Today we are announcing the first beta version of JIRA Client 2.3 and JIRA Client Lite 2.3. This release adds several long-awaited features and improves integration with JIRA.

See the list of issues you have recently changed

Have you ever struggled to find that issue you've just submitted? It's easy now! A message in the status bar notifies you whenever a new or updated issue is uploaded to the server. You see the new issue key immediately. Click on that message or press Ctrl+/ to see the list of your recent uploads, where all the familiar actions and keyboard shortcuts are instantly available.

Per-query table configuration

Issue table settings, including selected columns, sorting, and hierarchy setting, are now remembered independently for each query. So you can adjust how issue table looks once, and it will stay that way no matter what changes you make for your other queries.

Search for empty fields

"Is Empty" option was added to the Query Builder, so you can easily find issues that have certain fields empty. Remember, however, that such conditions cannot yet be converted to JIRA searches, so JIRA Client might have to load more issues than necessary.

Convert and move sub-tasks

You can now convert regular issues to sub-tasks and vice versa. Use the Move Issue action and choose an appropriate issue type; if it happens to be a sub-task type, you will be asked for a parent issue key. You can also move sub-tasks between parents and change their types. You need JIRA 3.9 or later for this feature to work.

Edit comments on the server

Starting from this version, the Edit Comment action is available for server-side comments, if you have sufficient permissions. Conflict detection and resolution is implemented for comments, in case you step on someone else's toes. Comment editing works with JIRA 3.11 or later.

Combine and save text searches

The Query Builder now has a new condition type, Text Search. These conditions work just like the Quick Search field at the top of the main window. However, you can combine them together, use them in complex queries, and save them in the navigation area.

Suppress background synchronization

Suppose you have a connection to an open-source project, which you don't use very often. But JIRA Client keeps synchronizing it in the background, consuming memory, and generating a lot of network traffic. Now you can use Right Click | Get Changes in Background sub-menu to suppress background synchronization for that connection. To manually synchronize when you need it, invoke Right Click | Get Changes Now.

Bug fixes

With this release we have fixed some annoying bugs in JIRA integration and significantly improved support for JIRA Studio. See the change log for details.

Upgrading to JIRA Client 2.3 Beta 1

To upgrade from a previous version:

1. Backup your workspace.
2. Install the new version over the old one and start JIRA Client.
3. Reload JIRA configuration using Connection | Reload JIRA Configuration.

This version may be used in a free 30-day trial mode or with any JIRA Client license key with active maintenance subscription.

JIRA Client 2.3 Beta 1 will stop working on August 26, 2010. Please upgrade to the latest release version before that time.

As always, we'd like to know your opinion. If you are experiencing a problem or need a feature, please raise an issue in our issue tracker.

Pavel Zvyagin
ALM Works Team

Links:

• Download JIRA Client
• Change log
• Forum
• Issue tracker