Most fields in Jira can be hidden from a user's view. When a field is set to hidden, users will not see the fields on any screens, including issues such as create, update, and view. Perform the following steps in order to show or hide a field:
- Browse to the View Field Configuration page for the field configuration you wish to use
- Click on the Show/Hide link for the field you wish to show or hide, respectively
Once a field has been set to hidden, it will not appear on screen and you will not be able to search in it. However, you can still use tools such as scripts to set values for hidden fields. For this reason, hidden fields are used to store data that is used by automated processes.
Not all fields can be hidden. Built-in fields, such as Summary and Issue Type, cannot be hidden. When you set a field to hidden, you will notice that you can no longer set the field as required. As stated earlier, setting a field to required will make Jira enforce a value to be entered into the field when you create or edit an issue. If the field is hidden, there will be no way for you to set a value and you will be stuck. This is why Jira will automatically disable the required option, especially if you have already hidden a field. On the other hand, if you marked a field as required, when you hide the same field you will notice that the field is no longer required. The rule of thumb is that field visibility will override field requirement.