1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508
509
510
511
512
513
514
515
516
517
518
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540
541
542
543
544
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556
557
558
559
560
561
562
563
564
565
566
567
568
569
570
571
572
573
574
575
576
577
578
579
580
581
582
583
584
585
586
587
588
589
590
591
592
593
594
595
596
597
598
599
600
601
602
603
604
605
606
607
608
609
610
611
612
613
614
615
616
617
618
619
620
621
622
623
624
625
626
627
628
629
630
631
632
633
634
635
636
637
638
639
640
641
642
643
644
645
646
647
648
649
650
651
652
653
654
655
656
657
658
659
660
661
662
663
664
665
666
667
668
669
670
671
672
673
674
675
676
677
678
679
680
681
682
683
684
685
686
687
688
689
690
691
692
693
694
695
696
697
698
699
700
701
702
703
704
705
706
707
708
709
710
711
712
713
714
715
716
717
718
719
720
721
722
723
724
725
726
727
728
729
730
731
732
733
734
735
736
737
738
739
740
741
742
743
744
745
746
747
748
749
750
751
752
753
754
755
756
757
758
759
760
761
762
763
764
765
766
767
768
769
770
771
772
773
774
775
776
777
778
779
780
781
782
783
784
785
786
787
788
789
790
791
792
793
794
795
796
797
798
799
800
801
802
803
804
805
806
807
808
809
810
811
812
813
814
815
816
817
818
819
820
821
822
823
824
825
826
827
828
829
830
831
832
833
834
835
836
837
838
839
840
841
842
843
844
845
846
847
848
849
850
851
852
853
854
855
856
857
858
859
860
861
862
863
864
865
866
867
868
869
870
871
872
873
874
875
876
877
878
879
880
881
882
883
884
885
886
887
888
889
890
891
892
893
894
895
896
897
898
899
900
901
902
903
904
905
906
907
908
909
910
911
912
913
914
915
916
917
918
919
920
921
922
923
924
925
926
927
928
929
930
931
932
933
934
935
936
937
938
939
940
941
942
943
944
945
946
947
948
949
950
951
952
953
954
955
956
957
958
959
960
961
962
963
964
965
966
967
968
969
970
971
972
973
974
975
976
977
978
979
980
981
982
983
984
985
986
987
988
989
990
991
992
993
994
995
996
997
998
999
1000
1001
1002
1003
1004
1005
1006
1007
1008
1009
1010
1011
1012
1013
1014
1015
1016
1017
1018
1019
1020
1021
1022
1023
1024
1025
1026
1027
1028
1029
1030
1031
1032
1033
1034
1035
1036
1037
1038
1039
1040
1041
1042
1043
1044
1045
1046
1047
1048
1049
1050
1051
1052
1053
1054
1055
1056
1057
1058
1059
1060
1061
1062
1063
1064
1065
1066
1067
1068
1069
1070
1071
1072
1073
1074
1075
1076
1077
1078
1079
1080
1081
1082
1083
1084
1085
1086
1087
1088
1089
1090
1091
1092
1093
1094
1095
1096
1097
1098
1099
1100
1101
1102
1103
1104
1105
1106
1107
1108
1109
1110
1111
1112
1113
1114
1115
1116
1117
1118
1119
1120
1121
1122
1123
1124
1125
1126
1127
1128
1129
1130
1131
1132
1133
1134
1135
1136
1137
1138
1139
1140
1141
|
<HTML
><HEAD
><TITLE
>How do I use Bugzilla?</TITLE
><META
NAME="GENERATOR"
CONTENT="Modular DocBook HTML Stylesheet Version 1.61
"><LINK
REL="HOME"
TITLE="The Bugzilla Guide"
HREF="index.html"><LINK
REL="UP"
TITLE="Using Bugzilla"
HREF="using.html"><LINK
REL="PREVIOUS"
TITLE="Why Should We Use Bugzilla?"
HREF="why.html"><LINK
REL="NEXT"
TITLE="Where can I find my user preferences?"
HREF="init4me.html"></HEAD
><BODY
CLASS="section"
BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF"
TEXT="#000000"
LINK="#0000FF"
VLINK="#840084"
ALINK="#0000FF"
><DIV
CLASS="NAVHEADER"
><TABLE
WIDTH="100%"
BORDER="0"
CELLPADDING="0"
CELLSPACING="0"
><TR
><TH
COLSPAN="3"
ALIGN="center"
>The Bugzilla Guide</TH
></TR
><TR
><TD
WIDTH="10%"
ALIGN="left"
VALIGN="bottom"
><A
HREF="why.html"
>Prev</A
></TD
><TD
WIDTH="80%"
ALIGN="center"
VALIGN="bottom"
>Chapter 2. Using Bugzilla</TD
><TD
WIDTH="10%"
ALIGN="right"
VALIGN="bottom"
><A
HREF="init4me.html"
>Next</A
></TD
></TR
></TABLE
><HR
ALIGN="LEFT"
WIDTH="100%"></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="section"
><H1
CLASS="section"
><A
NAME="how"
>2.3. How do I use Bugzilla?</A
></H1
><TABLE
BORDER="0"
WIDTH="100%"
CELLSPACING="0"
CELLPADDING="0"
CLASS="EPIGRAPH"
><TR
><TD
WIDTH="45%"
> </TD
><TD
WIDTH="45%"
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
><I
><P
><I
>Hey! I'm Woody! Howdy, Howdy, Howdy!</I
></P
></I
></TD
></TR
></TABLE
><P
> Bugzilla is a large, complex system. Describing how to use it
requires some time. If you are only interested in installing or
administering a Bugzilla installation, please consult the
Installing and Administering Bugzilla portions of this Guide.
This section is principally aimed towards developing end-user
mastery of Bugzilla, so you may fully enjoy the benefits
afforded by using this reliable open-source bug-tracking
software.
</P
><P
> Throughout this portion of the Guide, we will refer to user
account options available at the Bugzilla test installation,
<A
HREF="http://landfill.tequilarista.org/"
TARGET="_top"
> landfill.tequilarista.org</A
>.
<DIV
CLASS="note"
><P
></P
><TABLE
CLASS="note"
WIDTH="100%"
BORDER="0"
><TR
><TD
WIDTH="25"
ALIGN="CENTER"
VALIGN="TOP"
><IMG
SRC="../images/note.gif"
HSPACE="5"
ALT="Note"></TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
><P
> Some people have run into difficulties completing this
tutorial. If you run into problems, please check the
updated online documentation available at <A
HREF="http://www.trilobyte.net/barnsons/"
TARGET="_top"
>http://www.trilobyte.net/barnsons</A
>. If you're still stumped, please subscribe to the newsgroup and provide details of exactly what's stumping you! If enough people complain, I'll have to fix it in the next version of this Guide. You can subscribe to the newsgroup at <A
HREF="news://news.mozilla.org/netscape.public.mozilla.webtools"
TARGET="_top"
> news://news.mozilla.org/netscape.public.mozilla.webtools</A
>
</P
></TD
></TR
></TABLE
></DIV
> Although Landfill serves as a great introduction to
Bugzilla, it does not offer all the options you would have as a
user on your own installation of Bugzilla, nor can it do more
than serve as a general introduction to Bugzilla. Additionally,
Landfill often runs cutting-edge versions of Bugzilla for
testing, so some things may work slightly differently than
mentioned here.
</P
><DIV
CLASS="section"
><H2
CLASS="section"
><A
NAME="myaccount"
>2.3.1. Create a Bugzilla Account</A
></H2
><P
> First things first! 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 the end-user
Bugzilla experience, use this URL: <A
HREF="http://landfill.tequilarista.org/bugzilla-tip/"
TARGET="_top"
> http://landfill.tequilarista.org/bugzilla-tip/</A
>
</P
><P
></P
><OL
TYPE="1"
><LI
><P
> Click the "Open a new Bugzilla account" link.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> Enter your "E-mail address" and "Real Name" (or whatever
name you want to call yourself) in the spaces provided,
then select the "Create Account" button.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> Within moments, you should receive an email to the address
you provided above, which contains your login name
(generally the same as the email address), and a password
you can use to access your account. This password is
randomly generated, and should be changed at your nearest
opportunity (we'll go into how to do it later).
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> Click the <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Log In"</SPAN
> link in the yellow area at
the bottom of the page in your browser, then enter your
<SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"E-mail address"</SPAN
> and <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Password"</SPAN
>
you just received into the spaces provided, and select
<SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Login"</SPAN
>.
<DIV
CLASS="note"
><P
></P
><TABLE
CLASS="note"
WIDTH="100%"
BORDER="0"
><TR
><TD
WIDTH="25"
ALIGN="CENTER"
VALIGN="TOP"
><IMG
SRC="../images/note.gif"
HSPACE="5"
ALT="Note"></TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
><P
> If you ever forget your password, you can come back to
this page, enter your <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"E-mail address"</SPAN
>,
then select the <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"E-mail me a password"</SPAN
>
button to have your password mailed to you again so
that you can login.
</P
></TD
></TR
></TABLE
></DIV
>
<DIV
CLASS="caution"
><P
></P
><TABLE
CLASS="caution"
WIDTH="100%"
BORDER="0"
><TR
><TD
WIDTH="25"
ALIGN="CENTER"
VALIGN="TOP"
><IMG
SRC="../images/caution.gif"
HSPACE="5"
ALT="Caution"></TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
><P
> Many modern browsers include an
<SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Auto-Complete"</SPAN
> or <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Form
Fill"</SPAN
> feature to remember the user names and
passwords you type in at many sites. Unfortunately,
sometimes they attempt to guess what you will put in
as your password, and guess wrong. If you notice a
text box is already filled out, please overwrite the
contents of the text box so you can be sure to input
the correct information.
</P
></TD
></TR
></TABLE
></DIV
>
</P
></LI
></OL
><P
> Congratulations! If you followed these directions, you now
are the proud owner of a user account on
landfill.tequilarista.org (Landfill) or your local Bugzilla
install. You should now see in your browser a page called the
<SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Bugzilla Query Page"</SPAN
>. It may look daunting, but with this
Guide to walk you through it, you will master it in no time.
</P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="section"
><H2
CLASS="section"
><A
NAME="query"
>2.3.2. The Bugzilla Query Page</A
></H2
><P
> The Bugzilla Query Page is the heart and soul of the Bugzilla
user experience. It is the master interface where you can
find any bug report, comment, or patch currently in the
Bugzilla system. We'll go into how to create your own bug
report later on.
</P
><P
> There are efforts underway to simplify query usage. If you
have a local installation of Bugzilla 2.12 or higher, you
should have <TT
CLASS="filename"
>quicksearch.html</TT
> available to
use and simplify your searches. There is also a helper for
the query interface, called
<TT
CLASS="filename"
>queryhelp.cgi</TT
>. Landfill tends to run the
latest code, so these two utilities should be available there
for your perusal.
</P
><P
> At this point, let's visit the query page.
<A
HREF="http://landfill.tequilarista.org/bugzilla-tip/query.cgi"
TARGET="_top"
> landfill.tequilarista.org/bugzilla-tip/query.cgi</A
>
</P
><P
> The first thing you need to notice about the Bugzilla Query
Page is that nearly every box you see on your screen has a
hyperlink nearby, explaining what it is or what it does. Near
the upper-left-hand corner of your browser window you should
see the word <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Status"</SPAN
> underlined. Select it.
</P
><P
> Notice the page that popped up? Every underlined word you see
on your screen is a hyperlink that will take you to
context-sensitive help. Click around for a while, and learn
what everything here does. To return to the query interface
after pulling up a help page, use the <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Back"</SPAN
>
button in your browser.
</P
><P
> I'm sure that after checking out the online help, you are now
an expert on the Bugzilla Query Page. If, however, you feel
you haven't mastered it yet, let me walk you through making a
few successful queries to find out what there are in the
Bugzilla bug-tracking system itself.
</P
><P
></P
><OL
TYPE="1"
><LI
><P
> Ensure you are back on the <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Bugzilla Query
Page"</SPAN
>. Do nothing in the boxes marked "Status",
"Resolution", "Platform", "OpSys", "Priority", or
"Severity". The default query for "Status" is to find all
bugs that are NEW, ASSIGNED, or REOPENED, which is what we
want. If you don't select anything in the other 5
scrollboxes there, then you are saying that "any of these
are OK"; we're not locking ourselves into only finding
bugs on the "DEC" Platform, or "Windows 95" OpSys
(Operating System). You're smart, I think you have it
figured out.
</P
><P
> Basically, selecting <EM
>anything</EM
> on the
query page narrows your search down. Leaving stuff
unselected, or text boxes unfilled, broadens your search.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> You see the box immediately below the top six boxes that
contains an "Email" text box, with the words "matching
as", a drop-down selection box, then some checkboxes with
"Assigned To" checked by default? This allows you to
filter your search down based upon email address. Let's
put my email address in there, and see what happens.
</P
><P
> Type "barnboy@trilobyte.net" in the top Email text box.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> Let's narrow the search some more. Scroll down until you
find the box with the word "Program" over the top of it.
This is where we can narrow our search down to only
specific products (software programs or product lines) in
our Bugzilla database. Please notice the box is a
<EM
>scrollbox</EM
>. Using the down arrow on
the scrollbox, scroll down until you can see an entry
called "Bugzilla". Select this entry.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> Did you notice that some of the boxes to the right changed
when you selected "Bugzilla"? Every Program (or Product)
has different Versions, Components, and Target Milestones
associated with it. A "Version" is the number of a
software program.
<DIV
CLASS="example"
><A
NAME="AEN307"
></A
><P
><B
>Example 2-1. Some Famous Software Versions</B
></P
><DIV
CLASS="informalexample"
><A
NAME="AEN309"
></A
><P
></P
><P
> Do you remember the hype in 1995 when Microsoft
Windows 95(r) was released? It may have been several
years ago, but Microsoft(tm) spent over $300 Million
advertising this new Version of their software.
Three years later, they released Microsoft Windows
98(r), another new version, to great fanfare, and
then in 2000 quietly released Microsoft Windows
ME(Millenium Edition)(r).
</P
><P
> Software "Versions" help a manufacturer
differentiate their current product from their
previous products. Most do not identify their
products by the year they were released. Instead,
the "original" version of their software will often
be numbered "1.0", with small bug-fix releases on
subsequent tenths of a digit. In most cases, it's
not a decimal number; for instance, often 1.9 is an
<EM
>older</EM
> version of the software
than 1.11, but is a <EM
>newer</EM
>
version than 1.1.1.
</P
><P
> In general, a "Version" in Bugzilla should refer to
<EM
>released</EM
> products, not products
that have not yet been released to the public.
Forthcoming products are what the Target Milestone
field is for.
</P
><P
></P
></DIV
></DIV
>
</P
><P
> A "Component" is a piece of a Product.
It may be a standalone program, or some other logical
division of a Product or Program.
Normally, a Component has a single Owner, who is responsible
for overseeing efforts to improve that Component.
<DIV
CLASS="example"
><A
NAME="AEN317"
></A
><P
><B
>Example 2-2. Mozilla's Bugzilla Components</B
></P
><DIV
CLASS="informalexample"
><A
NAME="AEN319"
></A
><P
></P
><P
> Mozilla's "Bugzilla" Product is composed of several pieces (Components):
<P
></P
><TABLE
BORDER="0"
><TBODY
><TR
><TD
><EM
>Administration</EM
>,
Administration of a bugzilla installation, including
<TT
CLASS="filename"
>editcomponents.cgi</TT
>,
<TT
CLASS="filename"
>editgroups.cgi</TT
>,
<TT
CLASS="filename"
>editkeywords.cgi</TT
>,
<TT
CLASS="filename"
>editparams.cgi</TT
>,
<TT
CLASS="filename"
>editproducts.cgi</TT
>,
<TT
CLASS="filename"
>editusers.cgi</TT
>,
<TT
CLASS="filename"
>editversions.cgi,</TT
> and
<TT
CLASS="filename"
>sanitycheck.cgi</TT
>.
</TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
><EM
>Bugzilla-General</EM
>,
Anything that doesn't fit in the other components, or spans
multiple components.
</TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
><EM
>Creating/Changing Bugs</EM
>,
Creating, changing, and viewing bugs.
<TT
CLASS="filename"
>enter_bug.cgi</TT
>,
<TT
CLASS="filename"
>post_bug.cgi</TT
>,
<TT
CLASS="filename"
>show_bug.cgi</TT
> and
<TT
CLASS="filename"
>process_bug.cgi</TT
>.
</TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
><EM
>Documentation</EM
>,
The bugzilla documentation, including anything in the
<TT
CLASS="filename"
>docs/</TT
> directory and The Bugzilla Guide
(This document :)
</TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
><EM
>Email</EM
>,
Anything to do with email sent by Bugzilla.
<TT
CLASS="filename"
>processmail</TT
>
</TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
><EM
>Installation</EM
>,
The installation process of Bugzilla. This includes
<TT
CLASS="filename"
>checksetup.pl</TT
> and whatever else it evolves into.
</TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
><EM
>Query/Buglist</EM
>,
Anything to do with searching for bugs and viewing the buglists.
<TT
CLASS="filename"
>query.cgi</TT
> and
<TT
CLASS="filename"
>buglist.cgi</TT
>
</TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
><EM
>Reporting/Charting</EM
>,
Getting reports from Bugzilla.
<TT
CLASS="filename"
>reports.cgi</TT
> and
<TT
CLASS="filename"
>duplicates.cgi</TT
>
</TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
><EM
>User Accounts</EM
>,
Anything about managing a user account from the user's perspective.
<TT
CLASS="filename"
>userprefs.cgi</TT
>, saved queries, creating accounts,
changing passwords, logging in, etc.
</TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
><EM
>User Interface</EM
>,
General issues having to do with the user interface cosmetics (not
functionality) including cosmetic issues, HTML templates, etc.
</TD
></TR
></TBODY
></TABLE
><P
></P
>
</P
><P
></P
></DIV
></DIV
>
</P
><P
> A "Milestone", or "Target Milestone" is a often a planned
future "Version" of a product. In many cases, though,
Milestones simply represent significant dates for a
developer. Having certain features in your Product is
frequently tied to revenue (money) the developer will
receive if the features work by the time she reaches the
Target Milestone. Target Milestones are a great tool to
organize your time. If someone will pay you $100,000 for
incorporating certain features by a certain date, those
features by that Milestone date become a very high
priority. Milestones tend to be highly malleable
creatures, though, that appear to be in reach but are out
of reach by the time the important day arrives.
</P
><P
> The Bugzilla Project has set up Milestones for future
Bugzilla versions 2.14, 2.16, 2.18, 3.0, etc. However, a
Target Milestone can just as easily be a specific date,
code name, or weird alphanumeric combination, like "M19".
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> OK, now let's select the "Bugzilla" component from its scrollbox.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> Skip down the page a bit -- do you see the "submit query" button?
Select it, and let's run
this query!
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> Congratulations! You've completed your first Query, and
have before you the Bug List of the author of this Guide,
Matthew P. Barnson (barnboy@trilobyte.net). If I'm doing
well, you'll have a cryptic "Zarro Boogs Found" message on
your screen. It is just a happy hacker's way of saying
"Zero Bugs Found". However, I am fairly certain I will
always have some bugs assigned to me that aren't done yet,
so you won't often see that message!
</P
></LI
></OL
><P
> I encourage you to click the bug numbers in the left-hand
column and examine my bugs. Also notice that if you click the
underlined links near the top of this page, they do not take
you to context-sensitive help here, but instead sort the
columns of bugs on the screen! When you need to sort your bugs
by priority, severity, or the people they are assigned to,
this is a tremendous timesaver.
</P
><P
> A couple more interesting things about the Bug List page:
<P
></P
><TABLE
BORDER="0"
><TBODY
><TR
><TD
><EM
>Change Columns</EM
>: by selecting
this link, you can show all kinds of information in the
Bug List</TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
><EM
>Change several bugs at once</EM
>: If
you have sufficient rights to change all the bugs shown in
the Bug List, you can mass-modify them. This is a big
time-saver.</TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
><EM
>Send mail to bug owners</EM
>: If you
have many related bugs, you can request an update from
every person who owns the bugs in the Bug List asking them
the status.</TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
><EM
>Edit this query</EM
>: 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.</TD
></TR
></TBODY
></TABLE
><P
></P
>
</P
><DIV
CLASS="note"
><P
></P
><TABLE
CLASS="note"
WIDTH="100%"
BORDER="0"
><TR
><TD
WIDTH="25"
ALIGN="CENTER"
VALIGN="TOP"
><IMG
SRC="../images/note.gif"
HSPACE="5"
ALT="Note"></TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
><P
> There are many more options to the Bugzilla Query Page and
the Bug List than I have shown you. But this should be
enough for you to learn to get around. I encourage you to
check out the <A
HREF="http://www.mozilla.org/bugs/"
TARGET="_top"
>Bugzilla Home Page</A
> to learn about the Anatomy and Life Cycle of a Bug before continuing.
</P
></TD
></TR
></TABLE
></DIV
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="section"
><H2
CLASS="section"
><A
NAME="bugreports"
>2.3.3. Creating and Managing Bug Reports</A
></H2
><TABLE
BORDER="0"
WIDTH="100%"
CELLSPACING="0"
CELLPADDING="0"
CLASS="EPIGRAPH"
><TR
><TD
WIDTH="45%"
> </TD
><TD
WIDTH="45%"
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
><I
><P
><I
>And all this time, I thought we were taking bugs <EM
>out</EM
>...</I
></P
></I
></TD
></TR
></TABLE
><DIV
CLASS="section"
><H3
CLASS="section"
><A
NAME="bug-writing"
>2.3.3.1. Writing a Great Bug Report</A
></H3
><P
> Before we plunge into writing your first bug report, I
encourage you to read some bug-writing guidelines. If you
are reading this document as part of a Bugzilla CVS checkout
or un-tarred Bugzilla distribution, you should be able to
read them by clicking <A
HREF="../../bugwritinghelp.html"
TARGET="_top"
>here</A
>. If you are reading this online, check out the Mozilla.org bug-writing guidelines at <A
HREF="http://www.mozilla.org/quality/bug-writing-guidelines.html"
TARGET="_top"
>http://www.mozilla.org/quality/bug-writing-guidelines.html</A
>. 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.
</P
><P
> While you are at it, why not learn how to find previously
reported bugs? Mozilla.org has published a great tutorial
on finding duplicate bugs, available at <A
HREF="http://www.mozilla.org/quality/help/beginning-duplicate-finding.html"
TARGET="_top"
> http://www.mozilla.org/quality/help/beginning-duplicate-finding.html</A
>.
</P
><P
> I realize this was a lot to read. However, understanding
the mentality of writing great bug reports will help us on
the next part!
</P
><P
></P
><OL
TYPE="1"
><LI
><P
> Go back to <A
HREF="http://landfill.tequilarista.org/bugzilla-tip/"
TARGET="_top"
> http://landfill.tequilarista.org/bugzilla-tip/</A
> in your browser.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> Select the <A
HREF="http://landfill.tequilarista.org/bugzilla-tip/enter_bug.cgi"
TARGET="_top"
> Enter a new bug report</A
> link.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> Select a product.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> Now you should be at the "Enter Bug" form. The
"reporter" should have been automatically filled out for
you (or else Bugzilla prompted you to Log In again --
you did keep the email with your username and password,
didn't you?).
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> Select a Component in the scrollbox.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> Bugzilla should have made reasonable guesses, based upon
your browser, for the "Platform" and "OS" drop-down
boxes. If those are wrong, change them -- if you're on
an SGI box running IRIX, we want to know!
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> Fill in the "Assigned To" box with the email address you
provided earlier. This way you don't end up sending
copies of your bug to lots of other people, since it's
just a test bug.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> Leave the "CC" text box blank. Fill in the "URL" box
with "http://www.mozilla.org".
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> Enter "The Bugzilla Guide" in the Summary text box, and
place any comments you have on this tutorial, or the
Guide in general, into the Description box.
</P
></LI
></OL
><P
> Voila! Select "Commit" and send in your bug report! Next
we'll look at resolving bugs.
</P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="section"
><H3
CLASS="section"
><A
NAME="bug-manage"
>2.3.3.2. Managing your Bug Reports</A
></H3
><P
> OK, you should have a link to the bug you just created near
the top of your page. It should say "Bug XXXX posted", with
a link to the right saying "Back to BUG# XXXX". Select this
link.
</P
><P
></P
><OL
TYPE="1"
><LI
><P
> Scroll down a bit on the subsequent page, until you see
the "Resolve bug, changing resolution to (dropdown box).
Normally, you would "Accept bug (change status to
ASSIGNED)", fix it, and then resolve. But in this case,
we're going to short-circuit the process because this
wasn't a real bug. Change the dropdown next to "Resolve
Bug" to "INVALID", make sure the radio button is marked
next to "Resolve Bug", then click "Commit".
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> Hey! It said it couldn't take the change in a big red
box! That's right, you must specify a Comment in order
to make this change. Select the "Back" button in your
browser, add a Comment, then try Resolving the bug with
INVALID status again. This time it should work.
</P
></LI
></OL
><P
> You have now learned the basics of Bugzilla navigation,
entering a bug, and bug maintenance. I encourage you to
explore these features, and see what you can do with them!
We'll spend no more time on individual Bugs or Queries from
this point on, so you are on your own there.
</P
><P
> But I'll give a few last hints!
</P
><P
> There is a <A
HREF="http://landfill.tequilarista.org/bugzilla-tip/help.html"
TARGET="_top"
>CLUE</A
> on the Query page that will teach you more how to use the form.
</P
><P
> If you click the hyperlink on the <A
HREF="http://landfill.tequilarista.org/bugzilla-tip/describecomponents.cgi"
TARGET="_top"
>Component</A
> box of the Query page, you will be presented a form that will describe what all the components are.
</P
><P
> Possibly the most powerful feature of the Query page is the
<A
HREF="http://landfill.tequilarista.org/bugzilla-tip/booleanchart.html"
TARGET="_top"
>Boolean Chart</A
> section. It's a bit confusing to use the first time, but can provide unparalleled flexibility in your queries, allowing you to build extremely powerful requests.
</P
><P
> Finally, you can build some nifty <A
HREF="http://landfill.tequilarista.org/bugzilla-tip/reports.cgi"
TARGET="_top"
>Reports</A
> using the "Bug Reports" link near the bottom of the query page, and also available via the "Reports" link at the footer of each page.
</P
></DIV
></DIV
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="NAVFOOTER"
><HR
ALIGN="LEFT"
WIDTH="100%"><TABLE
WIDTH="100%"
BORDER="0"
CELLPADDING="0"
CELLSPACING="0"
><TR
><TD
WIDTH="33%"
ALIGN="left"
VALIGN="top"
><A
HREF="why.html"
>Prev</A
></TD
><TD
WIDTH="34%"
ALIGN="center"
VALIGN="top"
><A
HREF="index.html"
>Home</A
></TD
><TD
WIDTH="33%"
ALIGN="right"
VALIGN="top"
><A
HREF="init4me.html"
>Next</A
></TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
WIDTH="33%"
ALIGN="left"
VALIGN="top"
>Why Should We Use Bugzilla?</TD
><TD
WIDTH="34%"
ALIGN="center"
VALIGN="top"
><A
HREF="using.html"
>Up</A
></TD
><TD
WIDTH="33%"
ALIGN="right"
VALIGN="top"
>Where can I find my user preferences?</TD
></TR
></TABLE
></DIV
></BODY
></HTML
>
|
