Mentions

We are tracking a bug within the current version of Orange Tracker and mentions. The mention will show as the Display Name for the user within OT:

But the email message will show the Username for the user:

We are working with the vendor to identify the cause and develop a solution.

Custom Field "Department Name" Changes (Completed)

Summary

We are updating the “Department Name” custom field in the OT system to match the current department list at Syracuse University. Updates will be made on Tuesday January 19^th, 2021 at 8am.

Details

The “Department Name” custom field was created many years ago and the list of departments was incomplete and now has become dated. This became an issue as we found not many projects wanted to use the field because it did not have the right values. To update the custom field, we are partnering with Enterprise Process Support (EPS) to deliver a list of departments based from the Peoplesoft system to bring almost 200 department names to the OT custom field. This is part of an initiative to bring standardization and use authoritative sources within the OT system.

To help organize this new list of departments, we will add the derived organizational unit (OU) as a prefix to each department. For example, “Biology” will be renamed to “AS-Biology”. This will group all the Arts and Sciences (AS) departments, and other OU departments together to help locate the correct department.

We are also removing the dormitory names in this department list. There is no need to have these values in this custom field.

These changes will be made on Tuesday January 19^th, 2021 at 8am. There are about 300 issues throughout OT currently using this custom field. All these issues will be edited in the background in a non-disruptive way. We will ensure you or anyone involved with these issues will not be notified of the change. Once the change is complete, feel free to use the Department Name custom field for your project.

Update Clone Features (Completed)

Within Orange Tracker (OT), there is a "Clone" feature that will quickly create a duplicate of an issue within the same project and link to the original issue. This is a standard feature within the system and is located under the More button. This feature has been very useful to a number of OT users. Our documentation on this feature is listed here: https://answers.syr.edu/x/a4s7

In addition to the Clone feature, we also have a plugin called Clone Plus installed in OT. This plugin gives us the same clone functionality plus enhanced options like:

• The ability to edit fields before cloning the issue
• Cloning to a different project
• Include or exclude certain fields of the clone
• Reset data in fields on clone
• The ability to include the attachments and/or comments

The Clone Plus features are also under the More button, labeled Clone+ and Clone++. We have documentation on this plugin here: https://answers.syr.edu/x/pY07

Currently we have developed a few items that use this Clone Plus plugin, all of these are under the More button:

• Clone+ - This option clones the issue within the same project, linking the two issues together. This feature allows you to edit the fields before creating the new issue.
• Clone++ - This option allows you to clone the issue in any project, linking the two issues together. This feature allows you to edit the fields before creating the new issue.
• Link to New Issue - This option allows you to clone the issue in any project, linking the two issues together. This feature allows you to edit the fields before creating the new issue.
• Clone Change Request  - This option is reserved for the ITS Change Management project and clones an issue and removes the dates within certain fields, linking the two issues together. This feature allows you to edit the fields before creating the new issue.

With the addition of this plugin, we now have multiple features that basically function the same. In order to streamline our OT system and make it easier for the users of the system, we have planned the following steps:

Step 1 (Scheduled 04/16/2019): Completed

• Deprecate the standard Clone feature and using the Clone Plus features. The Clone Plus features function the same as the Clone feature, plus more. For example, using Clone Plus will still create a new issue and link the two issues together, but this features allows the user to edit the fields before creating the new issue. This cuts down on the amount of updates/email messages OT sends to all the members working/watching this issue.

Step 2 (Scheduled 05/16/2019: Completed

• Rename Clone+ to Clone to Same Project. The existing label is not descriptive.
• Remove the Clone++ feature. This label is not descriptive and this feature is the same as the Link to New Issue feature.
• Rename Link to New Issue to Clone to Any Project. This is a more descriptive label for the feature.
• Hide all clone features except Clone Change Request for the ITS Change Management project.
• Update all documentation to reflect the changes.

These change should make it easier for the user to choose the right cloning feature.