1. Overview: The Rules List


The Rules list welcomes you when you start the app from the user options pull down menu in the lower, left corner.

It shows an ordered list of all out of office rules you defined. They will disappear automatically as they move to the past.

You can execute five different functions here:

  • Add a new rule, by clicking on the link at the top left of the list. See: "Adding Rules / Modifying Rules" below.
  • Delete a rule, by clicking on the link at the right side of each line
  • Modify a rule, also at the right side of each line. See: "Adding Rules / Modifying Rules"
  • Switch on or off a open-ended rule with a switch at the right side of such rules
  • Assign your open issues to coverers or add coverers as watcher with a little icon to the right of the displayed coverers.




2. Adding rules / modifying rules: the Rule Dialog

When you click on the "Add Rule" link on the top right side of the Rules List or the modify icon to the right of each line, a dialog appears:


Here you can:

  • Choose the start and end date of your rule (or switch the end date off to get a open-ended rule)
  • Specify the applicable project if you like / or a JQL rule that defines the issues where this rule should apply
  • Choose one or more optional coverers
  • Write a message that is sent to the person, who assigns an issue to you in your absence.
  • If you choose a coverer you might leave the message empty. Then no message is sent to the issue as a comment.


3. Assigning open issues to coverers or add them as watchers

By clicking on the people icon in the coverers column you can open a dialog that shows all open issues applicable to the project or JQL filter you defined for a rule.

There are two actions

  • Assign to coverers
  • Add as watchers

you can choose. Then you choose which issues you want to reassign or add watchers to and then hit the button on the bottom.


By default it will show issues with the statuses: 'Open', 'Reopened', 'In Progress', 'Waiting For Support', 'Waiting For Customer'.

If you want different ones you can select them in the JQL filter of the rule. Just write "status in ('The status you want to have.'). The dialog will then take these. 



4. New JQL fields for your searches 

With version 1.1.0 you can use custom Out Of Office fields like.


   assignee.outofoffice.today = 1

which will return a list of all issues with assignees that are not in office today (provided every leave is described in a rule).
The same for reporters of an issue would be:


   reporter.outofoffice.today = 1

Of course you can combine it with other JQL fields:


   project = 'Product Support' AND assignee.outofoffice.today = 0

0 in this case means, not out of office. These are the other fields you can use:


   assignee.outofoffice.tomorrow = 0            // not out of office tomorrow
   assignee.outofoffice.from >= startofday(7d)  // start of the next absence if 7 days or more in the future
   assignee.outofoffice.from >= '2019-08-01'    // absent not before August 
   reporter.outofoffice.from <= endofweek()     // absent now or going this week
   reporter.outofoffice.until > endofweek(1)    // returns from the next absence not before the end of next week
   reporter.outofoffice.on.the ~ '2019-04-26'   // out of office at a specific date



5. New Issue View: Custom glance that shows an upcoming leave

In the new issue view of Jira Cloud you will find a note 4 days before the assignee will leave.

This is a new page item called custom glance.



You can click on it and will get detailed information.




6. Sending out of office messages to service desk customer

From Version 1.1.0 on out of office messages are not sent to customers per default. You can though select an option to do so.



Just select a service desk project and start typing a message and a checkbox will appear below the message field.

The checkbox will also appear when you use a JQL rule.


7. Reassigns on customer answers to absent employees

Currently, the Out Of Office Assistant doesn't support reassign on a customer inquiry (a Jira comment), but you can achieve this goal with the help of out custom JQL fields and Jira Automation.

In Jira hit double g and search for "Automation Rules". Then add a rule like the following:

Then every time a comment arrives in an issue and the assignee is out of office, it will reassign it to himself and so trigger his out of office rule.