Documents tab
  • Navigate and locate the folder where the files will be uploaded
  • Note down its key.
    
    
    
    
  • If you want to import the files in the project's root folder, hover the mouse over the [Project Root] in the navigation bar. Its key will be displayed in a tooltip.
    
    
    
    
• At What to import make sure that Import folders and Import files are both checked. If you want just to import the folders structure, uncheck Import files.
• Click Start.... The "Jira Connection Settings" dialog will appear. Enter the info required by the app to connect to your Jira Cloud instance:
  • At Jira Base URL enter the base URL of your Jira Cloud instance in form of "https://myjira.atlassian.net".
  • At Your Email enter the email address of your Jira Cloud account.
  • At API Token you must enter a valid API token. Use the link offered in the dialog box to generate an API token. You can revoke the generated token after you finish importing the data.
    
    
    
    
  • Click Test Connection to validate the provided connection info. If the test fails, please double-check the info provided and try again.
• Click OK in "Jira Connection Settings" dialog to continue the import process.
• The app is trying to connect to your Jira Cloud instance to check if the destination folder exists. If it exists, a confirmation dialog will be popped-up.
  
  
  
  
• Click OK in the confirmation dialog to start the import. The app will proceed with the import of the documents, starting with the folders.
• Check for any errors in the MESSAGES field. When it is done check the content of the destination folder from Jira Cloud; it should display the imported documents.

Migrating data from Documents for Jira Server or Data Center to Documents Cloud

You can migrate the Documents data from Jira Server to Jira Cloud. The migration process consists in two main steps: first, export the documents from Jira Server along with their metadata and then, import the exported data into Jira Cloud by using the Documents Cloud Uploader utility.

IMPORTANT!

• You will have to migrate the data project-by-project.
• The migration process will NOT migrate the documents of type Wiki, the permissions on the individual documents and folders, and the historical data (previous versions).
• The current version of Documents for Jira Cloud does not support all the functionalities of Documents for Jira Server. Check the Features comparison between Documents for Jira Server and Documents for Jira Cloud section below before proceeding with the data migration.

Follow these steps to migrate the documents of a Jira project from Jira Server into Jira Cloud:

• Bulk download (export) the project's documents from Jira Server along with their metadata:
  • Log on to your Jira Server instance
  • Open the Jira project that you want to migrate
  • Click its Documents tab
  • Select all the folders and documents that you want to migrate
  • Click the Bulk Operations > Download.
    
    
    
    The selected documents are downloaded in a ZIP archive that contains a metadata.csv file with the documents metadata (Title, Description, Current Revision, etc). The downloaded ZIP archive preserves the folders structure. The file names might be changed in order to preserve the unicity. The documents of type URL are included in the metadata.csv. The documents of type Wiki are not included.
    You can also download a single folder, by clicking the Download option from its actions menu.
• Extract the ZIP archive on your local computer.

At this point the export of the data from Jira Server is done. Proceed further with the data import into Jira Cloud:

• Make sure that Documents app has been installed and configured and you can access the Documents tab of the Jira project where the data will be migrated.
• Download Bulk Documents Uploader on your local computer.

• Extract the downloaded archive and open it. Execute run_gui.bat if you are on Windows or run_gui.sh if you are on Linux. The Documents Cloud Uploader will open.
• At Import type choose Import documents with metadata
  
  
  
  
• At Source CSV file click ... and select the medata.csv file from the folder where you extracted the ZIP archive with the exported documents. Its content will be loaded in the DATA TO IMPORT table. Check for eventual errors in the MESSAGES field.
• At Destination folder's key you have to enter the key (id) of the existing folder from Documents where the data will be migrated. To determine the key:
  • Log on to your Jira Cloud instance
  • Open the Jira project where you want to import the data into
  • Click its Documents tab
  • Navigate and locate the folder where the files will be uploaded
  • Note down its key.
    
    
    
    
  • If you want to import the files in the project's root folder, hover the mouse over the [Project Root] in the navigation bar. Its key will be displayed in a tooltip.
    
    
    
    
• At What to import make sure that Import folders, Import files and Import URLs are all checked.
• Click Start.... The "Jira Connection Settings" dialog will appear. Enter the info required by the app to connect to your Jira Cloud instance:
  • At Jira Base URL enter the base URL of your Jira Cloud instance in form of "https://myjira.atlassian.net".
  • At Your Email enter the email address of your Jira Cloud account.
  • At API Token you must enter a valid API token. Use the link offered in the dialog box to generate an API token. You can revoke the generated token after you finish importing the data.
    
    
    
    
  • Click Test Connection to validate the provided connection info. If the test fails, please double-check the info provided and try again.
• Click OK in "Jira Connection Settings" dialog to continue the import process.
• The app is trying to connect to your Jira Cloud instance to check if the destination folder exists. If it exists, a confirmation dialog will be popped-up.
  
  
  
  
• Click OK in the confirmation dialog to start the import. The app will proceed with the import of the documents, starting with the folders.
• Check for any errors in the MESSAGES field. When it is done check the content of the destination folder from Jira Cloud; it should display the migrated documents.

Repeat these steps for the others Jira projects that you want to migrate.

Features comparison between Documents for Jira Server and Documents for Jira Cloud

The table below displays side-by-side the supported functionalities of Documents for Jira Server and Documents for Jira Cloud.

NOTE StonikByte is working actively on adding the functionalities from Documents for Jira Server into Documents for Jira Cloud, so this list is subject of change.

For how to migrate the Documents data from Jira Server to Jira Cloud, see Migrating data from Documents for Jira Server or Data Center to Documents Cloud.