What is an update zone?

An update zone is an area on a board that changes selected Jira properties when an issue is placed within the zone. Use it, for example, when you do remote planning sessions, this way you no longer have to go back and forth between the board and Jira to sync all the issues with the software. With Whiteboards update zones, it’s just a matter of drag and drop. 

NOTE: This feature is only available on the Pro plan.

Adding an update zone

1. Open your board and go to Power tools.
   

2. Click on Update zone.
   
   

3. Draw a rectangle on the board to create your update zone.

If you haven’t already, the system will ask you to authorize the connection to Jira to sync fields between the board and your Jira tasks. Once it’s done, you’ll be able to configure the zone and apply custom settings.

Configuring an update zone

When you add the update zone to the board, a modal will show up. On it, choose the Jira site the changes will apply to and select the actions you’d like to trigger when an issue is dragged into the update zone.

The actions include:

• Assign — assign a person in charge of the Jira issue,
• Update field — update a chosen field to a selected value (updating sprints is available in Whiteboards for Jira only),
• Transition — change the status of the issue,
• Create issue — create a new issue in Jira (for instance, you drag a sticky note to an update zone and it will be converted to a new Jira issue according to the settings),
• Estimate (Whiteboards for Jira only) — assign estimation,
• Rank (Whiteboards for Jira only) — sort your issues in Jira backlog/sprint in the order they were placed on the update zone.

For every action, you will get additional options to set up, specific to that action type:

• Assign — select the Assignee (the user list is taken from users with appropriate permission),
  

• Update field — choose one value to update from a list of fields used in your Jira,
  

• Transition — select the issue status, keeping in mind the Jira workflow settings (ie. in progress, to do, resolved),
  

• Create issue — select the project and issue type that should be created (the create issue screen will show if some fields are required),
  

• Estimate — select the Jira board and the estimate that should be assigned (only for Whiteboards for Jira),
  

• Rank — choose the Jira board and the ranking direction (only for Whiteboards for Jira).
  

  
  

Using an update zone

Once the update zone is configured, all you have to do is simply drag and drop your Jira issue from the board to the update zone area. Place it anywhere within it to run the update action on selected issues. You can drag multiple Jira issues at once. 

TIP: Place multiple update zones on top of each other to run multiple actions when issues are dragged and dropped onto them. 

Once the update zone is added, you can always change its configuration. To do it, click on the update zone area and select the cog icon. 

If you want to manually trigger the fields update, click the update zone and use the second icon from the left.

If any errors occur in the meantime, view the error log by clicking the third icon from the left. 

Other editing options for update zones include: 

• Comment — add a note for your collaborators,

• Lock — keep the element locked in place so it can’t be moved until it’s unlocked (also works with a shortcut CTRL/CMD + L),

• Copy — copy this element to the clipboard (you can use the shortcut CTRL/CMD + C),

• Duplicate — create a duplicate on the board, next to the original element (achieve the same effect by pressing CTRL/CMD + D),

• Cut — remove the element from the board and copy it to the clipboard at the same time (CTRL/CMD + X will trigger the same behavior),

• Bring to front — move it to the front of other layers on the board (use CTRL/CMD + ] to do it from the keyboard),

• Send to back — send it to the bottom of the layers on the board (use the shortcut CTRL/CMD + [ to do the same),

• Remove — delete the element (you can also select the element and press DEL/backspace button on the keyboard),
  Advanced

• Set sticky — when scrolling, the element will stay within the viewport so it’s always accessible from wherever you are on the board,

• Disable shadow — remove the visual shadow underneath the element.