path: root/docs/en/rst/using.rst

.. _using:

==============
Using Bugzilla
==============

.. _using-intro:

Introduction
############

This section contains information for end-users of Bugzilla.  There
is a machine with many Bugzilla test installations, called
`Landfill <http://landfill.bugzilla.org/>`_, which you are
welcome to play with (if it's up). However, not all of the Bugzilla
installations there will necessarily have all Bugzilla features enabled,
and different installations run different versions, so some things may not
quite work as this document describes.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) are available and answered on
`wiki.mozilla.org <http://wiki.mozilla.org/Bugzilla:FAQ>`_.
They may cover some questions you have which are left unanswered.

.. _myaccount:

Create a Bugzilla Account
#########################

If you want to use Bugzilla, first you need to create an account.
Consult with the administrator responsible for your installation of
Bugzilla for the URL you should use to access it. If you're
test-driving Bugzilla, use an installation on
`Landfill <http://landfill.bugzilla.org/>`_.

#. On the home page :file:`index.cgi`, click the
   ``Open a new Bugzilla account`` link, or the
   ``New Account`` link available in the footer of pages.
   Now enter your email address, then click the ``Send``
   button.

   .. note:: If none of these links is available, this means that the
      administrator of the installation has disabled self-registration.
      This means that only an administrator can create accounts
      for other users. One reason could be that this installation is
      private.

   .. note:: Also, if only some users are allowed to create an account on
      the installation, you may see these links but your registration
      may fail if your email address doesn't match the ones accepted
      by the installation. This is another way to restrict who can
      access and edit bugs in this installation.

#. Within moments, and if your registration is accepted, you should
   receive an email to the address you provided, which contains your
   login name (generally the same as the email address), and two URLs
   with a token (a random string generated by the installation) to
   confirm, respectively cancel, your registration. This is a way to
   prevent users from abusing the generation of user accounts, for
   instance by entering inexistent email addresses, or email addresses
   which do not belong to them.

#. By default, you have 3 days to confirm your registration. Past this
   timeframe, the token is invalidated and the registration is
   automatically canceled. You can also cancel this registration sooner
   by using the appropriate URL in the email you got.

#. If you confirm your registration, Bugzilla will ask you your real name
   (optional, but recommended) and your password, which must be between
   3 and 16 characters long.

#. Now all you need to do is to click the ``Log In``
   link in the footer at the bottom of the page in your browser,
   enter your email address and password you just chose into the
   login form, and click the ``Log in`` button.

You are now logged in. Bugzilla uses cookies to remember you are
logged in so, unless you have cookies disabled or your IP address changes,
you should not have to log in again during your session.

.. _bug_page:

Anatomy of a Bug
################

The core of Bugzilla is the screen which displays a particular
bug. It's a good place to explain some Bugzilla concepts.
`Bug 1 on Landfill <http://landfill.bugzilla.org/bugzilla-tip/show_bug.cgi?id=1>`_
is a good example. Note that the labels for most fields are hyperlinks;
clicking them will take you to context-sensitive help on that
particular field. Fields marked * may not be present on every
installation of Bugzilla.

#. *Product and Component*:
   Bugs are divided up by Product and Component, with a Product
   having one or more Components in it. For example,
   bugzilla.mozilla.org's "Bugzilla" Product is composed of several
   Components:

   Administration:
       Administration of a Bugzilla installation.
   Bugzilla-General:
       Anything that doesn't fit in the other components, or spans
       multiple components.
   Creating/Changing Bugs:
       Creating, changing, and viewing bugs.
   Documentation:
       The Bugzilla documentation, including The Bugzilla Guide.
   Email:
       Anything to do with email sent by Bugzilla.
   Installation:
       The installation process of Bugzilla.
   Query/Buglist:
       Anything to do with searching for bugs and viewing the
       buglists.
   Reporting/Charting:
       Getting reports from Bugzilla.
   User Accounts:
       Anything about managing a user account from the user's perspective.
       Saved queries, creating accounts, changing passwords, logging in,
       etc.
   User Interface:
       General issues having to do with the user interface cosmetics (not
       functionality) including cosmetic issues, HTML templates,
       etc.

#. *Status and Resolution:*
   These define exactly what state the bug is in - from not even
   being confirmed as a bug, through to being fixed and the fix
   confirmed by Quality Assurance. The different possible values for
   Status and Resolution on your installation should be documented in the
   context-sensitive help for those items.

#. *Assigned To:*
   The person responsible for fixing the bug.

#. *\*QA Contact:*
   The person responsible for quality assurance on this bug.

#. *\*URL:*
   A URL associated with the bug, if any.

#. *Summary:*
   A one-sentence summary of the problem.

#. *\*Status Whiteboard:*
   (a.k.a. Whiteboard) A free-form text area for adding short notes
   and tags to a bug.

#. *\*Keywords:*
   The administrator can define keywords which you can use to tag and
   categorise bugs - e.g. The Mozilla Project has keywords like crash
   and regression.

#. *Platform and OS:*
   These indicate the computing environment where the bug was
   found.

#. *Version:*
   The "Version" field is usually used for versions of a product which
   have been released, and is set to indicate which versions of a
   Component have the particular problem the bug report is
   about.

#. *Priority:*
   The bug assignee uses this field to prioritize his or her bugs.
   It's a good idea not to change this on other people's bugs.

#. *Severity:*
   This indicates how severe the problem is - from blocker
   ("application unusable") to trivial ("minor cosmetic issue"). You
   can also use this field to indicate whether a bug is an enhancement
   request.

#. *\*Target:*
   (a.k.a. Target Milestone) A future version by which the bug is to
   be fixed. e.g. The Bugzilla Project's milestones for future
   Bugzilla versions are 2.18, 2.20, 3.0, etc. Milestones are not
   restricted to numbers, thought - you can use any text strings, such
   as dates.

#. *Reporter:*
   The person who filed the bug.

#. *CC list:*
   A list of people who get mail when the bug changes.

#. *\*Time Tracking:*
   This form can be used for time tracking.
   To use this feature, you have to be blessed group membership
   specified by the ``timetrackinggroup`` parameter.

   Orig. Est.:
       This field shows the original estimated time.
   Current Est.:
       This field shows the current estimated time.
       This number is calculated from ``Hours Worked``
       and ``Hours Left``.
   Hours Worked:
       This field shows the number of hours worked.
   Hours Left:
       This field shows the ``Current Est.`` -
       ``Hours Worked``.
       This value + ``Hours Worked`` will become the
       new Current Est.
   %Complete:
       This field shows what percentage of the task is complete.
   Gain:
       This field shows the number of hours that the bug is ahead of the
       ``Orig. Est.``.
   Deadline:
       This field shows the deadline for this bug.

#. *Attachments:*
   You can attach files (e.g. testcases or patches) to bugs. If there
   are any attachments, they are listed in this section.

#. *\*Dependencies:*
   If this bug cannot be fixed unless other bugs are fixed (depends
   on), or this bug stops other bugs being fixed (blocks), their
   numbers are recorded here.

#. *\*Votes:*
   Whether this bug has any votes.

#. *Additional Comments:*
   You can add your two cents to the bug discussion here, if you have
   something worthwhile to say.

.. _lifecycle:

Life Cycle of a Bug
###################

The life cycle of a bug, also known as workflow, is customizable to match
the needs of your organization, see :ref:`bug_status_workflow`.
:ref:`lifecycle-image` contains a graphical representation of
the default workflow using the default bug statuses. If you wish to
customize this image for your site, the
`diagram file <../images/bzLifecycle.xml>`_
is available in `Dia's <http://www.gnome.org/projects/dia>`_
native XML format.

.. _lifecycle-image:

Lifecycle of a Bugzilla Bug
===========================

.. image:: ../images/bzLifecycle.png

.. _query:

Searching for Bugs
##################

The Bugzilla Search page is the interface where you can find
any bug report, comment, or patch currently in the Bugzilla system.
`You can play with it on
Landfill <http://landfill.bugzilla.org/bugzilla-tip/query.cgi?format=advanced>`_.

The Search page has controls for selecting different possible
values for all of the fields in a bug, as described above. For some
fields, multiple values can be selected. In those cases, Bugzilla
returns bugs where the content of the field matches any one of the selected
values. If none is selected, then the field can take any value.

After a search is run, you can save it as a Saved Search, which
will appear in the page footer. If you are in the group defined
by the "querysharegroup" parameter, you may share your queries
with other users, see :ref:`savedsearches` for more details.

.. _boolean:

Boolean Charts
==============

Highly advanced querying is done using Boolean Charts.

The boolean charts further restrict the set of results
returned by a query. It is possible to search for bugs
based on elaborate combinations of criteria.

The simplest boolean searches have only one term. These searches
permit the selected left *field*
to be compared using a
selectable *operator* to a
specified *value.*
Using the "And," "Or," and "Add Another Boolean Chart" buttons,
additional terms can be included in the query, further
altering the list of bugs returned by the query.

There are three fields in each row of a boolean search.

- *Field:*
  the items being searched

- *Operator:*
  the comparison operator

- *Value:*
  the value to which the field is being compared

.. _pronouns:

Pronoun Substitution
--------------------

Sometimes, a query needs to compare a user-related field
(such as ReportedBy) with a role-specific user (such as the
user running the query or the user to whom each bug is assigned).
When the operator is either "equals" or "notequals", the value
can be "%reporter%", "%assignee%", "%qacontact%", or "%user%".
The user pronoun
refers to the user who is executing the query or, in the case
of whining reports, the user who will be the recipient
of the report. The reporter, assignee, and qacontact
pronouns refer to the corresponding fields in the bug.

Boolean charts also let you type a group name in any user-related
field if the operator is either "equals", "notequals" or "anyexact".
This will let you query for any member belonging (or not) to the
specified group. The group name must be entered following the
"%group.foo%" syntax, where "foo" is the group name.
So if you are looking for bugs reported by any user being in the
"editbugs" group, then you can type "%group.editbugs%".

.. _negation:

Negation
--------

At first glance, negation seems redundant. Rather than
searching for

    NOT("summary" "contains the string" "foo"),

one could search for

    ("summary" "does not contain the string" "foo").

However, the search

    ("CC" "does not contain the string" "@mozilla.org")

would find every bug where anyone on the CC list did not contain
"@mozilla.org" while

    NOT("CC" "contains the string" "@mozilla.org")

would find every bug where there was nobody on the CC list who
did contain the string. Similarly, the use of negation also permits
complex expressions to be built using terms OR'd together and then
negated. Negation permits queries such as

    NOT(("product" "equals" "update") OR
    ("component" "equals" "Documentation"))

to find bugs that are neither
in the update product or in the documentation component or

    NOT(("commenter" "equals" "%assignee%") OR
    ("component" "equals" "Documentation"))

to find non-documentation
bugs on which the assignee has never commented.

.. _multiplecharts:

Multiple Charts
---------------

The terms within a single row of a boolean chart are all
constraints on a single piece of data. If you are looking for
a bug that has two different people cc'd on it, then you need
to use two boolean charts. A search for

    ("cc" "contains the string" "foo@") AND
    ("cc" "contains the string" "@mozilla.org")

would return only bugs with "foo@mozilla.org" on the cc list.
If you wanted bugs where there is someone on the cc list
containing "foo@" and someone else containing "@mozilla.org",
then you would need two boolean charts.

    First chart: ("cc" "contains the string" "foo@")
    Second chart: ("cc" "contains the string" "@mozilla.org")

The bugs listed will be only the bugs where ALL the charts are true.

.. _quicksearch:

Quicksearch
===========

Quicksearch is a single-text-box query tool which uses
metacharacters to indicate what is to be searched. For example, typing
"``foo|bar``"
into Quicksearch would search for "foo" or "bar" in the
summary and status whiteboard of a bug; adding
"``:BazProduct``" would
search only in that product.
You can use it to find a bug by its number or its alias, too.

You'll find the Quicksearch box in Bugzilla's footer area.
On Bugzilla's front page, there is an additional
`quicksearcgh help <../../../page.cgi?id=quicksearch.html>`_
link which details how to use it.

.. _casesensitivity:

Case Sensitivity in Searches
============================

Bugzilla queries are case-insensitive and accent-insensitive, when
used with either MySQL or Oracle databases. When using Bugzilla with
PostgreSQL, however, some queries are case-sensitive. This is due to
the way PostgreSQL handles case and accent sensitivity.

.. _list:

Bug Lists
=========

If you run a search, a list of matching bugs will be returned.

The format of the list is configurable. For example, it can be
sorted by clicking the column headings. Other useful features can be
accessed using the links at the bottom of the list:

Long Format:
    this gives you a large page with a non-editable summary of the fields
    of each bug.

XML:
    get the buglist in the XML format.

CSV:
    get the buglist as comma-separated values, for import into e.g.
    a spreadsheet.

Feed:
    get the buglist as an Atom feed.  Copy this link into your
    favorite feed reader.  If you are using Firefox, you can also
    save the list as a live bookmark by clicking the live bookmark
    icon in the status bar.  To limit the number of bugs in the feed,
    add a limit=n parameter to the URL.

iCalendar:
    Get the buglist as an iCalendar file. Each bug is represented as a
    to-do item in the imported calendar.

Change Columns:
    change the bug attributes which appear in the list.

Change several bugs at once:
    If your account is sufficiently empowered, and more than one bug
    appear in the bug list, this link is displayed which lets you make
    the same change to all the bugs in the list - for example, changing
    their assignee.

Send mail to bug assignees:
    If more than one bug appear in the bug list and there are at least
    two distinct bug assignees, this links is displayed which lets you
    easily send a mail to the assignees of all bugs on the list.

Edit Search:
    If you didn't get exactly the results you were looking for, you can
    return to the Query page through this link and make small revisions
    to the query you just made so you get more accurate results.

Remember Search As:
    You can give a search a name and remember it; a link will appear
    in your page footer giving you quick access to run it again later.

.. _individual-buglists:

Adding/removing tags to/from bugs
=================================

You can add and remove tags from individual bugs, which let you find and
manage bugs more easily. Tags are per-user and so are only visible and editable
by the user who created them. You can then run queries using tags as a criteria,
either by using the Advanced Search form, or simply by typing "tag:my_tag_name"
in the QuickSearch box at the top (or bottom) of the page. Tags can also be
displayed in buglists.

This feature is useful when you want to keep track of several bugs, but
for different reasons. Instead of adding yourself to the CC list of all
these bugs and mixing all these reasons, you can now store these bugs in
separate lists, e.g. ``Keep in mind``, ``Interesting bugs``,
or ``Triage``. One big advantage of this way to manage bugs
is that you can easily add or remove tags from bugs one by one.

.. _bugreports:

Filing Bugs
###########

.. _fillingbugs:

Reporting a New Bug
===================

Years of bug writing experience has been distilled for your
reading pleasure into the
`Bug Writing Guidelines <http://landfill.bugzilla.org/bugzilla-tip/page.cgi?id=bug-writing.html>`_.
While some of the advice is Mozilla-specific, the basic principles of
reporting Reproducible, Specific bugs, isolating the Product you are
using, the Version of the Product, the Component which failed, the
Hardware Platform, and Operating System you were using at the time of
the failure go a long way toward ensuring accurate, responsible fixes
for the bug that bit you.

The procedure for filing a bug is as follows:

#. Click the ``New`` link available in the footer
   of pages, or the ``Enter a new bug report`` link
   displayed on the home page of the Bugzilla installation.

   .. note:: If you want to file a test bug to see how Bugzilla works,
      you can do it on one of our test installations on
      `Landfill <http://landfill.bugzilla.org/>`_.

#. You first have to select the product in which you found a bug.

#. You now see a form where you can specify the component (part of
   the product which is affected by the bug you discovered; if you have
   no idea, just select ``General`` if such a component exists),
   the version of the program you were using, the Operating System and
   platform your program is running on and the severity of the bug (if the
   bug you found crashes the program, it's probably a major or a critical
   bug; if it's a typo somewhere, that's something pretty minor; if it's
   something you would like to see implemented, then that's an enhancement).

#. You now have to give a short but descriptive summary of the bug you found.
   ``My program is crashing all the time`` is a very poor summary
   and doesn't help developers at all. Try something more meaningful or
   your bug will probably be ignored due to a lack of precision.
   The next step is to give a very detailed list of steps to reproduce
   the problem you encountered. Try to limit these steps to a minimum set
   required to reproduce the problem. This will make the life of
   developers easier, and the probability that they consider your bug in
   a reasonable timeframe will be much higher.

   .. note:: Try to make sure that everything in the summary is also in the first
      comment. Summaries are often updated and this will ensure your original
      information is easily accessible.

#. As you file the bug, you can also attach a document (testcase, patch,
   or screenshot of the problem).

#. Depending on the Bugzilla installation you are using and the product in
   which you are filing the bug, you can also request developers to consider
   your bug in different ways (such as requesting review for the patch you
   just attached, requesting your bug to block the next release of the
   product, and many other product specific requests).

#. Now is a good time to read your bug report again. Remove all misspellings,
   otherwise your bug may not be found by developers running queries for some
   specific words, and so your bug would not get any attention.
   Also make sure you didn't forget any important information developers
   should know in order to reproduce the problem, and make sure your
   description of the problem is explicit and clear enough.
   When you think your bug report is ready to go, the last step is to
   click the ``Commit`` button to add your report into the database.

You do not need to put "any" or similar strings in the URL field.
If there is no specific URL associated with the bug, leave this
field blank.

If you feel a bug you filed was incorrectly marked as a
DUPLICATE of another, please question it in your bug, not
the bug it was duped to. Feel free to CC the person who duped it
if they are not already CCed.

.. _cloningbugs:

Clone an Existing Bug
=====================

Starting with version 2.20, Bugzilla has a feature that allows you
to clone an existing bug. The newly created bug will inherit
most settings from the old bug. This allows you to track more
easily similar concerns in a new bug. To use this, go to the bug
that you want to clone, then click the ``Clone This Bug``
link on the bug page. This will take you to the ``Enter Bug``
page that is filled with the values that the old bug has.
You can change those values and/or texts if needed.

.. _attachments:

Attachments
###########

You should use attachments, rather than comments, for large chunks of ASCII
data, such as trace, debugging output files, or log files. That way, it
doesn't bloat the bug for everyone who wants to read it, and cause people to
receive fat, useless mails.

You should make sure to trim screenshots. There's no need to show the
whole screen if you are pointing out a single-pixel problem.

Bugzilla stores and uses a Content-Type for each attachment
(e.g. text/html). To download an attachment as a different
Content-Type (e.g. application/xhtml+xml), you can override this
using a 'content_type' parameter on the URL, e.g.
:file:`&content_type=text/plain`.

Also, you can enter the URL pointing to the attachment instead of
uploading the attachment itself. For example, this is useful if you want to
point to an external application, a website or a very large file. Note that
there is no guarantee that the source file will always be available, nor
that its content will remain unchanged.

Another way to attach data is to paste text directly in the text field,
and Bugzilla will convert it into an attachment. This is pretty useful
when you do copy and paste, and you don't want to put the text in a temporary
file first.

.. _patchviewer:

Patch Viewer
============

Viewing and reviewing patches in Bugzilla is often difficult due to improper
format and the inherent readability issues that raw patches present.  Patch
Viewer is an enhancement to Bugzilla designed to fix that by offering linking
to sections.

Patch viewer allows you to:

+ View patches in color, with side-by-side view rather than trying
  to interpret the contents of the patch.

+ See the difference between two patches.

+ Collapse and expand sections of a patch for easy
  reading.

+ Link to a particular section of a patch for discussion or
  review

+ Create a rawtext unified format diff out of any patch, no
  matter what format it came from

.. _patchviewer_view:

Viewing Patches in Patch Viewer
-------------------------------

The main way to view a patch in patch viewer is to click on the
"Diff" link next to a patch in the Attachments list on a bug. You may
also do this within the edit window by clicking the "View Attachment As
Diff" button in the Edit Attachment screen.

.. _patchviewer_diff:

Seeing the Difference Between Two Patches
-----------------------------------------

To see the difference between two patches, you must first view the
newer patch in Patch Viewer.  Then select the older patch from the
dropdown at the top of the page ("Differences between \[dropdown] and
this patch") and click the "Diff" button. This will show you what
is new or changed in the newer patch.

.. _patchviewer_collapse:

Collapsing and Expanding Sections of a Patch
--------------------------------------------

To view only a certain set of files in a patch (for example, if a
patch is absolutely huge and you want to only review part of it at a
time), you can click the "(+)" and "(-)" links next to each file (to
expand it or collapse it). If you want to collapse all files or expand
all files, you can click the "Collapse All" and "Expand All" links at the
top of the page.

.. _patchviewer_link:

Linking to a Section of a Patch
-------------------------------

To link to a section of a patch (for example, if you want to be
able to give someone a URL to show them which part you are talking
about) you simply click the "Link Here" link on the section header. The
resulting URL can be copied and used in discussion.

.. _patchviewer_unified_diff:

Creating a Unified Diff
-----------------------

If the patch is not in a format that you like, you can turn it
into a unified diff format by clicking the "Raw Unified" link at the top
of the page.

.. _hintsandtips:

Hints and Tips
##############

This section distills some Bugzilla tips and best practices
that have been developed.

Autolinkification
=================

Bugzilla comments are plain text - so typing <U> will
produce less-than, U, greater-than rather than underlined text.
However, Bugzilla will automatically make hyperlinks out of certain
sorts of text in comments. For example, the text
"http://www.bugzilla.org" will be turned into a link:
`<http://www.bugzilla.org>`_.
Other strings which get linkified in the obvious manner are:

+ bug 12345

+ bugs 123, 456, 789

+ comment 7

+ comments 1, 2, 3, 4

+ bug 23456, comment 53

+ attachment 4321

+ mailto:george@example.com

+ george@example.com

+ ftp://ftp.mozilla.org

+ Most other sorts of URL

A corollary here is that if you type a bug number in a comment,
you should put the word "bug" before it, so it gets autolinkified
for the convenience of others.

.. _commenting:

Comments
========

If you are changing the fields on a bug, only comment if
either you have something pertinent to say, or Bugzilla requires it.
Otherwise, you may spam people unnecessarily with bug mail.
To take an example: a user can set up their account to filter out messages
where someone just adds themselves to the CC field of a bug
(which happens a lot.) If you come along, add yourself to the CC field,
and add a comment saying "Adding self to CC", then that person
gets a pointless piece of mail they would otherwise have avoided.

Don't use sigs in comments. Signing your name ("Bill") is acceptable,
if you do it out of habit, but full mail/news-style
four line ASCII art creations are not.

.. _markdown:

Markdown
--------

Markdown lets you write your comments in a structured plain-text format and
have your comments generated as HTML. For example, you may use Markdown for
making a part of your comment look italic or bold in the generated HTML. Bugzilla
supports most of the structures defined by `standard Markdown <http://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/basics>`_.
but does NOT support inline images and inline HTML. For a complete reference on
supported Markdown structures, please see the `syntax help <../../../page.cgi?id=markdown.html>`_
link next to the markdown checkbox for new comments.

To use the Markdown feature, make sure that ``Enable Markdown support for comments`` is set to ``on``
in your :ref:`userpreferences` and that you also check the ``Use Markdown for this comment`` option below
the comment box when you want to submit a new comment.

.. _comment-wrapping:

Server-Side Comment Wrapping
============================

Bugzilla stores comments unwrapped and wraps them at display time. This
ensures proper wrapping in all browsers. Lines beginning with the ">"
character are assumed to be quotes, and are not wrapped.

.. _dependencytree:

Dependency Tree
===============

On the ``Dependency tree`` page linked from each bug
page, you can see the dependency relationship from the bug as a
tree structure.

You can change how much depth to show, and you can hide resolved bugs
from this page. You can also collaps/expand dependencies for
each bug on the tree view, using the \[-]/\[+] buttons that appear
before its summary. This option is not available for terminal
bugs in the tree (that don't have further dependencies).

.. _timetracking:

Time Tracking Information
#########################

Users who belong to the group specified by the ``timetrackinggroup``
parameter have access to time-related fields. Developers can see
deadlines and estimated times to fix bugs, and can provide time spent
on these bugs. Users who do not belong to this group can only see the deadline,
but not edit it. Other time-related fields remain invisible to them.

At any time, a summary of the time spent by developers on bugs is
accessible either from bug lists when clicking the ``Time Summary``
button or from individual bugs when clicking the ``Summarize time``
link in the time tracking table. The :file:`summarize_time.cgi`
page lets you view this information either per developer or per bug,
and can be split on a month basis to have greater details on how time
is spent by developers.

As soon as a bug is marked as RESOLVED, the remaining time expected
to fix the bug is set to zero. This lets QA people set it again for
their own usage, and it will be set to zero again when the bug will
be marked as CLOSED.

.. _userpreferences:

User Preferences
################

Once logged in, you can customize various aspects of
Bugzilla via the "Preferences" link in the page footer.
The preferences are split into five tabs:

.. _generalpreferences:

General Preferences
===================

This tab allows you to change several default settings of Bugzilla.

- Bugzilla's general appearance (skin) - select which skin to use.
  Bugzilla supports adding custom skins.

- Quote the associated comment when you click on its reply link - sets
  the behavior of the comment "Reply" link. Options include quoting the
  full comment, just reference the comment number, or turn the link off.

- Language used in email - select which language email will be sent in,
  from the list of available languages.

- After changing a bug - This controls what page is displayed after
  changes to a bug are submitted. The options include to show the bug
  just modified, to show the next bug in your list, or to do nothing.

- Zoom textareas large when in use (requires JavaScript) - enable or
  disable the automatic expanding of text areas when  text is being
  entered into them.

- Field separator character for CSV files -
  Select between a comma and semi-colon for exported CSV bug lists.

- Automatically add me to the CC list of bugs I change - set default
  behavior of CC list. Options include "Always", "Never", and "Only
  if I have no role on them".

- When viewing a bug, show comments in this order -
  controls the order of comments. Options include "Oldest
  to Newest", "Newest to Oldest" and "Newest to Oldest, but keep the
  bug description at the top".

- Show a quip at the top of each bug list - controls
  whether a quip will be shown on the Bug list page.

.. _emailpreferences:

Email Preferences
=================

This tab allows you to enable or disable email notification on
specific events.

In general, users have almost complete control over how much (or
how little) email Bugzilla sends them. If you want to receive the
maximum amount of email possible, click the ``Enable All
Mail`` button. If you don't want to receive any email from
Bugzilla at all, click the ``Disable All Mail`` button.

.. note:: A Bugzilla administrator can stop a user from receiving
   bugmail by clicking the ``Bugmail Disabled`` checkbox
   when editing the user account. This is a drastic step
   best taken only for disabled accounts, as it overrides
   the user's individual mail preferences.

There are two global options -- ``Email me when someone
asks me to set a flag`` and ``Email me when someone
sets a flag I asked for``. These define how you want to
receive bugmail with regards to flags. Their use is quite
straightforward; enable the checkboxes if you want Bugzilla to
send you mail under either of the above conditions.

If you'd like to set your bugmail to something besides
'Completely ON' and 'Completely OFF', the
``Field/recipient specific options`` table
allows you to do just that. The rows of the table
define events that can happen to a bug -- things like
attachments being added, new comments being made, the
priority changing, etc. The columns in the table define
your relationship with the bug:

- Reporter - Where you are the person who initially
  reported the bug. Your name/account appears in the
  ``Reporter:`` field.

- Assignee - Where you are the person who has been
  designated as the one responsible for the bug. Your
  name/account appears in the ``Assigned To:``
  field of the bug.

- QA Contact - You are one of the designated
  QA Contacts for the bug. Your account appears in the
  ``QA Contact:`` text-box of the bug.

- CC - You are on the list CC List for the bug.
  Your account appears in the ``CC:`` text box
  of the bug.

- Voter - You have placed one or more votes for the bug.
  Your account appears only if someone clicks on the
  ``Show votes for this bug`` link on the bug.

.. note:: Some columns may not be visible for your installation, depending
   on your site's configuration.

To fine-tune your bugmail, decide the events for which you want
to receive bugmail; then decide if you want to receive it all
the time (enable the checkbox for every column), or only when
you have a certain relationship with a bug (enable the checkbox
only for those columns). For example: if you didn't want to
receive mail when someone added themselves to the CC list, you
could uncheck all the boxes in the ``CC Field Changes``
line. As another example, if you never wanted to receive email
on bugs you reported unless the bug was resolved, you would
un-check all boxes in the ``Reporter`` column
except for the one on the ``The bug is resolved or
verified`` row.

.. note:: Bugzilla adds the ``X-Bugzilla-Reason`` header to
   all bugmail it sends, describing the recipient's relationship
   (AssignedTo, Reporter, QAContact, CC, or Voter) to the bug.
   This header can be used to do further client-side filtering.

Bugzilla has a feature called ``Users Watching``.
When you enter one or more comma-delineated user accounts (usually email
addresses) into the text entry box, you will receive a copy of all the
bugmail those users are sent (security settings permitting).
This powerful functionality enables seamless transitions as developers
change projects or users go on holiday.

.. note:: The ability to watch other users may not be available in all
   Bugzilla installations. If you don't see this feature, and feel
   that you need it, speak to your administrator.

Each user listed in the ``Users watching you`` field
has you listed in their ``Users to watch`` list
and can get bugmail according to your relationship to the bug and
their ``Field/recipient specific options`` setting.

.. _savedsearches:

Saved Searches
==============

On this tab you can view and run any Saved Searches that you have
created, and also any Saved Searches that other members of the group
defined in the "querysharegroup" parameter have shared.
Saved Searches can be added to the page footer from this screen.
If somebody is sharing a Search with a group she or he is allowed to
:ref:`assign users to <groups>`, the sharer may opt to have
the Search show up in the footer of the group's direct members by default.

.. _accountpreferences:

Account Information
===================

On this tab, you can change your basic account information,
including your password, email address and real name. For security
reasons, in order to change anything on this page you must type your
*current* password into the ``Password``
field at the top of the page.
If you attempt to change your email address, a confirmation
email is sent to both the old and new addresses, with a link to use to
confirm the change. This helps to prevent account hijacking.

.. _apikey:

API Keys
========

API keys are used to authenticate WebService API calls. You can create more than
one API key if required. Each API key has an optional description which can help
you record what each key is used for.

On this page, you can unrevoke, revoke and change the description of existing
API keys for your login. A revoked key means that it cannot be used. The
description for purely for your information, and is optional.

You can also create a new API key by selecting the check box under the 'New
API key' section of the page.

.. _permissionsettings:

Permissions
===========

This is a purely informative page which outlines your current
permissions on this installation of Bugzilla.

A complete list of permissions is below. Only users with
*editusers* privileges can change the permissions
of other users.

admin
    Indicates user is an Administrator.

bz_canusewhineatothers
    Indicates user can configure whine reports for other users.

bz_canusewhines
    Indicates user can configure whine reports for self.

bz_quip_moderators
    Indicates user can moderate quips.

bz_sudoers
    Indicates user can perform actions as other users.

bz_sudo_protect
    Indicates user cannot be impersonated by other users.

canconfirm
    Indicates user can confirm a bug or mark it a duplicate.

creategroups
    Indicates user can create and destroy groups.

editbugs
    Indicates user can edit all bug fields.

editclassifications
    Indicates user can create, destroy, and edit classifications.

editcomponents
    Indicates user can create, destroy, and edit components.

editkeywords
    Indicates user can create, destroy, and edit keywords.

editusers
    Indicates user can edit or disable users.

tweakparams
    Indicates user can change Parameters.

.. note:: For more information on how permissions work in Bugzilla (i.e. who can
   change what), see  :ref:`cust-change-permissions`.

.. _reporting:

Reports and Charts
##################

As well as the standard buglist, Bugzilla has two more ways of
viewing sets of bugs. These are the reports (which give different
views of the current state of the database) and charts (which plot
the changes in particular sets of bugs over time.)

.. _reports:

Reports
=======

A report is a view of the current state of the bug database.

You can run either an HTML-table-based report, or a graphical
line/pie/bar-chart-based one. The two have different pages to
define them, but are close cousins - once you've defined and
viewed a report, you can switch between any of the different
views of the data at will.

Both report types are based on the idea of defining a set of bugs
using the standard search interface, and then choosing some
aspect of that set to plot on the horizontal and/or vertical axes.
You can also get a form of 3-dimensional report by choosing to have
multiple images or tables.

So, for example, you could use the search form to choose "all
bugs in the WorldControl product", and then plot their severity
against their component to see which component had had the largest
number of bad bugs reported against it.

Once you've defined your parameters and hit "Generate Report",
you can switch between HTML, CSV, Bar, Line and Pie. (Note: Pie
is only available if you didn't define a vertical axis, as pie
charts don't have one.) The other controls are fairly self-explanatory;
you can change the size of the image if you find text is overwriting
other text, or the bars are too thin to see.

.. _charts:

Charts
======

A chart is a view of the state of the bug database over time.

Bugzilla currently has two charting systems - Old Charts and New
Charts. Old Charts have been part of Bugzilla for a long time; they
chart each status and resolution for each product, and that's all.
They are deprecated, and going away soon - we won't say any more
about them.
New Charts are the future - they allow you to chart anything you
can define as a search.

.. note:: Both charting forms require the administrator to set up the
   data-gathering script. If you can't see any charts, ask them whether
   they have done so.

An individual line on a chart is called a data set.
All data sets are organised into categories and subcategories. The
data sets that Bugzilla defines automatically use the Product name
as a Category and Component names as Subcategories, but there is no
need for you to follow that naming scheme with your own charts if
you don't want to.

Data sets may be public or private. Everyone sees public data sets in
the list, but only their creator sees private data sets. Only
administrators can make data sets public.
No two data sets, even two private ones, can have the same set of
category, subcategory and name. So if you are creating private data
sets, one idea is to have the Category be your username.

Creating Charts
---------------

You create a chart by selecting a number of data sets from the
list, and pressing Add To List for each. In the List Of Data Sets
To Plot, you can define the label that data set will have in the
chart's legend, and also ask Bugzilla to Sum a number of data sets
(e.g. you could Sum data sets representing RESOLVED, VERIFIED and
CLOSED in a particular product to get a data set representing all
the resolved bugs in that product.)

If you've erroneously added a data set to the list, select it
using the checkbox and click Remove. Once you add more than one
data set, a "Grand Total" line
automatically appears at the bottom of the list. If you don't want
this, simply remove it as you would remove any other line.

You may also choose to plot only over a certain date range, and
to cumulate the results - that is, to plot each one using the
previous one as a baseline, so the top line gives a sum of all
the data sets. It's easier to try than to explain :-)

Once a data set is in the list, one can also perform certain
actions on it. For example, one can edit the
data set's parameters (name, frequency etc.) if it's one you
created or if you are an administrator.

Once you are happy, click Chart This List to see the chart.

.. _charts-new-series:

Creating New Data Sets
----------------------

You may also create new data sets of your own. To do this,
click the "create a new data set" link on the Create Chart page.
This takes you to a search-like interface where you can define
the search that Bugzilla will plot. At the bottom of the page,
you choose the category, sub-category and name of your new
data set.

If you have sufficient permissions, you can make the data set public,
and reduce the frequency of data collection to less than the default
seven days.

.. _flags:

Flags
#####

A flag is a kind of status that can be set on bugs or attachments
to indicate that the bugs/attachments are in a certain state.
Each installation can define its own set of flags that can be set
on bugs or attachments.

If your installation has defined a flag, you can set or unset that flag,
and if your administrator has enabled requesting of flags, you can submit
a request for another user to set the flag.

To set a flag, select either "+" or "-" from the drop-down menu next to
the name of the flag in the "Flags" list.  The meaning of these values are
flag-specific and thus cannot be described in this documentation,
but by way of example, setting a flag named "review" to "+" may indicate
that the bug/attachment has passed review, while setting it to "-"
may indicate that the bug/attachment has failed review.

To unset a flag, click its drop-down menu and select the blank value.
Note that marking an attachment as obsolete automatically cancels all
pending requests for the attachment.

If your administrator has enabled requests for a flag, request a flag
by selecting "?" from the drop-down menu and then entering the username
of the user you want to set the flag in the text field next to the menu.

A set flag appears in bug reports and on "edit attachment" pages with the
abbreviated username of the user who set the flag prepended to the
flag name. For example, if Jack sets a "review" flag to "+", it appears
as Jack: review [ + ]

A requested flag appears with the user who requested the flag prepended
to the flag name and the user who has been requested to set the flag
appended to the flag name within parentheses.  For example, if Jack
asks Jill for review, it appears as Jack: review [ ? ] (Jill).

You can browse through open requests made of you and by you by selecting
'My Requests' from the footer. You can also look at open requests limited
by other requesters, requestees, products, components, and flag names from
this page. Note that you can use '-' for requestee to specify flags with
'no requestee' set.

.. _whining:

Whining
#######

Whining is a feature in Bugzilla that can regularly annoy users at
specified times.  Using this feature, users can execute saved searches
at specific times (i.e. the 15th of the month at midnight) or at
regular intervals (i.e. every 15 minutes on Sundays).  The results of the
searches are sent to the user, either as a single email or as one email
per bug, along with some descriptive text.

.. warning:: Throughout this section it will be assumed that all users are members
   of the bz_canusewhines group, membership in which is required in order
   to use the Whining system.  You can easily make all users members of
   the bz_canusewhines group by setting the User RegExp to ".*" (without
   the quotes).

   Also worth noting is the bz_canusewhineatothers group.  Members of this
   group can create whines for any user or group in Bugzilla using a
   extended form of the whining interface.  Features only available to
   members of the bz_canusewhineatothers group will be noted in the
   appropriate places.

.. note:: For whining to work, a special Perl script must be executed at regular
   intervals.  More information on this is available in :ref:`installation-whining`.

.. note:: This section does not cover the whineatnews.pl script.
   See :ref:`installation-whining-cron` for more information on
   The Whining Cron.

.. _whining-overview:

The Event
=========

The whining system defines an "Event" as one or more queries being
executed at regular intervals, with the results of said queries (if
there are any) being emailed to the user.  Events are created by
clicking on the "Add new event" button.

Once a new event is created, the first thing to set is the "Email
subject line".  The contents of this field will be used in the subject
line of every email generated by this event.  In addition to setting a
subject, space is provided to enter some descriptive text that will be
included at the top of each message (to help you in understanding why
you received the email in the first place).

The next step is to specify when the Event is to be run (the Schedule)
and what searches are to be performed (the Searches).

.. _whining-schedule:

Whining Schedule
================

Each whining event is associated with zero or more schedules.  A
schedule is used to specify when the search (specified below) is to be
run.  A new event starts out with no schedules (which means it will
never run, as it is not scheduled to run).  To add a schedule, press
the "Add a new schedule" button.

Each schedule includes an interval, which you use to tell Bugzilla
when the event should be run.  An event can be run on certain days of
the week, certain days of the month, during weekdays (defined as
Monday through Friday), or every day.

.. warning:: Be careful if you set your event to run on the 29th, 30th, or 31st of
   the month, as your event may not run exactly when expected.  If you
   want your event to run on the last day of the month, select "Last day
   of the month" as the interval.

Once you have specified the day(s) on which the event is to be run, you
should now specify the time at which the event is to be run.  You can
have the event run at a certain hour on the specified day(s), or
every hour, half-hour, or quarter-hour on the specified day(s).

If a single schedule does not execute an event as many times as you
would want, you can create another schedule for the same event.  For
example, if you want to run an event on days whose numbers are
divisible by seven, you would need to add four schedules to the event,
setting the schedules to run on the 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th (one day
per schedule) at whatever time (or times) you choose.

.. note:: If you are a member of the bz_canusewhineatothers group, then you
   will be presented with another option: "Mail to".  Using this you
   can control who will receive the emails generated by this event.  You
   can choose to send the emails to a single user (identified by email
   address) or a single group (identified by group name).  To send to
   multiple users or groups, create a new schedule for each additional
   user/group.

.. _whining-query:

Whining Searches
================

Each whining event is associated with zero or more searches.  A search
is any saved search to be run as part of the specified schedule (see
above).  You start out without any searches associated with the event
(which means that the event will not run, as there will never be any
results to return).  To add a search, press the "Add a search" button.

The first field to examine in your newly added search is the Sort field.
Searches are run, and results included, in the order specified by the
Sort field.  Searches with smaller Sort values will run before searches
with bigger Sort values.

The next field to examine is the Search field.  This is where you
choose the actual search that is to be run.  Instead of defining search
parameters here, you are asked to choose from the list of saved
searches (the same list that appears at the bottom of every Bugzilla
page).  You are only allowed to choose from searches that you have
saved yourself (the default saved search, "My Bugs", is not a valid
choice).  If you do not have any saved searches, you can take this
opportunity to create one (see :ref:`list`).

.. note:: When running searches, the whining system acts as if you are the user
   executing the search.  This means that the whining system will ignore
   bugs that match your search, but that you cannot access.

Once you have chosen the saved search to be executed, give the search a
descriptive title.  This title will appear in the email, above the
results of the search.  If you choose "One message per bug", the search
title will appear at the top of each email that contains a bug matching
your search.

Finally, decide if the results of the search should be sent in a single
email, or if each bug should appear in its own email.

.. warning:: Think carefully before checking the "One message per bug" box.  If
   you create a search that matches thousands of bugs, you will receive
   thousands of emails!

Saving Your Changes
===================

Once you have defined at least one schedule, and created at least one
search, go ahead and "Update/Commit".  This will save your Event and make
it available for immediate execution.

.. note:: If you ever feel like deleting your event, you may do so using the
   "Remove Event" button in the upper-right corner of each Event.  You
   can also modify an existing event, so long as you "Update/Commit"
   after completing your modifications.