Overview

Release management app has embedded functionality for release notes generator. User can define multiple release notes templates for versions and packages and use them for the notes generation.

Release notes templates support rich text formatting. Furthermore, data from version or package (such as version or package props, issues lists and etc.) could be automatically injected into the notes body.  

Quick start guide

In order to generate your first release notes please follow a few simple steps:

1. Navigate to “Release notes” tab in the board menu

2. Click create template button:

   

3. Specify template name and save a template with a default body:

   

4. Click “Generates Notes“ button

5. Choose version from a list and click “Generates Notes“ button

   

6. Download generated release notes as HTML or upload to confluence

   

Release notes templates

Templates operations

User can create, clone or delete release notes template. 

While creating a new template user have to specify a template type - whether it goes for versions or packaged?

Formatting notes template body and injecting variables

Following features are available for the rich text formatting:

• Define text style

• 3 fonts are supported

• Bold, Underlined, Italic styles

• Define text color and background

• Text alignment

• Insert numeric or bullet lists

• Insert a link

• Pictures

• Code block

Also, the user can inject version/package variables into the template body. The variables will be replaced with actual values from the selected version/package during rendering the notes.

The list of available variables depends on selected template type - version or package.

Version variables

• Name

• Start date

• Release date

• Description

• “Released” or “Unreleased“ - standard Jira version statuses

• Project key (fixVersion only)

• Project name (fixVersion only) 

• User name. Name of a user who generated release notes

• Current date. Date when release notes were generated.

• Current timestamp. Date and time of release notes were generated.

Package variables

• Name

• Start date

• Release date

• Description

• User name. Name of a user who generated release notes

• Current date. Date when release notes were generated.

• Current timestamp. Date and time of release notes were generated.

JQL Table section

Table of listed issues based on JQL query could be added to the release notes body.

Use “+JQL table“ button to add a new table to the template.

The following configuration parameters are available for the table:

1. Name of the section. A section with the same name will be added to the release notes.

2. Columns to be shown in the table. User can select the majority standard and custom Jira fields. See details in the chapter below.

3. Section description. If the text is specified - it will be added as a plain text after the section name.

4. JQL variables. In order to build flexible JQL which will use data from the selected version or package the user can inject variables to JQL query. List of available variables depends on the template type

   1. Version specific variables

      1. Version name

      2. Start date

      3. Release date

      4. Version JQL (precompiled JQL which can help to extract the content of real or virtual version)

      5. Project key ( Not applicable for virtual version)

      6. User name

      7. Current date

      8. Current timestamp

   2. Package specific variables

      1. Start date

      2. Release date

      3. Version JQL (precompiled JQL which can help to extract the content of package)

         1. Please note that “Versions in package” variable is not supported since October 2020

      4. User name

      5. Current date

      6. Current timestamp

5. JQL query to extract an issue list. 

6. If the option is enabled the section will be rendered if JQL will return 0 rows. Otherwise, the section will not be rendered at all.

7. If this option is enabled all the issue will be grouped by respected Jira Epics.

   

8. Show epic key if grouping by epic is enabled

9. The message which will be injected to a template if JQL will return 0 rows. This option will be working in case a switcher #6 is turned on.

Columns configuration

On the "Columns" tab the user can define a list of columns to be presented the table.

Majority of standard fields and custom fields are available here. We also provide 2 (two) additional "CALCULATED" fields to outline

• Parent Epic Name - link to parent epic (if any) with Name to display

• Parent Epic Status - status of the parent epic

Also, the user can define various render type where it is applicable. 

Available render types are:

• Text - just a plan text

• Link - link to a presented entity. E.g. issue, user, component, label etc.

• Icon - icon for the defined value. For instance issue type icon.

User can change columns order.

Cards vs Table

If you need to show too many columns in your Release Notes you can select a horizontal layout to show issues as cards.

Environments table

Click on “+ Environments table“ to amend you release notes with information about Environments. To outline where your artifacts are deployed and what are build numbers.

To delete it use “Del”, “Backspace“ or right-click and select “Delete”.

Export options

Download as HTML

The output on Release Notes could be downloaded as HTML

You can use it to Copy/Paste into MS Word, Google Docs, Confluence and any other wiki with (almost) no changes to layout. See other options below plus Upcoming Features for more formats we plan to support shortly.

Upload to Confluence

To substitute “Copy/Paste to Confluence” we implemented a direct integration with Confluence to upload into one of your available spaces.

Getting started

If you are using “Upload to Confluence” the first time and you have not used “Code/Commits“ functionality of our App (in other words you have not yet created an APIToken to connect to Atlassian Ecosystem) you will receive the following dialog while attempting to upload.

Click on the link to navigate to standard Atlassian APITokens generation page as shown below

Generate one and copy to clipboard

Now go back to Release Management App and specify your email connected with Atlassian account and past your token from the clipboard and click connect.

Configuring the destination

If you already connected to confluence you will see the following dialog to help us define the destination to upload your release notes

You would need to specify

• Confluence Space to shortlist the parent pages

• Parent page - any selected page within the Space defined

• Page title - you can define a custom name of use some of our release/package variables to include in the naming.

Click “Export“.

Navigating to Confluence

Once our App successfully uploaded your release notes to Confluence, the following confirmation will be shown

Click on the link specified to navigate to your release notes in confluence.

Upcoming features 

• Generate by schedule. User can define a schedule for release notes generation or connect it to some triggers. Such as moving version or release to a certain status etc.

• Send over email. Release notes will be generated by a trigger and send to relevant recipients over email.

• Add more formats of releases notes. PDF and DOC.

If you miss one of those features or would like to suggest your improvements here.