Querying and tracking issues

First, a clue about querying ...

The IssueZilla query form will allow you to call up a subset of the issue list. The way querying works, if you have nothing checked in a box, then all values for that field are legal. For example if you checked nothing in any of the boxes, you would get the entire issue list.

You can save the URL of your results list to your bookmark file in order to preserve queries. You can also save your query configuration to reuse later.

Now, the details ...

Issue query fields
Sorting/customizing query results
Customizing/remembering queries
Tracking your issues or by assignee
Running other queries
Browser information

Issue query selection fields

- Type refers to the classification of issues as either tasks, defects, features, or enhancements.

- Component is the the part of the software in development associated with the issue if you are querying to find. If you don't choose a component or subcomponent, the query addresses all issues for the project.

- Sub Component is a subset of the component you selected in the previous field. If you don't choose a sub component, the query addresses all issues for the component.

- Status is set with NEW, ASSIGNED and REOPENED selected as the default. When searching for issues that are UNCONFIRMED, RESOLVED, VERIFIED, or CLOSED, remember to change this status field appropriately.

- Resolution is the qualification of issues with a status of RESOLVED, VERIFIED, OR CLOSED. All resolved issues must be assigned one of these values.

- Priority queries for issues by their rank of importance using the following scale: P1 is highest priority, given to issues that should be addressed as soon as possible; P5 is the lowest priority.

- Platform is the type of computer the issues is associated with. This field is most critical when searching for defects. When querying for other types of issues, it may not be necessary to make a selection in this field.

- OS is the type of operating system the issue is associated with. Again, when querying for other types of issues, it may not be necessary to make a selection in this field.

- Version The release of the software associated with this issue. Leaving this field unselected queries all versions of the selected project or component.

- Target Milestone queries for issues associated with different project milestones, if your project has these. Milestones typically are dates when certain features or overall versions are expected to be completed.

- Email lets you query for issues by the email address of assignee, reporter, QA contact, cc list, or added comments. A duplicate field lets you further refine queries based on this criteria. To search for issues associated with an email address:
  - Type a portion of an email address into the text field.
  - Select fields to query for association with that email address.

  The second field enables you to look for two different email addresses. If you specify both, then only issues matching both are returned in your query results. For example, this is useful to find issues "created by Ralph" and "assigned to Fred."

  You can also use the drop down menus to specify whether you want to match addresses by doing a substring match, regular expressions, or exact match of a fully specified email address.

  - Additional input fields let you further qualify queries by issue number(s), date changes, number of votes, and changes in field values.

  - Summary is the one-line abbreviated description of the issue used by default in reports and query results.

  - A description entry enables querying by text string from the longer, detailed issue description.

  - URL lets you query by the web page location associated with issues, when applicable.

  - Status Whiteboard is a field defined by the project owner (or users with administrative permissions in IssueZilla). Input values to query by this field thus depend upon how it is being used in a particular project.

    Those who prefer to devise their own query schemes beyond the fields provided can set up Boolean chart queries.

Sorting and customizing query results

Before submitting a query, you can select to sort by issue number, importance, or assignee. After you submitted a query during a IssueZilla login session, you have the option to "Reuse the same sort as last time."

Once you view the query results, clicking on any of the column headings will sort the displayed results within that column.

Using the links at the bottom of the query results page, you can also:

- Switch to "long format" view of results to display complete contents of issues.
- Load a new query form.
- Enter a new issue.
- Change which columns appear in query results.
- Change several issues at once. (This option displays a page that lets you select issues from your query results list and modify specific fields in all of these simultaneously.)
- Send email to owners of issues listed.
- Edit the configuration of the last query.

To add the target milestone for each issue to your query results -- and you should do so when a particular issue is slated for release --

1. Do a query (or click "view assigned issues").
2. Click the "change columns" link at the bottom.
3. Click the "target milestone" check box.
4. Submit.

The target milestone column will now included for all your subsequent queries because login sessions are cookie-based. You can unmark this checkbox or mark others at any time to change your customized query results.

Remembered queries

Once you've set up a fairly complex query to ferret out certain issues, you can tell IssueZilla to "remember" your custom queries as a time saver. Using the options just above the Submit query button, you can save your most recent query under a unique name and reuse it anytime you are logged in to IssueZilla. You can also change and reset the default query that the query page loads during your login sessions.

To include your custom, named queries in the footer of the query page, use the "Edit prefs" link in the IssueZilla tool bar, and select the "Page Footer" option. All of your named queries have the option to be included in the IssueZilla tool bar on every page or only on the query page.

Tracking issues by assignee

To view a list of issues specifically assigned to you, click the "My issues" link in the IssueZilla tool bar.

To view other project members' assigned issues, create a query using the "search the issue database" link and search by the "assigned to" field with the person's name entered. (The default setting for the "status" in the query screen includes NEW, ASSIGNED, and REOPENED.)

You can also generate reports by user and create a page of project members listed by name, each with a link to their specific list of issues.

Running queries not supported by the pretty boxes

There is a hacky way to do some searches that aren't supported by the query form. The issue list script will build queries based on the URL, so you can add other criteria.

For example, if you wanted to see all issues reported against the X platform and assigned to jwz, you could ask for all issues assign to jwz, then edit the URL in the "Location" box, adding the clause "&rep_platform=X-Windows" to the URL.

Here is a list of some of the field names you could use for additional unsupported searches ...

version
rep_platform
op_sys
reporter area
issue_file_loc
short_desc

Browser notes

IssueZilla uses several non-standard Netscape extensions, but this does not seem to case any problem with other browsers. The Lynx browser does work, but Lynx seems to cache results of a .cgi. You'll sometimes need to press CONTROL-R to reload the screen to see an update.