The field syncing feature allows near real-time data sync between Zendesk Support and Jira. This provides information sharing between the two systems for better collaboration between support and engineering teams. This is done by mapping Jira issue fields to Zendesk Support ticket fields.
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Requirements and limitations
- Supported versions: Jira Cloud, Jira Data Center, and Jira Server 7.0 and newer
- The field syncing feature is case-sensitive. Support field values must exactly match Jira field values.
- Once data is synced, it cannot be removed easily. However, you can disable field syncing altogether, which disables all field links.
- Sync direction can be set on a per-field basis, but only one mapping per field is allowed.
- Bidirectional syncing of the same field is not supported.
- The field mapping screen displays custom field types from all Jira projects in a single list.
- Custom ticket status fields aren't supported and cannot be mapped.
- All mapped fields for a particular issue or ticket are updated via a single API call. If a mapped field is misconfigured, all fields will not be updated.
- Syncing a field from multiple linked tickets to a Jira issue field, or from multiple Jira issues to a field on a ticket, is not supported and causes the sync to stop for the particular ticket or issue. See Many-to-one-syncing.
Field type syncing compatibility
There are some restrictions on the field types that are compatible with syncing. For example, a Zendesk decimal field with a numeric display cannot sync with a Jira multi-line text field.
The tables below list field mapping compatibility.
| Field title/type | Display type | Compatible Jira issue field type(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Priority (default) | Drop-down
Note: You
can't sync the Zendesk Priority field to the Jira Priority
field
|
Text field (read-only) Select list Text field (single line) Text field (multi-line) |
| Type (default) | Drop-down | Text field (read-only) Select list Text field (single line) Text field (multi-line) |
| Date (custom) | Date | Date picker Due date |
| Decimal (custom) | Number | Number field |
| Numeric (custom) | Number | Number field |
| Drop-down list (custom) | Drop-down | Text field (read-only) Select list Text field (single line) Text field (multi-line) |
| Text (custom) | Single line text | Description Environment Text field (read-only)Select list Summary Text field (single line) Text field (multi-line) |
| Multi-line text (custom) | Multi-line text | Text field (multi-line) |
| Field title/type | Display type | Compatible Zendesk ticket field type(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Description (default) | Multi-line text | Multi-line text |
| Due date (default) | Date | Date |
| Environment (default) | Multi-line text | Multi-line text |
| Fix versions (default) | Fix versions | Text Multi-line text |
| Priority (default) | Priority
Note: Only syncs from Jira to Zendesk
|
Text Multi-line text Drop-down list |
| Sprint (default) | Sprint | Text Multi-line text |
| Status (default) | Status | Text Multi-line text Drop-down list |
| Summary (default) | Single line text | Text Multi-line text |
| Date (custom) | Date | Text Multi-line text Date |
| Number (custom) | Number | Numeric Decimal |
| Read-only text field (custom) | Read-only text field | Text Multi-line text |
| Select (custom) | Drop-down | Text Multi-line text Drop-down Type Priority |
| Text field (custom) | Single line text | Text Multi-line text |
| Text area (custom) | Multi-line text | Multi-line text |
Setting up field syncing
Field syncing is set up using a mapping interface.
Zendesk Support and Jira have different field types, which adds complexity to the syncing process. It requires following certain rules when creating field mapping to ensure syncing works as expected.
Both system (default) and custom fields are supported. However, only a subset of all available field types are supported. Additionally, there are limitations as to which Jira field type can be synced to a Zendesk Support field type, and vice-versa. For instance, a text field cannot be synced to a datetime field. To prevent misconfiguration, the user interface hides field types that are not supported, and greys out invalid mapping options.
Because data synced fields cannot be unsynced, we recommend that you test your field syncing in a test environment or sandbox. If necessary, you can disable the field syncing feature by removing all field mappings. This stops syncing subsequent data changes.
To configure and activate field syncing
- Log in to your Jira account with admin privileges.
- In the top navigation bar, select Apps > Manage your apps > Zendesk Support for Jira > Configure > Field Mapping.
- Use the drop-down menus to select the Jira issue ticket field and Zendesk Support
ticket fields you want to map.
- Click Add. The synced fields are added to the Field Mapping list.
- Repeat for additional mapped fields.
- When you're finished mapping fields, click Save & Sync.
Many-to-one syncing
You can sync a field from a single Jira issue to multiple Zendesk Support tickets, or a field from a single Support ticket to multiple Jira issues. In this case, the syncing only occurs in one direction, from the single issue or ticket to multiple tickets or issues, respectively.
However, syncing a field from multiple linked tickets to a Jira issue field, or from multiple Jira issues to a field on a ticket, is not supported. Configuring field sync this way causes syncing to stop for this particular ticket or issue. To link multiple tickets to a Jira issue and use sync, we recommend implementing a problem/incident concept as described in Working with problem and incident tickets.
The Jira issue key is a special case. If multiple issues are linked to the same ticket, all their keys will appear on the ticket.
Syncing closed tickets
Unlike Jira, Zendesk does not allow closed tickets to be updated. This means that when attempting to sync Jira issues to Zendesk tickets, it may fail if the ticket is already closed. You will be able to see this error on the Zendesk Support for Jira add-on Error Report screen.
Errors
Since syncing happens behind the scenes, errors are displayed on a dedicated screen. The error report screen allows the user to identify and resolve invalid field mappings as well as other configuration issues.
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