23. 12. 2025 Alessandra Castiglioni Atlassian

Say Goodbye to Blank Jira Field: Pre-fill Your Way to Efficiency!

Are you and your team tired of staring at empty fields every time you create a new Jira work item? Do you wish for a more structured and faster way to collect essential information right from the start? What if you could guide users with predefined text, including tables, ensuring that crucial details are always included?

The great news is that you can significantly improve your work item creation process in Jira by creating custom text fields that can be pre-filled when creating work items. This allows you to provide default text, instructions, or formatted tables, streamlining the process and improving consistency.

Here’s a detailed guide on how to achieve this:

Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Pre-filled Text Field

We will create a new custom text field, add pre-filled details, and review any settings that need to be configured to ensure an optimal Jira environment that supports multiple processes without being impacted.

Navigate to Jira Administration: Click the cog icon in the top right corner and select “Work items”.
Go to Custom Fields: In the left-hand sidebar, under “Fields,” click “Custom fields.”
Create a New Custom Field: Click the “Create custom field” button.
Choose Your Field Type: Select “Paragraph (supports rich text)”. This allows for more extensive pre-filled content, including tables.
Name Your Custom Field: Give it a clear and descriptive name.
Add a Description (Optional but Helpful): Explain the purpose of this field to administrators.
Set the Default Value: This is where you’ll enter the pre-filled text, instructions, or even your table. Example of Creating a Table as a Default Value: You can use basic Markdown to create a table within the “Default Value” of your Text Field.

Markdown Example:|| Activity || Completed (Yes/No) || Notes ||
| Analysis | | |
| Development | | |
| Testing | | |
| Documentation | | |
| Deployment | | |
Simply paste this Markdown code into the “Default Value” field and customize it to fit your needs.
Associate with Screens: Add your newly created custom field to the Create work item screen(s) for the relevant projects.
- Go to “Work Items” > “Screens”.
- Find the screen(s) used for creating work items in your target projects.
- Drag and drop your custom field onto the screen layout.

How It Works:

When a user creates a new work item in the configured project(s), they will see your custom field on the “Create work item” screen, pre-filled with the text and/or table you defined.

Pros of Using a Pre-filled Text Custom Field for Descriptions:

Consistent Information: Ensures a baseline of information, including structured tables, is always present in new work items.
Time Savings: Users don’t have to repeatedly type standard information or format tables.
Clear Guidance: Provides users with templates and instructions directly within the ticket creation screen.
Improved Data Structure: Using tables ensures data is organized and easier to understand from the outset.
Customizable Templates: You can create different default content for various projects or work item types.

Cons of Using a Pre-filled Text Custom Field for Descriptions:

Less Dynamic Pre-filling: Unlike Select Lists with associated templates, the pre-filled text is static for the text field. More complex, dynamic pre-filling based on user selections isn’t directly supported this way.
Potential for Large Default Values: Very long default text or complex tables might make the “Create work item” screen appear cluttered.
Manual Updates: If the default content needs to change, you’ll need to manually update the custom field’s default value.

What if you wanted to use an existing field or the same custom field across multiple projects?

When working with custom fields in Jira Cloud, one of the most important best practices is properly using field contexts. Contexts allow you to define different configurations for the same custom field based on project and work item type, including default values. This means you can tailor a field to meet the specific needs of a team without affecting other projects that already rely on it.

Using contexts is crucial for maintaining stability. If a custom field has been in use for some time, changing its default value globally could unintentionally disrupt workflows, reports, or automations in existing projects. By creating separate contexts, any new defaults or settings only apply where intended, leaving other projects untouched. In this way, you can enhance and standardize processes across multiple projects without breaking functionality for existing users.

💡 Tip for Jira Cloud: Always check the number of contexts a field can support, as some fields may have limits depending on your plan. Planning contexts carefully ensures flexibility while keeping all teams’ work stable and predictable.

Conclusion:

Using a custom text field with a pre-filled default value, including formatted tables, provides a practical and straightforward way to pre-fill work item descriptions in Jira. This method ensures consistency, saves time, and guides users effectively when creating work items. While it may not offer the same dynamic capabilities as more advanced solutions, it allows you to improve the work item creation process across multiple projects without disrupting existing users. By carefully leveraging field contexts, you can apply different default values for specific projects or work item types, keeping your Jira environment organized, efficient, and user-friendly.