ALM Works

Today we're happy to announce the general availability of JIRA Client 3.1, our desktop tool for everyday JIRA users. This version adds support for JIRA 5.2, reinstates support for JIRA OnDemand, and adds a few other improvements and fixes.

Support for JIRA 5.2 and JIRA OnDemand

Due to major changes in JIRA 5.2, JIRA Client 3.0 had lost the ability to retrieve critical configuration data from JIRA. It was unfortunate and rare case of incompatibility with a new JIRA version, and it took us some time to rewrite the connectivity module to support the new JIRA. We're sorry for the inconvenience caused to our users and we're glad to finally deliver a version that works with JIRA 5.2.

As JIRA OnDemand is upgraded frequently by Atlassian, all JIRA OnDemand users were also affected by this problem. JIRA Client 3.1 solves it for OnDemand as well.

JIRA Client 3.1 supports JIRA versions 5.0 — 5.2+ only, and if you have JIRA version 5.1.8 or older, it is advised to stay with an earlier version on JIRA Client until you upgrade to at least JIRA 5.2.

Merged Editions

JIRA Client used to have Pro, Lite and Site editions, which had to be picked carefully to match your license. Starting with version 3.1, JIRA Client has a single universal edition, which works with all types of licenses.

This change also affects how licensing works from now on. There are three possible cases:

1. If you have JIRA Client Plugin installed and licensed on your JIRA server, the users don't need to worry about licensing. JIRA Client will just work. (Like the site edition in previous versions.)
2. Otherwise, the user will have to have a license key. (Like with the Pro edition before.) A 30-day evaluation license can be generated on our website and you can purchase a single-user or a team license.
3. Some public JIRA servers are sponsored by ALM Works and you can connect to them without having any license key. The list of the servers is available in the drop-down list in the New JIRA Connection dialog.

JIRA OnDemand: Since you cannot install JIRA Client Plugin on JIRA OnDemand, only options (2) and (3) remain. You can either purchase a team license for your team, or ask us to sponsor your JIRA server, if it runs on a free license from Atlassian.

$10 Starter Licenses: $10 starter licenses are now limited to option (1) — you need to purchase a 10-user JIRA Client Plugin license from Atlassian at the Atlassian Marketplace.

$10 Starter Licenses and JIRA OnDemand: Unfortunately, it's not possible to combine $10 license and JIRA OnDemand at the moment. Please vote for the request to install JIRA Client Plugin on OnDemand instances.

Other Notable Improvements

JIRA Client 3.1 also has a number of improvements, including:

• Support for the "Epic Name" field, introduced in GreenHopper 6.0.6. This field is required when creating an Epic, so now you can create epics from JIRA Client too.
• Optimized network traffic: the rewritten connectivity module places less stress on JIRA server and consumes less bandwidth during synchronization.

For more details, please see the list of issues resolved in JIRA Client 3.1.

Upgrading JIRA Client

If you have JIRA 5.2 or newer installed, the upgrade is required — earlier versions of JIRA Client do not support JIRA 5.2.

If you have JIRA 5.0 — 5.1.8, the upgrade is not recommended but possible. (There are known non-critical compatibility issues with JIRA versions earlier than 5.2.)

If you have JIRA older than 5.0, please do not upgrade — JIRA Client 3.1 requires at least JIRA version 5.0.

The upgrade procedure is the same as with the previous versions:

1. Back up your workspace.
2. Install the new version over the old one.
3. Run JIRA Client and wait until it finishes synchronizing JIRA configuration.

Please feel free to contact support@almworks.com if you have any questions or need assistance.

Igor Sereda
ALM Works Team

Links:

• JIRA Client Plugin at the Atlassian Marketplace
• Download JIRA Client
• Free 30-Day Evaluation License