Clone or link issues

Many issues in BTS are related to each other. To provide a better overview of what's happening to related issues, it's useful to clone issues or link them together. Each project may have unique cases for cloning or linking issues. Be sure to check with your project manager for proper implementation.

Clone an issue

Cloning creates a duplicate of an issue within the same project. The cloned issue contains the same information stored in the original issue: summary, affects versions, components, etc.

A cloned issue is a separate entity from the original issue. Changes to the original issue after the clone is made will not affect the cloned issue. Details such as time tracking and comments are not cloned, but almost everything else will be duplicated.

To clone an issue within the same project:

  1. View the issue you wish to clone.
  2. Click More Actions from the actions menu and select Clone.
  3. The summary displays with a prefix "clone". You can edit the summary, if desired.
  4. You can duplicate any links or attachments associated with the original issues. To do so, tick the Clone Links or Clone Attachments checkboxes, respectively.
  5. Click Create.

When you clone an issue, BTS automatically creates a link between the original issue and the clone. This link will appear under the is a clone of or is cloned by sections of the Issue Links.

Resolve duplicate issues

Duplicate issues are those that are raised about an already existing issue that is exactly the same in every detail. To avoid double-handling, we resolve these issues as "duplicates", referencing the original issue, and continue working on the original issue.

To resolve an issue as a duplicate:

  1. On the actions toolbar, click Resolve Issue.
  2. Complete the following fields:
    • Resolution — Select Duplicate.
    • Linked Issues — Select is a duplicate of. Either type in the issue key or select the issue clicking the + button to the right.
    • Comment — Add a comment if you want to. Remember that the issue will record that it is a duplicate and point to the original issue, so you do not need to include this here.
    • Viewable by — Leave as All users.
  3. Click Resolve Issue. The issue's status is resolved and the original issue displays in the Issue Links section.

Linking issues allows you to create an association between them. The links appear on both ends of the relationship. If you create a link to one issue, that issue's details will show the link back to where you created it.

A linked issue may:

  • be a clone or copied version of another issue.
  • have a resolution that depends on another issue's resolution.
  • block another issue from being resolved.
  • be a duplicate of another issue. For resolving an actual duplicated issue, please see resolve duplicate issues.

If links between issues exist, they appear under the Issue Links header in the issue's details.

Issue Links section
How linked issue's appear in an issue's details.

Linked issues also display their current status. The strike-through text indicates issues that have been resolved.

Create a link

To create a link between issues:

  1. View the issue from which you want to create a link.
  2. Click More Actions from the actions toolbar and select Link.
  3. You can link to single or multiple issues. There are two ways to specify the issue: type the full issue key, such as ABC-123 or a comma-separated list of issue keys; or, search for an issue by clicking the Search for an Issue link.
  4. Click the Link button.

Delete a link

To delete a link:

  1. Under the Issue Links header, locate the link you wish to delete.
  2. Hover your mouse over the link entry. A trash can icon appears to the far right.
  3. Click the trashcan icon. A confirmation window appears.
  4. Click Delete.