# Moving from Issue Picker for Jira

> Moving from Issue Picker for Jira to Work Item Selector: add the new field beside the old one and copy the selections with one Automation rule.
>
> Documentation for Oktul Work Item Selector for Jira, for Jira Cloud, by Oktul: https://oktul.com/docs/plugins/work-item-selector/moving-from-issue-picker/

**Add a Work Item Selector field beside your Issue Picker field, copy the selections with one
Automation rule, then retire the old field.** Both fields work side by side while you move, and
nobody loses a selection on the day you switch.

## What you get that Issue Picker does not have

From the [comparison](../compare/), checked on 24.09.2026 against
[Issue Picker for Jira](https://marketplace.atlassian.com/apps/1227136/issue-picker-for-jira)
by codecentric AG:

- **An Automation action of its own.** You set the field with a form, not with JSON in Jira's
  Edit work item action. [Automation and JQL](../automation-and-jql/#setting-a-field-from-a-rule)
- **Workflow validation.** A transition waits until the selected work items meet your conditions.
  [Workflow validation](../workflow-validation/)
- **JQL functions and reverse lookups.** Find what a work item selects and what selects it, in
  JQL, smart values and the REST API. [Automation and JQL](../automation-and-jql/#custom-jql-functions)
- **Any field on the card.** You choose which fields each selected work item shows, not a fixed
  set. [Set up the field](../set-up-the-field/#columns)
- **Synced Jira links.** Removing the link removes the selection too.
  [Set up the field](../set-up-the-field/#jira-links)
- **Atlassian's own design on the create screen and the customer portal.**

Both apps run on Atlassian and both offer permission modes.

## Move in six steps

<Steps
  items={[
    {
      title: 'Install Work Item Selector',
      body: 'From the Marketplace, as in Install the app. Issue Picker stays installed until the last step.',
    },
    {
      title: 'Create the new field',
      body: 'Single select or multi select, matching the old field. Give it a JQL scope that offers at least the work items the old field offered.',
    },
    {
      title: 'Put it on the same screens',
      body: 'Add it to the screens, field schemes and request types that hold the old field, as in Set up the field.',
    },
    {
      title: 'Copy the selections',
      body: 'One scheduled Automation rule, set out below. Run it once, check the result, and run it again until it finds nothing left.',
    },
    {
      title: 'Point filters, boards and rules at the new field',
      body: 'Replace the old field in JQL filters, board quick filters, dashboards and Automation rules. The JQL functions can replace searches the old field could not make.',
    },
    {
      title: 'Retire the old field',
      body: 'Remove it from its screens once nothing reads it, then uninstall Issue Picker.',
    },
  ]}
/>

## The rule that copies the selections

Create a rule in Jira Automation, at the scope of the spaces that hold the old field:

| Part | Setting |
|---|---|
| Trigger | **Scheduled**, running a JQL search for the work items to act on: `"Old field" is not EMPTY AND "New field" is EMPTY` |
| Action | **Set work item selection**: the new field, **Replace**, and in **Work items** the old field's smart value, for example `{{issue.customfield_10050}}` |

The `"New field" is EMPTY` condition lets a run pick up where the last one stopped. On a large
site, run the rule as often as it needs. Use the field names your site shows, and the
old field's id from **Custom fields** in Jira settings.

<Aside type="caution" title="Check what the old field's smart value prints">
The action reads work item keys separated by commas, spaces or new lines. Before you copy
anything, add a **Log action** with the old field's smart value and run the rule on one work
item. If the audit log shows keys such as `OPS-12, OPS-15`, the copy works as set out above.
If it shows anything else, such as summaries or ids, ask us in the
[Help Center](https://oktul.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portals) and we help you write
the smart value.
</Aside>

A key outside the new field's JQL scope is skipped and named in the audit log. A single select
field takes one key and a multi select field up to 100.

## Common questions

**Can both fields run at the same time?**

Yes. They are separate custom fields. The old one keeps working until you remove it from its screens.

**Do I have to copy every selection by hand?**

No. One scheduled Automation rule copies them with the **Set work item selection** action.

**What happens to a selected work item outside the new JQL scope?**

The action skips it and names it in the rule's audit log. Widen the scope, or leave it out on purpose.

## Related

- [Compared with other pickers](../compare/)
- [Automation and JQL](../automation-and-jql/)
- [JQL scope](../jql-scope/)
- [Set up the field](../set-up-the-field/)

---

A problem or a question? Write to [support@oktul.com](mailto:support@oktul.com) or open a request in the [Help Center](https://oktul.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portals).