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If you have any questions, please contact us.
We’re here to help you make your migration as smooth as possible.
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Refined for Jira Service Management (JSM) Cloud combines key features from Server/DC with the convenience of the cloud. However, there are also some notable differences between the two products.
On Server/DC, Refined is added on top of Jira. When enabled globally, Refined acts as a skin applied to the JSM help center.
On Cloud, Refined is a site builder that runs parallel to Jira:
Your customers create and view JSM requests on your Refined sites.
Your administrators and support agents continue to work in native Jira. If an administrator makes a change to a project, it’s instantly reflected on the Refined site.
Due to the parallel setup on Cloud, it becomes possible to combine Confluence and Jira on one and the same Refined site – more on that later.
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Feature comparison
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Feature
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Server/ DC
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Cloud
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Comment about the Cloud feature
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Sites
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You can add any project to as many Refined sites as you like.
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Categories
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You group projects with Refined Pages and menu folders instead.
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Site and Category homes
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You edit home pages (called landing pages) with the intuitive what-you-see-is-what-you-get Page Builder. Available modules differ slightly from Server/DC, read more in the migration guide below.
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Navigation menu
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Users navigate your site with the navigation menu.
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Themes
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Announcement Banners
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Promoted Search Results
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Default JSM Knowledge Base integration
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Read more about knowledge bases in step 3 of the preparation guide below.
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Custom Knowledge Base integration
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Read more about knowledge bases in step 3 of the preparation guide below.
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Third party App compatibility
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Because Refined Cloud works as a site builder parallel to native Jira, native Jira is not changed by Refined. Therefore, Refined doesn’t impact third party apps that provide functionalities in native Jira, but might impact apps that provide functionalities in the customer-facing portal.
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Custom domains on sites
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Give each site a custom URL for quick access and easy recall.
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Confluence content on sites
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Getting both Refined for JSM Cloud and Refined for Confluence Cloud lets you combine the power of Confluence and Jira on your sites. Read more in step 1 of the preparation guide below.
Preparation guide
Step 1. Consider overhauling your setup
Migrating to a new platform can be a great opportunity to rethink your JSM and Refined setup. We recommend to evaluate what was working well on the Server/DC instance - and what you can improve. You can opt to replicate your Server/DC setup on Cloud with improvements here and there, or see Cloud as a blank canvas to create a totally new setup.
Whichever option you choose, ask yourself how you can leverage these key advantages of the Cloud infrastructure:
You can create as many sites as you want. What content can you split out into multiple sites?
You can add a project to as many sites as you want. Which projects can be relevant to include on multiple sites?
It’s easy to combine both JSM portals and Confluence spaces into one Refined site, if you get both Refined for Jira Cloud and Refined for Confluence Cloud. Could this improve your workflow and your site’s user experience? It opens up many new ways of using Refined, including:
Building an intranet that features JSM portals as well as Confluence pages and blogs. For example, this makes it easy for users to explore the company’s employee handbook and directly contact HR if they have any questions.
Creating an external-facing help site that features not only a service desk, but also Confluence spaces where users can browse documentation.
Have a look at these in-depth get-started guides to see what’s possible:
Step 2. Prepare your base JSM (and Confluence) content
Once you have an idea of your sites' general structure, prepare your JSM projects – and your Confluence spaces too, if you plan to integrate it into your sites. Generally, we recommend to ask yourself the following questions:
Should I restructure my projects/spaces? In other words: which content can be merged and what can be split into separate projects/spaces?
Which projects/spaces should I introduce?
Which projects/spaces can I refresh?
Which projects/spaces can I slim down?
Step 3. Choose how to implement your knowledge base (optional)
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Refined always respects Atlassian permissions, meaning that content is only shown to users who have access to the relevant Confluence spaces and JSM projects. |
One of the easiest ways to cut down on support tickets is to help customers or employees help themselves before they even need to file a ticket. For organizations using Jira Service Management (JSM), that often means integrating content from a Confluence knowledge base into their help center.
There are multiple ways of doing this. You might face some limitations, based on which option you choose. We recommend adding Confluence spaces to your site using Refined for Confluence Cloud. This lets you take full advantage of Refined’s user-friendly browse and search experience, which includes:
The ability to embed request types directly on Confluence pages.
Page tree menus in the left-hand menu of the Confluence spaces.
Confluence modules on your landing pages:
Use the Page Tree module to guide users to self-help articles.
Use the News module to highlight blogs from Confluence spaces.
Use the Pages module to show the most recently updated pages in the Confluence spaces.
Use the Activity Stream module to show recently updated pages in the Confluence spaces.
Step 4. See if any limitations apply
You may face some technical JSM limitations on Cloud, depending on your setup. Please read our documentation to get an understanding of the limitations, whether they will impact your migration, and how to prepare.
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Limitation regarding
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Description
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JSM customers sharing their JSM request
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Two limitations depending on customer settings.
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Sharing requests with organizations
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When a JSM customer creates a request, they cannot add organizations to it. The request view doesn't show which organization(s) the request is shared with.
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Link in customer notification email
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When adding a customer to a JSM project, the customer receives an email with a link to complete the signup. After signing up, they are directed to the default JSM project URL, which is (YourCompany).atlassian.net.
Due to Refined working parallel to Jira on Cloud, we don't have control over the (YourCompany).atlassian.net URL. This means that we can't redirect users from a (YourCompany).atlassian.net site to a Refined site.
To keep track of this issue or vote/comment on it, click here.
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JSM request fields
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Although we support most JSM request fields, some have limitations.
Step 5. See how the parallel Cloud setup may impact third party apps
Because Refined Cloud works as a site builder parallel to native Jira, native Jira is not changed by Refined. Therefore, Refined doesn’t impact third party apps that provide functionalities in native Jira, but might impact apps that provide functionalities in the customer-facing portal.
Step 6. Set up a rollout plan
Because Refined works parallel to Jira Cloud, your sites don’t have to be ready directly after migrating. Users can access the native help center while you build your Refined sites. This gives you ample time to get feedback and fine-tune the sites before introducing them to your user base.
Migration guide
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The migration tool is only available to Jira administrators. |
Step 1. Migrate JSM to Cloud
Use Atlassian’s Jira Cloud Migration Assistant to migrate your JSM Server/DC instance to Cloud.
Step 2. Install Refined apps on Cloud
Install these apps on your Atlassian Cloud instance:
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App
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Description
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Refined for Jira Service Management Cloud
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Required app.
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Refined for Confluence Cloud
Optional
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Install if you want to integrate Confluence spaces in your Cloud sites, for example to create a help center.
Step 3. Upgrade Refined for Jira Service Management Server/DC
Upgrade Refined for Jira Service Management Server/DC to the latest available version. How to upgrade depends on which version you currently use. To check your current version, go to the Confluence Administration > Manage apps.
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Your current version
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How to upgrade
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Version 1.0.0 - 2.1.10
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Install version 2.1.10 from Atlassian Marketplace.
Navigate to Refined Configuration and ensure it’s working.
Install version 3.0.0 of Refined for JSM
Follow the instructions for the 3.0.0 upgrade: https://refined.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/JIRADC/pages/4704249566/Version+3.x+release+notes#Version-3.0-Upgrade-instructions
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Version 3.0.0 - 3.2.x
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Go to the Confluence Administration > Manage apps.
Install version 3.3.0 of Refined for JSM
Follow the instructions for the 3.3.0 upgrade: https://refined.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/JIRADC/pages/4704249566/Version+3.x+release+notes#Version-3.3-Upgrading-instructions
Proceed with the steps below
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Version 3.3.0 or newer
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Go to the Confluence Administration > Manage apps.
Install the latest version of Refined for Confluence.
Step 4. Export a site with the migration assistant
Go to the Refined Administration.
Go to the Site Builder tab.
Toggle on Cloud migration mode and click a site’s Cloud button.
Follow the steps in the dialog that opens.
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While you follow these steps to migrate the site, don’t make changes to the site and its settings.
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We’ll notify you in the last step of the migration process if someone made changes to the site or settings since you started the migration. If this happens, we recommend closing the dialog and starting the migration process again, to ensure all choices you make are based on the latest version of the site and its settings. |
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If elements on your site such as modules contain links to pages, you can update them in this step. Create rules to update multiple links at a time, or enter new links manually.
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Configure how you’d like these features to be handled on Cloud. The migration assistant will only show the features that apply to your site.
Layout modules
The Popular Service Projects module, Recent Request Types module, and Knowledge Base module aren’t available on Cloud. Choose how to handle these modules in the export.
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Option
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Description
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Replace unavailable modules when possible
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The Popular Service Projects modules and Knowledge Base modules will be migrated as text modules. You can add links to projects or knowledge base articles manually in the Cloud layout. Recent Request Types modules don’t have a viable alternative on Cloud and will be excluded in the export.
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Exclude all unavailable modules
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The unavailable modules will be excluded and left empty in the Cloud layout on Cloud.
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To get more granular control over the modules, you can always migrate layouts individually. Read how to do this under “Migrate single layouts” further down on this page. |
View permissions on categories and links
If your site includes categories or links with special view permissions, you’ll see a list. You can download the list as .CSV file, to keep it for future reference.
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Option
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Description
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Keep view permissions
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The users or user groups need to exist on Cloud. Otherwise, the export won’t include specific permissions related to them and the category, link, and layout will follow standard Atlassian permissions.
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Remove manual view permissions
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Standard Atlassian permissions will apply.
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These settings aren’t available on Cloud or need to be set up manually. Read this information carefully to assess your next steps after migration.
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Feature
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Differences between Server/DC and Cloud
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Languages
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Refined for Cloud doesn’t support fully multilingual sites. However, the language of hard-coded items reflects the setting of the user’s browser language. It’s not possible to translate text added into modules. You can use section view permissions to show modules in different languages to different user groups.
It’s not possible to translate the names of items in the navigation menu.
Request Types and their descriptions can be translated, based on the project settings in native JSM. The translation is based on the user’s language setting in their Atlassian profile.
To manually build a multilingual site on Cloud, read this guide.
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Site administrators
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For security reasons, site administrators aren’t included in the export. Reconfigure the site administrator rights on Cloud. The migration assistant will show a list of the current site administrators, which you can download as a .CSV file.
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Site access permissions
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By default, migrated sites aren’t available to anonymous users. You can change the site access permission manually on Cloud.
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Themes
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Themes can’t be migrated to Cloud, and need to be re-created manually. Cloud doesn’t support advanced theming or themes made with third party apps.
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Site switcher
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Site Switcher settings aren’t migrated. You’ll need to enable and configure it on Cloud after migration. You’ll have same site list for all sites you create.
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Logos and icons
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The site logo in the navigation menu won’t be migrated and needs to be set up manually on Cloud.
Project icons, link icons, and category icons aren’t supported on Cloud sites.
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Request view
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The settings Layout Mode (request activity on top, request detail on top) and List Attachment don’t exist on Cloud.
On Cloud, the request details are always shown at the top of the request view and attachments are always visible to the side.
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Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
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Cloud sites don’t display Service Level Agreements (SLAs) in the request view.
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Default request type
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Cloud sites don’t support showing a default request type. Server/Data Center sites show a default request type when users:
Search on your site but there are no search results to show.
Aren’t permitted to view a page.
End up on a “Content not found” page.
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Knowledge base
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The Display Articles in Wide Mode settings and Display Article Link settings will be migrated to Cloud. The Access to Confluence setting, Display Page Tree setting, and Global Search Settings don’t exist in Cloud.
Read this guide to learn more about setting up a knowledge base on Cloud.
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Footer
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The footer won’t be migrated, your site will get the default Cloud footer instead.
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Click the Download button to export the site. See step 5 below for instructions on importing and setting up the site on Cloud.
Module comparison
Because of technical differences between Cloud and Server/DC, there are some differences between the modules in the Layout Editor (on Server/DC) and the Page Builder (on Cloud). If the layout you export contains modules that are unavailable on Cloud, you can configure how they should be handled in the export.
Possibility to migrate only single layouts
To get more granular control over the modules, you can always migrate layouts individually, outside of the migration assistant. You can then import these layouts on Cloud, where they are called landing pages.
To migrate a single layout:
Make sure you have the following installed:
Refined for Jira Service Management Server/DC version 3.6 or newer
Jira Server/DC version 8.20 or newer or Jira Service Management Server/DC version 4.20
On your Refined site, go to a site or category home and click the … Three dots in the top right corner > Edit site/category home.
Click the Import/Export button > Download latest published version for use on Cloud.
If the layout contains modules that are unavailable on Cloud, a popup will appear. Select if you want to exclude or replace these modules in the Cloud layout. See the module comparison below.
When you're ready, click Download.
Go to the landing page on your Refined Cloud site where you want to use the layout.
Click the … (three dots) > Edit page to open the Page Builder.
Click the Three lines in the top-left > Export/Import page layout.
Upload the layout.
Make adjustments if necessary and hit Publish.
Module comparison
Because of technical differences between Cloud and Server/DC, there are some differences between the modules in the Layout Editor (on Server/DC) and the Page Builder (on Cloud). If the layout you export contains modules that are unavailable on Cloud, you can configure how they should be handled in the export.
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Layout Editor modules
Server/DC
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Page Builder modules
Cloud
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Replace the module with a Text module in the layout that you download, or exclude it altogether. In the Text module, you can manually add links to your Confluence Cloud knowledge base.
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This module is automatically replaced with an Image module with the Navigation Content style.
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This module is automatically replaced with an Image module with the Navigation Highlight style.
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Replace the module with a Text module in the layout that you download, or exclude it altogether. In the Text module, you can manually add links to projects that you know are most popular.
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There is no alternative for this module on Cloud, so it won’t be included in the downloaded layout. If you plan to add another module in its place on Cloud, a placeholder can help you see where the module used to be.
Once you’ve migrated the layouts, you can also start using these modules:
Page Tree (if you also have Refined for Confluence Cloud)
News (if you also have Refined for Confluence Cloud)
Pages (if you also have Refined for Confluence Cloud)
Activity Stream (if you also have Refined for Confluence Cloud)
Need more help?
Have a look at the migration FAQ and the demos & other resources page.
And of course don’t hesitate to contact us:
Migration assistance. Our support team is always there to help you with questions before, during or after migration.
Migration assessment. In a one-on-one meeting, we give personalized advice on how to move and improve your sites.Differences between Server/Data Center and Cloud