Tracker

Use the Tracker to record Bugs, Support Requests, Patches, and Feature Requests or other types of information as required for your Project. Tracker can record virtually any kind of data, with each Tracker having separate customizable fields and permission lists.

Trackers include individual pieces of data called Tracker Items, which are either Tracker Issues or Tracker Tasks. For example, Bugs is the name of a Tracker Issue, while an individual Bug Report is the actual Tracker Issue. The System Administrator can create custom Trackers and you can add Tracker Items (Issues or Tasks) to any Tracker.

When a Project is created, GForge automatically may create several default Trackers depending on which template was chosen at Project registration time:

Example Trackers that you can create include:

Issues

Support Users can enter support requests and receive support responses.

Feature Requests Users can request feature enhancements to a Project.

Bugs Users and developers can enter bugs associated with a Project.

Patches Developers can upload software patches.

Tasks

To Do Task that need attention.

Next Release Tasks that need attention before the next release.

Tracker Type The type of Tracker Issue or Task.

Tracker Name Name of the Tracker.

Description Brief summary or title of the Tracker.

Item Total Total number of Tracker Issues or Tasks of this type.

Open Count Number of Tracker Issues or Tasks with an Open State.

Viewing Tracker Items Assigned to You

To view Tracker Items assigned to you:

Login to GForge.
Click the My Stuff tab.

My Queue You can add Assigned Tracker Issues or Tasks to the My Queue frame to assist in you in viewing what Task and Issues are assigned to you. My Stuff.

Project Project in which this Tracker Issue or Task is included.

Tracker Tracker in which this Tracker Issue or Task is included.

ID Internal identification number associated with the Tracker Issue or Task.

Priority Priority of the Tracker Issue or Task in your query.

Summary Brief summary or title of the Tracker Issue or Task.

Viewing Tracker Items in a Project and the Summary

To view all Tracker Items within a Project:

Click the Projects tab in the My Stuff page.
Click the Project Name link.
Click the Tracker tab within a Project.
Click the Tracker Name.
Click the Summary.
Note: Dependant upon configuration of the Tracker by the administrator, some of fields in
Click the Browse link to return to
Click the Browse link to return to

A short explanation of each field follows

ID System generated identification number in your query.

Summary Brief summary or title of the Tracker Issue or Task in your query.

Priority Priority of the Tracker Issue or Task in your query.

Assignee Person to whom this Tracker Issue or Task is assigned.

Status Current Status of the Tracker Issue or Task in your query.

Any All Tracker Issues or Tasks.
Open Active Tracker Issues or Tasks.
Closed Tracker Issues or Tasks ended.

Sort By Sorts Tracker Issues or Tasks by the selection.

Order Select how you desire to view the Tracker Issues or Tasks and in Ascending or Descending order.

Browse Button View the Tracker Issues or Tasks based on your limited query.

Use Filter Use the Tracker Filter to configure pre-defined search criteria with which to search for Tracker Issues or Tasks. Adding a Tracker Query.

ID System generated identification number associated with this Tracker Issue or Task.

Summary Brief summary or title of the Tracker Issue or Task. Click to view the Summary details.

Priority Priority of this Tracker Issue or Task.

Color Priority Colors display the importance of a Task or a Project. 1 being the lowest priority and 5 being the highest priority and should be completed first.

AssigneePerson to whom this Tracker Issue or Task is assigned.

Submitted By Person who submitted this Tracker Issue or Task.

Status Status of the Tracker Issue or Task.

Open Date Date this Tracker Issue or Task was added to the GForge database.

Close Date Date this Tracker Issue or Task was closed.

Last Modified Date Date this Tracker Issues or Tasks was last updated.

Adding a New Tracker Item

Dependant upon which Tracker Item you are adding to a new submission, some of fields in may not display. Different user security settings have different abilities to add and edit Tracker Issues or Tasks.

To submit a new Tracker Issue or Task:

Click the Tracker tab in your project.
Click the Tracker Name for the type of Tracker you are adding.
Click Add new Tracker Issue or Task.
Add the necessary Tracker Issue or Task data.
Click Add.

Editing a Tracker Item

The Tracker Issue or Task Details screen is multipurpose in that you can view Tracker Item details, add comments, view the history, and add or delete attachments. To view Tracker Item details:

Click the Projects tab in the My Stuff page.
Click the Project Name link.
Click the Tracker tab within a Project.
Click the Tracker Name.
Click the Summary link.

Submitted By User who submitted this Tracker Issue or Task.

Open Date Date the Tracker Issue or Task was submitted.

Priority Priority display the importance of a Tracker Issue or Task. 1 is the lowest priority and 5 is the highest priority and should be completed first. Use for Bugs and Support Requests when you locate a critical problem with a Project.

Assignee Person to whom this Tracker Issue or Task is assigned.

Found In Release Select if the Tracker Issue or Task was located in a specific commit version.

Fixed In Release Select if the Tracker Issue or Task was fixed in a specific commit version.

Hardware Type of hardware associated with this Tracker Issue or Task.

Documentation Documentation event associated with this Tracker Issue or Task.

Product Select the Product with which this Tracker Issue or Task is associated, such as the version of the Project.

Component Describe the function or module in which the Tracker Issue or Task appears. For example, in the GForge Project, this might include the Account Maintenance, Code Snippets, Forums, and such.

Severity How severe this Tracker Issue or Task is.

URL Uniform Resource Located associated with this Tracker Issue or Task.

Operating System Select the Operating System with which this Tracker Issue or Task is associated.

Version OS version associated with this Tracker Issue or Task.

Resolution Current Resolution of this Tracker Issue or Task.

Status Current State of the Tracker Issue or Task.

Open Active Tracker Issues or Tasks.
Closed Completed Tracker Issues or Tasks.

Summary Short title for the Tracker Issue or Task.

Parent Item The parent item id for this tracker item (if any). You can enter the tracker item id or you can click on Browse Tracker Items to select a parent tracker item.

Details Detailed description of the Tracker Issue or Task submission.

Caution: Do not enter passwords or confidential information in your message.

Messages Previous information added to this Tracker Issue or Task via the Attach A Comment field.

Browse Add files associated with this Tracker Issue or Task.

Save Changes Submits the information into the GForge Tracker database. An e-mail is sent to you and any other users monitoring this Tracker.

Messages Tab

To add a comment to a current Tracker Issue or Task:

Navigate to the Project that contains the Tracker Issue or Task.
Select the Tracker tab.
Select the Tracker Issue or Task Summary to which you desire to add a comment.
Enter your comment in the Add new Tracker Item Message (Body) field.

Click Save Changes. An e-mail is sent to you and any other users monitoring this Tracker.

Files Tab

Displays a list of files that have been uploaded.

File Name Name of the file.

File Type Type of file uploaded.

File Size Size of the uploaded file.

Posted By User that uploaded the file.

Delete Select before clicking Save changes to delete a file.

Add New File Select before clicking Save changes to upload a file.

Browse Click to upload a new file.

Adding a New File

To include a new file in a Tracker Issue or Task:

Select the Tracker Issue or Task Summary in which you desire to delete the attachment.
Click the Files tab.
Click the Browse button.
Navigate to the file and click the Open button.
Click the Save changes button.

Deleting a File

To delete a Tracker Issue or Task file attachment:

Select the Tracker Issue or Task Summary in which you desire to delete the attachment.
Click the Files tab.
Select the Delete checkbox next to the attachment you desire to delete.
Click the Save changes button.

Changes Tab

Audit trail of the Tracker Issue or Task.

Change Date Date the change took place.

User Id User that made the change.

Field Name Name of the field on which the change took place.

Old Value Value that was changed.

New Value Value to which the old value was changed.

Commits Tab

Commits (code changes that were committed to versioning and attached using the Tracker link) that you desire to add to this Tracker Issue or Task.

Note: To attach a commit to any Tracker Item, simply put the Tracker Issue or Task Id in the commit log message like using this format: “[#1038] fixing bug reported”

File Name of the file to which the commit is attached.

Date Date the Commit was attached.

Previous Version Size of the previous version.

New Version Size of the new version.

Message Log Log of the Commit added.

By User that added the Commit.

Dependencies Tab

Items on which this Tracker Issue or Task is dependent or which Tracker Issues or Tasks are dependent on this Tracker Item.

Dependent On: Comma-separated List of ID's List of IDs required by this item.

ID Identification number of the Dependency.

Summary Summarized information about the Dependency.

Delete Select before clicking Save changes to delete a file.

Adding a Dependency

To include a dependency in a Tracker Issue or Task:

Select the Tracker Issue or Task Summary in which you desire to add the dependency.
Click the Dependencies tab.
Click the Browse Tracker Issues or Tasks link.
Select the Item #.
Click the Save changes button.

Deleting a Dependency

To delete a Tracker Issue or Task dependency:

Select the Tracker Issue or Task Summary in which you desire to delete the dependency.
Click the Dependencies tab.
Select the Delete checkbox next to the dependency you desire to delete.
Click the Save changes button.

Duplicates Tab

Sometimes users submit multiple Tracker Issues or Tasks for the same issue, and you may desire to link all of the items together.

Duplicate: Comma-separated List of ID’s List of IDs required by this item.

Browse Items Click to select a Duplicate Tracker Issue or Task.

Duplicate of Items List of Duplicate Tracker Issues or Tasks.

ID Identification number of the Duplicate Tracker Issue or Task you desire to close.

Summary Summarized information about the Duplicate Tracker Issues or Tasks you desire to close.

Delete Select before clicking Save changes to closing a file.

Items that are Duplicates List of Duplicate Tracker Issues or Tasks.

Adding a Duplicate

To include a duplicate in a Tracker Issue or Task:

Select the Tracker Issue or Task Summary in which you desire to add the duplicate.
Click the Duplicates tab.
Click the Browse Items link.
Select the Item #.
Click the Save changes button.

Deleting a Duplicate

To delete a Tracker Issue or Task duplicate:

Select the Tracker Issue or Task Summary in which you desire to delete the duplicate.
Click the Duplicates tab.
Select the Delete checkbox next to the duplicate you desire to delete.
Click the Save changes button.

Associations Tab

Associations allow you to link Tracker Issues or Tasks to file releases, documents, other Tracker Issues or Tasks, and wiki pages.

Associated Item Item to which this Tracker Issue or Task is associated, such as file releases, document, other Tracker Issues or Tasks, and wiki pages.

Comment Information added to this Tracker Issue or Task concerning the association.

Delete Select before clicking Save changes to closing a file.

Add Association Click to associate the Tracker Issue or Task with another event.

Adding an Association

To include an Association in a Tracker Issue or Task:

Select the Tracker Issue or Task Summary in which you desire to add the Association.
Click the Associations tab.
Click the Add Association button.
Select the Plugin with which to associate.
Enter the Item ID with which to associate.
Enter a Comment describing the association.
Click the Save changes button.

Deleting an Association

To delete a Tracker Issue or Task Association:

Select the Tracker Issue or Task Summary in which you desire to delete the Association.
Click the Associations tab.
Select the Delete checkbox next to the Associations you desire to delete.
Click the Save changes button.

Time Tracking Tab

Enter time requirements for this Tracker Issue or Task.

Data Entry Date and time the hours where logged.

User Person who logged the hours.

Hours Number of hours logged.

Time Category Time category with which to associate this timed Tracker Issue or Task.

Total Total number of hours logged to date.

Add New Time Entry Enter the date on which the hours where worked.

Hours Enter the number of hours worked.

Time Category Select the category with which to associate this timed Tracker Issue or Task.

Adding Time to a Tracker Issue or Task

To add time in a Tracker Issue or Task:

Select the Tracker Issue or Task Summary in which you desire to add the Association.
Click the Time Tracking tab.
Enter the date on which the hours where worked in the Add New Time Entry field.
Enter the number of Hours worked.
Select the Time Category with which to associate this timed Tracker Issue or Task.
Click the Save changes button.

Moving a Tracker Issue or Task

You can move a Tracker Issue or Task from one Tracker folder to another.

Note: Moving a Tracker Issue or Task can result in some of the extra field data being lost if the fields in the destination tracker are not the same as the original tracker. The move of data is accomplished by matching names and types of the extra fields. When there is no match, the data is lost or replaced by default field data.

To move a Tracker Issue or Task:

Click the Summary link next to the Tracker Item you desire to move.
Click the Move Item link.

Select the Tracker Folder where you desire to move the Tracker Issue or Task.
Click the Move item button.

Deleting a Tracker Item

To delete a Tracker Issue or Task:

Click the Summary link next to the Tracker Issue or Task you desire to delete.
Click the Delete Item link.
Select the Confirm deletion checkbox.
Click the Delete button.

Cloning a Tracker Item

To clone a Tracker Issue or Task and make a duplicate of it excluding historical references:

Click the Summary link next to the Tracker Issue or Task you desire to delete.
Click Clone Item within the Tracker Issue or Task you desire to clone.

Select the Confirm Clone checkbox.
Click the Save Changes button.

Merging a Tracker Issue or Task

To merge a Tracker Issue or Task with another Tracker Issue or Task:

Click the Summary link next to the Tracker Issue or Task you desire to merge.
Click Merge Item within the Tracker Issue or Task you desire to merge.

Click the Browse Tracker Items link and select the Tracker Issue or Task with which you would like to merge.
Select the Merge Followups checkbox to include historical data with the other Tracker Item.
Select the Merge File Attachment checkbox to include attached files with the other Tracker Issue or Task.
Select the Merge Time Tracking checkbox to include time data with the other Tracker Item.
Click the Save changes button.

Tracker Query

Use the Tracker Query to configure pre-defined search criteria with which to search for Tracker Item.

Click the Tracker tab.
Select the Tracker Name you desire to monitor. Click the Query link in the left menu.

Adding a Tracker Query

To add a Tracker Query:

Click the Tracker tab.
Select the Tracker Name you desire to monitor.
Click the Query link.
Click the Add new Tracker Query button.
Choose the selection criteria. Tracker items that match any of the selected elements in each of the fields will be included.
Click the Save changes button.

Last Modified Date Range To filter by the last date the Tracker Issue or Task was modified, enter a date range.

Open Date Range To filter by the date when the Tracker Issue or Task was opened, enter a date range.

Close Date Range To filter by the date when the Tracker Issue or Task was closed, enter a date range.

Sort By Field which you desire to use to sort the Query.

Order Select to view the Sorty By field in Ascending or Descending order.

Query Name Name of the Query.

Is Shared Tracker admins will have the option to share the query, so it will appear in the filter list for other users of this tracker.

Selecting fields to display

Starting from GForge 6.0 it's possible to select extra fields to display on a tracker query. Simply select the desired fields from the available fields, press the >> button and save the changes. To remove a field, select it and press the << button.

Editing a Tracker Query

To edit a Tracker Query:

Click the Tracker tab.
Select the Tracker Name you desire to query.
Click the Query link.
Click the Edit link next to the Query you desire to edit.
Edit the Selection Criteria. Tracker items that match any of the selected elements in each of the fields will be included.
Click the Save changes button.

Running a Tracker Query

To run a Tracker Query:

Click the Tracker tab.
Select the Tracker Name you desire to query.
Click the Query link.
Click the Run Query link for the Query you wish to run.

When a tracker query is run or selected in the Browse Tracker Items page, the hierarchical view will be disabled.

Deleting a Tracker Query

To delete a Tracker Query:

Click the Tracker tab.
Select the Tracker Name you desire to query.
Click the Query link.
Click the Delete link for the Query you wish to delete.
Click the Confirm Deletion checkbox.
Click the Delete button.

Exporting a Tracker Query

To export a Tracker Query:

Click the Tracker tab.
Select the Tracker Name you desire to query.
Click the Query link.
Click the csv, xls (Excel 2003+), or xml link.
Click the Open button to view the file or click the Save button to save the file.

E-Mail Gateway

Use the e-mail gateway to add new Tracker Issues or Tasks or respond to Tracker Issues or Tasks via e-mail.

To add a new Tracker Issue or Task via e-mail.

Click the Tracker tab.
Select the type of Tracker Issue or Task you desire to add a item to.
Select E-mail Gateway.
Click the e-mail link in the E-mail Gateway.

The Subject of the e-mail is the Tracker ID formatted as follows: “Summary of new Tracker Issue or Task”(tracker-718).

The Body of the e-mail can contain the following information:
priority: 1 to 5: 1 being the lowest priority and 5 being the highest priority and should be completed first.
assignees: username1, username2. You can also enter a person’s User ID.
For Task Trackers, specify the start and end dates. For example:
start date: 08/14/2007
end date: 08/24/2007
Enter the Tracker Issue or Task Description in the rest of the body of the message.
Click Send.

Monitoring a Tracker

You can monitor activity within a Tracker, such as Bugs or Support Requests. To receive e-mails when a Tracker Issue or Task has an entry added:

Click the Tracker tab.
Select the Tracker Name you desire to monitor.
Click the Tracker Summary of the Tracker you desire to monitor.
Click the Monitor Item link. The link changes to Stop Monitoring and you receive an e-mail whenever an Tracker Issue or Task is added to the Tracker.

Stopping Tracker Monitor

To end receiving e-mails when a Tracker has a Tracker Issue or Task added:

Click the Tracker tab.
Select the Tracker Name you desire to stop receiving e-mails about.
Click the Tracker Summary of the Tracker you desire to stop monitoring.
Click the Stop Monitoring. You no longer receive an e-mail when an Tracker Issue or Task is added to this Tracker. The link changes to Monitor Tracker.

Tracker Workflow Rules

Transition Rules designed by the Tracker Administrator enforce processes and limit which users can modify fields.

Field – Field that these rules apply to.

From Value – Current value of the field.

To Value – New value that the Field.

Roles that may make this change – Users who may make the change.

Required fields for this change – Fields required when the change is made.

Notify on Change – Who is notified when the change occurs.

Mass Updating Fields in Tracker

To perform a Mass Update that changes multiple Tracker Issues or Tasks within a Tracker:

Click the Tracker tab.
Select the checkboxes next to the Trackers to which you desire to update.
Enter the necessary changes.
Click the Mass update button to apply all changes to the selected Tracker Issues or Tasks within this Project.

Within this page

Tracker

Selecting fields to display