Step by step guide to Release pages & Widgets

Owned by Anand Inamdar
Last updated: Mar 13, 2024 by Annu
8 min read

Release pages & Widgets are special types of release notes. Given that they work a bit differently, here we are creating step by step guides for getting started. Once you understand how they work, you can do your own customisations on top of what is explained below.

Here’s what the page looks like when there are no release pages or widgets created yet.

 

Release pages and Widgets page is available only on the In-project screen. Navigate to the relevant Jira project >> Click on Autaomated Release Notes under the project’s left navigation >> Click on Release pages & Widgets tab.

Release page - Step-by-step guide

Step 1

Click on Create & you’ll be brought to the following screen. Pay close attention to the information provided.

Release page details section

Release page content layout

  • Release page template - Read https://amoeboids.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/ARN/pages/2391310351

  • Release details -

    • Title - You can use one or more variables here. Full list of variables is here - . This field can be kept empty.

    • Subtitle - You can use one or more variables here. Full list of variables is here - . This field can be kept empty.

Issue details -

In this section, one can choose existing Jira issue or custom field. If one wants to use the Jira issue properties where the AI-generated release notes content is stored, one can use those Jira issues properties too. Read for more details.

  • Field 1 - Here we have selected Status category

  • Field 2 - In image we have selected a Jira issue property field to publish AI-generated release notes.

  • Field 3 - We have picked up Issue type from the selector.

Details

  • Header background color - Choose color

  • Header Text color - Choose color

  • Enable Search on release page - This allows to disable/enable Search option on the release page

  • Enable anonymous reactions - This allows the users to post their reactions anonymously with Like or Dislike options.

  • Google Analytics - Add your Google analytics measurement id (G-XXXXXXX) here to enable this feature.

    • This allows you to track visitor activity on my release pages. This helps to monitor visitor behavior and make informed decisions about how to optimize your content. This will enable you to view metrics such as page views, bounce rate, and time on the page.

Enable anonymous reactions toggle remains disabled by default in below cases -

  • If user has selected Template 3 for release page

  • If the release page is private

Release page content

  • JQL - This is the JQL similar to what you use within ARN templates' JQL section. Just use the default one for now.

  • ARN branding - If you are using Paid app, you will be able to turn it off if needed. For the Free app, it is turned on by default and cannot be changed.

Subscription

  • Allow new subscribers - Turning this on means that the Subscribe button is available on the release page.

    • Users with active subscription can also unsubscribe from the release page.

  • Send updates to the subscribers - If this flag is turned on, you have to choose a release page notification template (configured under the Templates tab) under the next dropdown i.e. Select subscriber email template

  • Select subscriber email template - Whenever a new release is posted on the given release page, it will trigger this email notification to all the subscribers. Read .

  • Send via email - Here you can either use the default email that is noreply@qa.releasenotes.co or add your email via SMPT settings mentioned here.

Roadmap portal

  • Check our app . This app allows you to manage your roadmap portal.

  • Read for more details. Once you complete the integration, this section shows the identifier to embed release notes page under the roadmap portal.

Step 2

Now that all mandatory configurations are filled out, click on Save.

Step 3

To ensure everything is set up correctly, copy the page URL & open it in a browser tab. Since the release page doesn’t have any releases yet, this is what it will look like.

Step 4

Half the battle is won! Its time to set up the Rule

Now you must set up a rule to populate information on this release page. Head over to the Rules tab & click on Create. Provide the appropriate name for the rule & choose Manual trigger.

 

Step 6

Click on Add release page action & choose the relevant release page

One can also decide whether subsequent actions should be executed or not if the release notes action fails.

Step 7

Run the rule manually by providing it with a version

System shows below pop up when you click on icon on Rule details page to run the rule. Select the version and click on OK. You can use check boxes to get the relevant type of release/s in the dropdown.

Step 8

The final step!

  • Click on Ok & wait for about 30 seconds for the rule to be executed. (Assuming the selected version has issues associated with it) the release page will now display the data. It will look like the image shown below.

  • For troubleshooting (If needed), look at the logs tab & see if you see any failure messages

Widget - Step by step guide

Step 1

Click on Create & you’ll be brought to the following screen. Pay close attention to the information provided

Widget details

  • Name - This is the widget name but unlike release page, it is not visible to the end users

  • Description - Same as the name, not visible to the end users. And you can keep it empty too

  • Enabled - Keep it on

Widget content layout

  • Release details -

    • Title - You can use one or more variables here. The full list of variables is here - . This field can be kept empty.

    • Subtitle - You can use one or more variables here. The full list of variables is here - . This field can be kept empty.

Step 2

Final set of fields

Issue details

In this section, one can choose an existing Jira issue or custom field. If one wants to use the Jira issue properties where the AI-generated release notes content is stored, one can use those Jira issues properties too. Read for more details.

  • Field 1 - In image we have selected a Jira issue property field to publish AI-generated release notes.

  • Field 2 - We have picked up Issue type from the selector.

  • Field 3 - Here you can select Status category

Step 3

Choose look & feel related configurations.

In the right section, manager the look and feel related configuration. Here one can configure the Widget mode and designs.

Widget mode

Read more about widget modes here -

Design tab

  • Show default launcher - This toggle identifies whether the widget launcher is available on-screen by default. If disabled, the launcher won’t be displayed until made visible by another action.

  • Widget launcher label - e.g. Release notes. This is what the button text will be, to open/close the widget.

  • Widget launcher button size - Small, Medium, Large

  • Rest of the configurations deal with the look & feel of the widget

Widget content

In the Widget content a JQL is defined that determines what data is populated within the widgets. Every time the widget action is triggered, it will look at the JQL & pull out the relevant issues. Similar to how the JQL section is configured, you can use variables in this text box.

Once the JQL is added, click anywhere outside of the box & or will be displayed to convey the correctness of the JQL.

A sample JQL that can be used -

Project = ARN AND issueType = “New Feature” AND fixVersion = “[versionName]”

Embed code

Once all the mandatory information is filled in & Save button is clicked - the Embed code becomes available.

Step 4

Widget content

This is the JQL similar to what you use within ARN templates' JQL section. Just use the default one for now.

Step 5

Click on Save, let the page reload.

Now click on the Embed tab. This is what it will look like.

Step 6

Let us test whether the embed code works

Copy the code. And then head over to https://codepen.io/pen/. In there, paste the copied code into HTML section. In a few seconds, the widget should appear in the preview section. Although it appears, it doesn’t have any release-related data yet.

Step 7

Now create a manual rule & insert widget action inside of it

Step 8

Now run the manual rule by providing it with the relevant version name

Step 9

Let us see the final output!

After running the rule, wait for about 30 seconds & go back to the codepen tab. Refresh the page, and paste the code again into the HTML area. Release notes will now be available within the widget.

 

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