We announce the first beta version of JIRA Client 2.1, our desktop front-end for Atlassian JIRA. As with the previous version, JIRA Client comes with a free edition for open source projects and small projects that use starter JIRA license.

As we are keeping an eye on our own JIRA, for this release we have decided to focus on usability and bug fixing to make issue tracking even more enjoyable and easy. Here's what we have come up with in JIRA Client 2.1.

Attach files and screenshots when creating issues

You can capture a screenshot, edit and attach it directly from New Issue window. Note that you can now Undo and Redo your changes in the screenshot editor. You can also attach files when creating an issue.

New Connection Wizard

We have introduced a new means to create and edit connection settings — Connection Wizard, and removed the old Connection Manager dialog. Now, to create a connection you need to use Connection | New JIRA Connection menu item, and to change connection settings you can right click on a connection node in the Navigation Area and choose Edit Connection Settings.

Quick as-you-type navigation

We have added quick navigation to all lists — start typing, and a matching item will be selected. Area above the list shows what you've typed. You can use arrow keys to navigate to the previous and next matches.

Revamped interface

JIRA Client 2.1 has numerous small and not-so-small improvements and simplifications regarding user experience. We have also redesigned the main menu to make it more logical.

Avoiding illegal values

New Issue and Edit Issue windows now check for illegal values and warn if you try to upload or save them.

Message panel

If JIRA Client wants to tell you something about an issue, it displays a message in the new panel found below the issue viewer. If something goes wrong, don't panic! JIRA Client will offer appropriate actions to deal with the problem.

Bug fixes

This release is notable for a bunch of bug fixes and optimizations. We have resolved 129 issues, including:

• JCO-215 JIRA Client is not able to reassign issues if "assignee" field is removed from "edit issue" screen in JIRA
• JCO-1 Support dependency of issue types from project
• JCO-3 Support dependency of security levels from projects
• JCO-530 Cannot upload changes to issue that was concurrently moved to another project on server

Switch to Java 6

Starting from this release, JIRA Client leverages benefits of Java 6. Windows and Linux distributions include bundled Java 6. On Macs, Java 6 is supported on:

• Snow Leopard (Mac OS X 10.6), and
• 64-bit Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5.2 and above) with Java for Mac OS X 10.5 Update 1 and above.

Upgrading to JIRA Client 2.1 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 2.1 Beta 1 will stop working on March 11, 2010. Please upgrade to the latest release version before that time.

We appreciate your feedback! Problems and feature requests can be posted directly to our issue tracker.

Igor Baltiyskiy
ALM Works Team

Links:

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