how do I edit a workflow that is in use by many open issues?

[Jose Mojica]

I would like to add transitions and steps to an existing workflow that is in use by many ope issues. I know that i have to make the workflow inactive in order to make these changes. what happens to my issues if I remove the workflow? do they default to the general Jira workflow? then once my additions are made and I apply my custom workflow does everything go back to normal? or will i lose data switching between workflows that do not have similar fields?

Should i clone the current workflow and edit its copy? is there a better way to do this?

Thanks in advance,

-Jose

[Pedro Cora · Accepted solution]

Hi Jose,

I'd recommend that you copy the workflow, make the changes in the copy that will be inactive and then, update the workflow scheme associated with your project to get the workflow that you've copied and that contains the changes that you need.

:)

[Jose Mojica]

Thank you all for the instructions. I must be on an old version of JIRA because I am not able to add a transition to a workflow that is in use. I did however made a copy of the existing and modified that and later transfered. it worked like a charm.

Thanks again!

[Kavian Moradhassel]

Jose, unless you're on a very old version of JIRA, you can simply "Edit" the workflow (which creates a draft workflow), and then when you've finished all of your edits, "Publish" the draft. JIRA will replace the previous version of the workflow with the updated version.

Note that this assumes you are only adding transitions or steps. If you are removing transitions or steps, you should consider how this will impact existing issues. For example, if you are removing a step, make sure to first bulk-transition all of the issues currently in that step (i.e. with the Status value mapped to the step).