Troubleshooting and limitations of SmartLists

The panel I want isn't in the "Select panel" list

Three possibilities, in order of likelihood:

1. It's already on this work item. A panel can only be added once; once added, it drops out of the list.

2. The panel's Work Types exclude this work item type. Check Project settings → SmartLists for Jira → the panel → Work Types. Clearing the field entirely makes the panel available on every work type.

3. The panel belongs to a different project. Panels are configured per project and are not shared.

The template I want isn't in the "Select template" list

Its JQL condition does not match this work item. Open the template in project settings and use the search button to test the query - if this work item is not in the results, it will not be offered.

Remember the condition includes an automatic project = ... AND issuetype IN (...) prefix built from the panel's own settings. A template can be excluded by the panel's Work Types even when your own part of the query would match.

The Save button is greyed out

Something in the table is invalid. Two rules:

• A required column is blank in some row - the cell shows Required.

• A Number or Decimal column contains something that is not a valid number. This is enforced even when the column is not marked required, and it is by far the most common cause. A Number column also rejects decimals - use a Decimal column if you need them.

Scroll the whole table looking for a red message beneath a cell.

A cell shows "Calculation Error"

Hover it - the tooltip gives the reason. Usually Division by zero, meaning another column in that row is 0.

Errors are per-row. Other rows continue to calculate normally.

A calculation cell shows "N/A"

The row has no values yet in the columns the formula depends on. Fill them in, and the value appears.

"This column can only be set on a work item"

You are looking at a File column inside the template editor. File columns reference files attached to a real work item, so they cannot be pre-filled in a template. Leave it and set it on the work item.

A File column has no files to choose from

The files must be attached to the work item first, using Jira's normal attachment control. The column lists existing attachments; it does not upload.

The template won't save

The JQL test failed. Fix the query, or clear the JQL Condition field entirely, then save.

I changed a column, but existing SmartLists still show the old one

Expected. A panel's structure is copied onto the work item when the SmartList is added. Changes to the panel affect only SmartLists added afterwards.

To apply a new structure to an existing work item, delete the SmartList and add it again - which loses the rows - or export, edit, and re-import the JSON.

A SmartList I deleted came back

A known issue with auto-population - see Known issues below.

My automation rule or script finds nothing

Check the property key. It is forge-smartlists-issue-data. Rules written before the app was renamed will reference forge-jira-issue-matrix-data and silently return nothing. See Using SmartLists data elsewhere.

The app shows "Invalid License"

SmartLists for Jira is a paid app, and the licence is missing, expired, or could not be confirmed. The message appears in place of the whole app, on both the project settings page and the work item panel:

Check the app's subscription under Apps → Manage apps in Jira administration. If the subscription looks healthy, reload the page - the check runs once when the page loads, and a transient failure to reach Atlassian's licensing service produces the same message.

Your data is safe. Panels, templates and SmartList rows are all still stored; they are just unreachable through the UI until the licence is valid. Nothing is deleted, and everything returns to the way it was.

Values in my CSV export start with an apostrophe

This is deliberate. Any value beginning with =, +, - or @ is exported with a leading ' so that spreadsheet applications treat it as text rather than as a formula. The most common case is negative numbers, which export as '-50.

Most spreadsheets strip the apostrophe when opening the file. If you need the column to be numeric, convert it after opening.

A message says I do not have permission to edit a panel or template

Panels and templates belong to the project they were created in, and the app checks this on the server before every read or write. You will see one of these if you are acting on a panel that belongs to a different project:

• You do not have permission to edit this panel

• You do not have permission to delete this panel

• You do not have permission to view this panel's templates

• You do not have permission to save a template to this panel

• You do not have permission to edit this template

• You do not have permission to copy a template to this panel

• You do not have permission to delete this template

In normal use, you should never see these - the UI only offers panels from the project you are in. If one appears, the usual cause is a stale browser tab left open on another project's settings page. Reload the page.

My import was rejected

You are probably pasting a CSV export. Only JSON can be imported. Re-export as JSON and paste the whole file, including the outer [ and ].

Limitations

These are current behaviours of the app, not faults:

Known issues

Auto-populated SmartLists reappear after deletion. Auto-population is not yet limited to work-item creation, so a SmartList that a user deletes can reappear on a later visit. Until it is fixed, set auto-population to Do not auto-populate for panels where users routinely remove the SmartList.

Getting help

When reporting a problem, include:

• The work item key and the project.

• The panel and template names.

• Whether the problem is in project settings or on the work item.

• The exact message shown on screen.

• For calculation problems, the formula and the values in the row.

• For automation or script problems, the raw output of GET /rest/api/2/issue/{key}/properties/forge-smartlists-issue-data.