Learn System Administration for the ACP-120 exam: user default settings, announcement banners, time tracking, work item linking, statuses and priorities.
Every point below comes from Atlassian's official documentation; each section lists its sources.
Think first When a Jira admin changes a site-wide default, which users and objects actually change, and what stays the same?
Why it matters: Questions describe a site-wide change and ask who it affects, what limit applies or which setting the admin should use.
Admins set site-wide defaults, and each user can then adjust their own copy. Defaults apply when something is created, so existing accounts keep their choices. Look and feel, banners and the default dashboard shape what everyone sees.
Step 2 of 9
Term
Meaning
User default settings
Site-wide preferences applied to each user account when it is created.
Personal settings
Each user's own choices, such as language, timezone, watch settings and email type.
Announcement banner
A site-wide message that a Jira admin creates to communicate with users.
Default dashboard
The dashboard users see the first time they log in to Jira Cloud.
Step 3 of 9
Defaults apply when an account is created; users can change them later. So changing a default does not overwrite the choices existing users already made in their profile. Public and anonymous users cannot log in to manage settings, so they inherit the site defaults.
Exam trap An admin can lock Email format by selecting Apply. Users then cannot edit that setting in their profile.
Step 4 of 9
You need the Administer Jira global permission. Open Settings, then System, then Default user preferences. Work items per page takes a value from 1 to 1000. Default access decides whether new filters and dashboards are Public or Private.
Exam trap Default access affects new filters and dashboards only. Filters and dashboards that already exist keep the access they were created with.
Step 5 of 9
Users set their own language, timezone, watch settings and email type. If their chosen timezone differs from their computer's, Jira offers to update it automatically. They can also review and manage apps that can reach their Jira account.
Step 6 of 9
Logos, favicons and date formats have fixed rules. The favicon and logo have exact size rules worth memorizing. Date and time formats follow Java SimpleDateFormat.
Look and feel requirements to remember
Item
Requirement
Extra detail
Favicon
PNG, 32x32 pixels
71x71 DPI and 8-bit color depth
Site logo
Height constrained to 30 pixels
Recommended width of 57 pixels
Date and time formats
Based on Java SimpleDateFormat
Set in Look and feel
Step 7 of 9
Only a Jira admin can create or change a banner. A message can hold up to 650 characters, emojis included. The audience defaults to Private, meaning internal licensed users only. The dismiss toggle is off by default, so the banner stays put.
Exam trap A banner is not dismissible unless you turn its toggle on. By default viewers cannot close it.
Step 8 of 9
Admins can change its gadgets and layout, but cannot delete it. Share it with the organization or the public. You cannot share it with specific groups, spaces or people.
Exam trap Sharing the default dashboard with one group is not possible. The only choices are the organization or the public.
Step 9 of 9
User defaults apply at account creation; users can then change them in their profile.
Changing user defaults needs the Administer Jira global permission.
Banners default to Private audience and cannot be dismissed unless you allow it.
The default dashboard can be edited but never deleted.
Think first When users cannot log time, attach a file or link work, which global setting, field or permission should you check first?
Why it matters: Questions describe a user who cannot track time, attach or link, and ask which setting, field or permission is missing.
Attachments are on by default, and time tracking is always on in Jira Cloud spaces. You control time tracking through its field, and an admin activates work item linking. Users also need the matching permission, such as Link Work Items or Work On Work Items.
Step 2 of 10
Term
Meaning
Time Tracking field
The field that lets people enter estimates and log time on a work item.
Work On Work Items
The space permission people need to log time on work items.
Link type
A named relationship with an outward and an inward description, such as causes and is caused by.
Wiki Style Renderer
The field renderer needed to create links in Jira that point to other apps.
Step 3 of 10
You control time tracking by showing or hiding its field. In Jira Cloud, every space has time tracking switched on. Company-managed spaces show or hide the Time tracking field in field configurations. Team-managed spaces add or remove it on their work types.
Exam trap Original estimates need the Time Tracking field on the create and edit screens. Without it there, people cannot enter an estimate.
Step 4 of 10
Working hours and days per week both accept decimal values. The Default unit (Minute, Hour, Day or Week) applies when someone logs time without a unit. A Marketplace app can act as the time tracking provider, and its data might be stored with the app developer.
Step 5 of 10
Estimation is off by default in team-managed spaces. Turn it on in Space settings, then Features, and choose Story points or Time. On a company-managed board, Remaining estimate and time spent subtracts Time spent from the original estimate.
Step 6 of 10
Logging time needs Work On Work Items plus Browse spaces. Work On Work Items can only go to users an admin invited. Editing worklogs has separate permissions for your own entries and for anyone's entries. Delete all worklogs lets users delete anyone's entries.
Worklog permissions and what they allow
Permission
Allows
Whose entries
Edit own worklogs
Edit work log entries
Only your own
Edit all worklogs
Edit work log entries
Anyone's
Delete all worklogs
Delete work log entries
Anyone's
Step 7 of 10
A Jira admin activates linking; users need Link Work Items. Each link type has a name, an outward description and an inward description. A JQL search on workitemLinkType checks all three. Closed work items are missing from the link search dropdown, so type their exact key.
Exam trap Leave clone link types alone. Jira uses them to link cloned work items automatically. When you delete any other link type, you can move its links to another type or remove them.
Step 8 of 10
Links to other apps need fields using the Wiki Style Renderer. The Comment and Description fields are typical examples. If a field uses another renderer, people cannot create links in it that point to other apps.
Step 9 of 10
Attachments are enabled by default. Attaching needs Create Attachments, and deleting your own files needs Delete Own Attachments. The default file limit is 1 GB, with a maximum of 2 GB per file. Enable ZIP Support lets people preview ZIP files and download every attachment as 1 file.
Exam trap If the Attachment field is hidden in the field configuration, people cannot attach a file while creating that work type.
Step 10 of 10
Time tracking is always on in Jira Cloud; show or hide the Time tracking field to control it.
Logging time needs Work On Work Items and Browse spaces.
Linking needs an admin to activate it and the Link Work Items permission for users.
Attachments default to 1 GB per file, up to a maximum of 2 GB.
Think first What really changes across Jira when you rename, add or delete a status, resolution or priority?
Why it matters: Questions describe a change to a status, resolution or priority and ask what else it affects.
Statuses and priorities are shared values. Workflows share statuses, and priority schemes attach priorities to spaces. Changing a shared value can ripple into every place that uses it, so ask where else it is used first.
Step 2 of 11
Term
Meaning
Shared status
A status used by more than one work type or workflow in a team-managed space.
Any status transition
A global transition that lets work items in any other status move into a status.
Priority scheme
The scheme that links a set of priorities to particular spaces.
Resolution
A work item value that is usually set when its status changes; admins may customize the list.
Step 3 of 11
Team-managed statuses need the Administrator role. That role carries the Administer spaces permission. You change statuses by editing a work type's workflow in space settings, or by managing columns on the board.
Step 4 of 11
A new status accepts work items from any other status. The Any status label marks this global transition. By default the new status is also not assigned to a board column, so the board does not show it yet.
Exam trap A new status is not on the board automatically. Until you assign it to a column, work items in it stay out of sight on the board.
Step 5 of 11
Renaming a shared status changes it in every workflow using it. Jira updates both the name and the category everywhere in the space. To rename it for one workflow only, choose to change it for these work items only.
Two ways to rename a shared status
Feature
Rename for all
For these work items only
What Jira changes
The shared status itself
A copy made for the workflow you are editing
Other workflows
Show the new name and category
Keep using the original status
Step 6 of 11
Deleting a status also deletes its transitions and their rules. It only removes the status from the workflow you are editing. A team-managed space allows 100 statuses across all workflows, and 50 in any one workflow.
Exam trap Deleting a shared status in the workflow editor does not delete it everywhere. Other workflows that share it keep it.
Step 7 of 11
Jira ships five default priorities, from Highest to Lowest. They are Highest, High, Medium, Low and Lowest. Admins can modify them, create new ones, and attach them to spaces through priority schemes. Configuring them needs the Administer Jira global permission.
Step 8 of 11
A resolution is usually set when the status changes. Jira fills the resolved date when Resolution moves from Unresolved to a value. With custom screens, set Resolution only when work moves to a Done status.
Exam trap Setting Resolution on a transition that is not Done gives the work item a resolved date too early. That undermines accurate reporting.
Step 9 of 11
Statuses, resolutions, priorities and work types can be translated. Translations need the Administer Jira global permission. They appear in reports, gadgets and all work item views. Without a translation, Jira shows the default name and description.
Step 10 of 11
Subtasks need the subtask work type in the space. If the space lacks it, you add it before anyone can create subtasks. Only space admins can then group the board by Subtask.
Step 11 of 11
Renaming a shared status updates its name and category in every workflow of the space that uses it.
A new team-managed status is not on the board until you assign it to a column.
Deleting a status removes its transitions and rules, but only from the workflow you edit.
Jira's default priorities are Highest, High, Medium, Low and Lowest.
Think first When should you restore a full cloud backup instead of importing work from a CSV file or another tool, and what do you check afterward?
Why it matters: Questions describe a migration or an import and ask which method, file or permission fits the situation.
Data can come in through space imports from CSV files or other tools, or through restores of a cloud backup. Most space imports need only permission to create work in the target space. A restore overwrites the site's database, so splitting the backup is recommended, and imported users need app access afterward.
Step 2 of 9
Term
Meaning
Backup file
An export of a Jira Cloud site, produced by following the steps for exporting work items.
Data files
entities.xml and activeobjects.xml in a backup; importing them replaces the site's database.
Application access
The right to use a Jira app; imported users need it granted before they can sign in.
User merge
An import joins imported users with matching cloud users, which can widen their access.
Step 3 of 9
Split the backup into 2 files: data and media. Put activeobjects.xml and entities.xml in the data file, and attachments and other media in the second file. This split helps you avoid timeout errors during the import.
Step 4 of 9
Start the restore from Settings, then System, then Import Jira Cloud. The data files overwrite the site's whole database. Attachments, avatars and logos in the backup also replace the ones already on the site.
Exam trap A restore is not a merge of work items. Importing the data files overwrites the existing database, so current site data is replaced.
Step 5 of 9
Imported users get no app access until you grant it. The import ignores the default application access settings. It also merges imported users with existing cloud users, which can add access or permissions. Check which groups those users will join.
Exam trap Default application access settings do not apply to imported users. Without a manual grant, they cannot sign in.
Step 6 of 9
Changes to Administer Jira do not carry over from Data Center. Other global permissions, such as Browse users and groups, do come across. After the import, add the right groups and users to Administer Jira yourself.
Step 7 of 9
Version 7.6.0 or later migrates without an upgrade. An instance older than 7.0.0 must first be upgraded to 7.6.0 or later before you migrate.
Step 8 of 9
Every CSV needs a header row with a Summary column. Enter time tracking values in seconds, so 1 hour becomes 3600. List parent work items before their subtasks or child work items in the file.
Step 9 of 9
Most imports need only permission to create work in the target space, not org admin rights.
Restoring the backup's data files replaces the site's database.
Split a cloud backup into a data file and a media file to avoid timeouts.
After a restore, grant app access to imported users. After a Data Center import, add groups and users to Administer Jira as needed.
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