> How do I completely disable MySQL security if it's giving me problems
(I've followed the instructions in the installation section of this guide!)?
</A
></DT
><DT
>A.6.2. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN2080"
HREF="faq.html#AEN1999"
> Are there any security problems with Bugzilla?
</A
></DT
><DT
>A.6.3. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN2085"
HREF="faq.html#AEN2004"
> I've implemented the security fixes mentioned in Chris Yeh's security
advisory of 5/10/2000 advising not to run MySQL as root, and am running into
problems with MySQL no longer working correctly.
...
...
@@ -444,48 +444,48 @@ HREF="faq.html#faq-email"
><DL
><DT
>A.7.1. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN2092"
HREF="faq.html#AEN2011"
> I have a user who doesn't want to receive any more email from Bugzilla.
How do I stop it entirely for this user?
</A
></DT
><DT
>A.7.2. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN2097"
HREF="faq.html#AEN2016"
> I'm evaluating/testing Bugzilla, and don't want it to send email to
anyone but me. How do I do it?
</A
></DT
><DT
>A.7.3. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN2102"
HREF="faq.html#AEN2021"
> I want whineatnews.pl to whine at something more, or other than, only new
bugs. How do I do it?
</A
></DT
><DT
>A.7.4. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN2108"
HREF="faq.html#AEN2027"
> I don't like/want to use Procmail to hand mail off to bug_email.pl.
What alternatives do I have?
</A
></DT
><DT
>A.7.5. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN2115"
HREF="faq.html#AEN2034"
> How do I set up the email interface to submit/change bugs via email?
</A
></DT
><DT
>A.7.6. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN2120"
HREF="faq.html#AEN2039"
> Email takes FOREVER to reach me from bugzilla -- it's extremely slow.
What gives?
</A
></DT
><DT
>A.7.7. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN2127"
HREF="faq.html#AEN2046"
> How come email never reaches me from bugzilla changes?
</A
></DT
...
...
@@ -500,60 +500,60 @@ HREF="faq.html#faq-db"
><DL
><DT
>A.8.1. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN2135"
HREF="faq.html#AEN2054"
> I've heard Bugzilla can be used with Oracle?
</A
></DT
><DT
>A.8.2. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN2140"
HREF="faq.html#AEN2059"
> Bugs are missing from queries, but exist in the database (and I can pull
them up by specifying the bug ID). What's wrong?
</A
></DT
><DT
>A.8.3. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN2145"
HREF="faq.html#AEN2064"
> I think my database might be corrupted, or contain invalid entries. What
do I do?
</A
></DT
><DT
>A.8.4. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN2153"
HREF="faq.html#AEN2072"
> I want to manually edit some entries in my database. How?
</A
></DT
><DT
>A.8.5. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN2158"
HREF="faq.html#AEN2077"
> I try to add myself as a user, but Bugzilla always tells me my password is wrong.
</A
></DT
><DT
>A.8.6. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN2163"
HREF="faq.html#AEN2082"
> I think I've set up MySQL permissions correctly, but bugzilla still can't
connect.
</A
></DT
><DT
>A.8.7. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN2168"
HREF="faq.html#AEN2087"
> How do I synchronize bug information among multiple different Bugzilla
databases?
</A
></DT
><DT
>A.8.8. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN2175"
HREF="faq.html#AEN2094"
> Why do I get bizarre errors when trying to submit data, particularly problems
with "groupset"?
</A
></DT
><DT
>A.8.9. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN2180"
HREF="faq.html#AEN2099"
> How come even after I delete bugs, the long descriptions show up?
</A
></DT
...
...
@@ -568,32 +568,32 @@ HREF="faq.html#faq-nt"
><DL
><DT
>A.9.1. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN2190"
HREF="faq.html#AEN2109"
> What is the easiest way to run Bugzilla on Win32 (Win98+/NT/2K)?
</A
></DT
><DT
>A.9.2. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN2195"
HREF="faq.html#AEN2114"
> Is there a "Bundle::Bugzilla" equivalent for Win32?
</A
></DT
><DT
>A.9.3. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN2200"
HREF="faq.html#AEN2119"
> CGI's are failing with a "something.cgi is not a valid Windows NT
application" error. Why?
</A
></DT
><DT
>A.9.4. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN2208"
HREF="faq.html#AEN2127"
> Can I have some general instructions on how to make Bugzilla on Win32 work?
</A
></DT
><DT
>A.9.5. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN2214"
HREF="faq.html#AEN2133"
> I'm having trouble with the perl modules for NT not being able to talk to
to the database.
</A
...
...
@@ -609,34 +609,34 @@ HREF="faq.html#faq-use"
><DL
><DT
>A.10.1. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN2235"
HREF="faq.html#AEN2154"
> The query page is very confusing. Isn't there a simpler way to query?
</A
></DT
><DT
>A.10.2. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN2241"
HREF="faq.html#AEN2160"
> I'm confused by the behavior of the "accept" button in the Show Bug form.
Why doesn't it assign the bug to me when I accept it?
</A
></DT
><DT
>A.10.3. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN2251"
HREF="faq.html#AEN2170"
> I can't upload anything into the database via the "Create Attachment"
link. What am I doing wrong?
</A
></DT
><DT
>A.10.4. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN2256"
HREF="faq.html#AEN2175"
> Email submissions to Bugzilla that have attachments end up asking me to
save it as a "cgi" file.
</A
></DT
><DT
>A.10.5. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN2261"
HREF="faq.html#AEN2180"
> How do I change a keyword in Bugzilla, once some bugs are using it?
</A
></DT
...
...
@@ -651,20 +651,20 @@ HREF="faq.html#faq-hacking"
><DL
><DT
>A.11.1. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN2268"
HREF="faq.html#AEN2187"
> What bugs are in Bugzilla right now?
</A
></DT
><DT
>A.11.2. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN2277"
HREF="faq.html#AEN2196"
> How can I change the default priority to a null value? For instance, have the default
priority be "---" instead of "P2"?
</A
></DT
><DT
>A.11.3. <A
HREF="faq.html#AEN2283"
HREF="faq.html#AEN2202"
> What's the best way to submit patches? What guidelines should I follow?
</A
></DT
...
...
@@ -682,7 +682,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN1735"><B
NAME="AEN1654"><B
>A.1.1. </B
>
Where can I find information about Bugzilla?</P
...
...
@@ -708,7 +708,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN1741"><B
NAME="AEN1660"><B
>A.1.2. </B
>
What license is Bugzilla distributed under?
...
...
@@ -735,7 +735,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN1747"><B
NAME="AEN1666"><B
>A.1.3. </B
>
How do I get commercial support for Bugzilla?
...
...
@@ -770,7 +770,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN1754"><B
NAME="AEN1673"><B
>A.1.4. </B
>
What major companies or projects are currently using Bugzilla
...
...
@@ -878,7 +878,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN1779"><B
NAME="AEN1698"><B
>A.1.5. </B
>
Who maintains Bugzilla?
...
...
@@ -905,7 +905,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN1785"><B
NAME="AEN1704"><B
>A.1.6. </B
>
How does Bugzilla stack up against other bug-tracking databases?
...
...
@@ -944,7 +944,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN1792"><B
NAME="AEN1711"><B
>A.1.7. </B
>
How do I change my user name in Bugzilla?
...
...
@@ -967,7 +967,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN1797"><B
NAME="AEN1716"><B
>A.1.8. </B
>
Why doesn't Bugzilla offer this or that feature or compatability
...
...
@@ -1005,7 +1005,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN1804"><B
NAME="AEN1723"><B
>A.1.9. </B
>
Why MySQL? I'm interested in seeing Bugzilla run on
...
...
@@ -1019,7 +1019,7 @@ CLASS="answer"
></B
>Terry Weissman answers,
<A
NAME="AEN1808"><BLOCKQUOTE
NAME="AEN1727"><BLOCKQUOTE
CLASS="BLOCKQUOTE"
><P
> You're not the only one. But <EM
...
...
@@ -1093,7 +1093,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN1822"><B
NAME="AEN1741"><B
>A.1.10. </B
>
Why do the scripts say "/usr/bonsaitools/bin/perl" instead of
...
...
@@ -1113,7 +1113,7 @@ CLASS="answer"
><P
> Here's Terry Weissman's comment, for some historical context:
<A
NAME="AEN1827"><BLOCKQUOTE
NAME="AEN1746"><BLOCKQUOTE
CLASS="BLOCKQUOTE"
><P
> [This was] purely my own convention. I wanted a place to put a version of
...
...
@@ -1206,7 +1206,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN1839"><B
NAME="AEN1758"><B
>A.2.1. </B
>
What about Red Hat Bugzilla?
...
...
@@ -1230,7 +1230,7 @@ CLASS="answer"
><P
> Dave Lawrence, the original Red Hat Bugzilla maintainer, mentions:
<A
NAME="AEN1844"><BLOCKQUOTE
NAME="AEN1763"><BLOCKQUOTE
CLASS="BLOCKQUOTE"
><P
> Somebody needs to take the ball and run with it. I'm the only
...
...
@@ -1251,7 +1251,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN1847"><B
NAME="AEN1766"><B
>A.2.2. </B
>
What are the primary benefits of Red Hat Bugzilla?
...
...
@@ -1267,7 +1267,7 @@ CLASS="answer"
>Dave Lawrence</EM
>:
<A
NAME="AEN1852"><BLOCKQUOTE
NAME="AEN1771"><BLOCKQUOTE
CLASS="BLOCKQUOTE"
><P
> For the record, we are not using any template type implementation for
...
...
@@ -1381,7 +1381,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN1875"><B
NAME="AEN1794"><B
>A.2.3. </B
>
What's the current status of Red Hat Bugzilla?
...
...
@@ -1427,7 +1427,7 @@ VALIGN="TOP"
>Dave Lawrence</EM
>:
<A
NAME="AEN1882"><BLOCKQUOTE
NAME="AEN1801"><BLOCKQUOTE
CLASS="BLOCKQUOTE"
><P
> I suppose the current thread warrants an update on the status of
...
...
@@ -1492,7 +1492,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN1888"><B
NAME="AEN1807"><B
>A.3.1. </B
>
What is Loki Bugzilla (Fenris)?
...
...
@@ -1509,7 +1509,7 @@ CLASS="answer"
HREF="http://fenris.lokigames.com/"
TARGET="_top"
>http://fenris.lokigames.com</A
>. There are some advantages to using Fenris, chief being separation of comments based upon user privacy level, data hiding, forced login for any data retrieval, and some additional fields. Loki has mainted their code, originally a fork from the Bugzilla 2.8 code base, and it is quite a bit different than stock Bugzilla at this point. I recommend you stick with official Bugzilla version 2.14 rather than using a fork, but it's up to you.
>. There are some advantages to using Fenris, chief being separation of comments based upon user privacy level, data hiding, forced login for any data retrieval, and some additional fields. Loki has mainted their code, originally a fork from the Bugzilla 2.8 code base, and it is quite a bit different than stock Bugzilla at this point. I recommend you stick with official Bugzilla version 2.16 rather than using a fork, but it's up to you.
</P
></DIV
></DIV
...
...
@@ -1556,7 +1556,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN1899"><B
NAME="AEN1818"><B
>A.4.1. </B
>
Is Bugzilla web-based or do you have to have specific software or
...
...
@@ -1580,7 +1580,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN1904"><B
NAME="AEN1823"><B
>A.4.2. </B
>
Has anyone you know of already done any Bugzilla integration with
...
...
@@ -1604,7 +1604,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN1909"><B
NAME="AEN1828"><B
>A.4.3. </B
>
Does Bugzilla allow the user to track multiple projects?
...
...
@@ -1630,7 +1630,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN1914"><B
NAME="AEN1833"><B
>A.4.4. </B
>
If I am on many projects, and search for all bugs assigned to me, will
...
...
@@ -1653,7 +1653,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN1919"><B
NAME="AEN1838"><B
>A.4.5. </B
>
Does Bugzilla allow attachments (text, screenshots, urls etc)? If yes,
...
...
@@ -1681,7 +1681,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN1924"><B
NAME="AEN1843"><B
>A.4.6. </B
>
Does Bugzilla allow us to define our own priorities and levels? Do we
...
...
@@ -1716,7 +1716,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN1931"><B
NAME="AEN1850"><B
>A.4.7. </B
>
The index.html page doesn't show the footer. It's really annoying to have
...
...
@@ -1901,7 +1901,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN1953"><B
NAME="AEN1872"><B
>A.4.8. </B
>
Does Bugzilla provide any reporting features, metrics, graphs, etc? You
...
...
@@ -1940,7 +1940,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN1961"><B
NAME="AEN1880"><B
>A.4.9. </B
>
Is there email notification and if so, what do you see when you get an
...
...
@@ -1965,7 +1965,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN1966"><B
NAME="AEN1885"><B
>A.4.10. </B
>
Can email notification be set up to send to multiple
...
...
@@ -1988,7 +1988,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN1971"><B
NAME="AEN1890"><B
>A.4.11. </B
>
If there is email notification, do users have to have any particular
...
...
@@ -2045,7 +2045,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN1978"><B
NAME="AEN1897"><B
>A.4.12. </B
>
If I just wanted to track certain bugs, as they go through life, can I
...
...
@@ -2072,7 +2072,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN1983"><B
NAME="AEN1902"><B
>A.4.13. </B
>
Does Bugzilla allow data to be imported and exported? If I had outsiders
...
...
@@ -2117,7 +2117,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN1991"><B
NAME="AEN1910"><B
>A.4.14. </B
>
Has anyone converted Bugzilla to another language to be used in other
...
...
@@ -2143,7 +2143,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN1996"><B
NAME="AEN1915"><B
>A.4.15. </B
>
Can a user create and save reports? Can they do this in Word format?
...
...
@@ -2166,7 +2166,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN2001"><B
NAME="AEN1920"><B
>A.4.16. </B
>
Can a user re-run a report with a new project, same query?
...
...
@@ -2188,7 +2188,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN2006"><B
NAME="AEN1925"><B
>A.4.17. </B
>
Can a user modify an existing report and then save it into another name?
...
...
@@ -2211,7 +2211,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN2011"><B
NAME="AEN1930"><B
>A.4.18. </B
>
Does Bugzilla have the ability to search by word, phrase, compound
...
...
@@ -2235,7 +2235,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN2016"><B
NAME="AEN1935"><B
>A.4.19. </B
>
Can the admin person establish separate group and individual user
...
...
@@ -2258,7 +2258,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN2021"><B
NAME="AEN1940"><B
>A.4.20. </B
>
Does Bugzilla provide record locking when there is simultaneous access
...
...
@@ -2283,7 +2283,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN2026"><B
NAME="AEN1945"><B
>A.4.21. </B
>
Are there any backup features provided?
...
...
@@ -2311,7 +2311,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN2032"><B
NAME="AEN1951"><B
>A.4.22. </B
>
Can users be on the system while a backup is in progress?
...
...
@@ -2335,7 +2335,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN2037"><B
NAME="AEN1956"><B
>A.4.23. </B
>
What type of human resources are needed to be on staff to install and
...
...
@@ -2374,7 +2374,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN2044"><B
NAME="AEN1963"><B
>A.4.24. </B
>
What time frame are we looking at if we decide to hire people to install
...
...
@@ -2405,7 +2405,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN2049"><B
NAME="AEN1968"><B
>A.4.25. </B
>
Is there any licensing fee or other fees for using Bugzilla? Any
...
...
@@ -2435,7 +2435,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN2056"><B
NAME="AEN1975"><B
>A.5.1. </B
>
How do I download and install Bugzilla?
...
...
@@ -2462,7 +2462,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN2062"><B
NAME="AEN1981"><B
>A.5.2. </B
>
How do I install Bugzilla on Windows NT?
...
...
@@ -2485,7 +2485,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN2067"><B
NAME="AEN1986"><B
>A.5.3. </B
>
Is there an easy way to change the Bugzilla cookie name?
...
...
@@ -2513,7 +2513,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN2074"><B
NAME="AEN1993"><B
>A.6.1. </B
>
How do I completely disable MySQL security if it's giving me problems
...
...
@@ -2541,7 +2541,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN2080"><B
NAME="AEN1999"><B
>A.6.2. </B
>
Are there any security problems with Bugzilla?
...
...
@@ -2566,7 +2566,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN2085"><B
NAME="AEN2004"><B
>A.6.3. </B
>
I've implemented the security fixes mentioned in Chris Yeh's security
...
...
@@ -2598,7 +2598,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN2092"><B
NAME="AEN2011"><B
>A.7.1. </B
>
I have a user who doesn't want to receive any more email from Bugzilla.
...
...
@@ -2622,7 +2622,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN2097"><B
NAME="AEN2016"><B
>A.7.2. </B
>
I'm evaluating/testing Bugzilla, and don't want it to send email to
...
...
@@ -2646,7 +2646,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN2102"><B
NAME="AEN2021"><B
>A.7.3. </B
>
I want whineatnews.pl to whine at something more, or other than, only new
...
...
@@ -2676,7 +2676,7 @@ CLASS="qandaentry"
CLASS="question"
><P
><A
NAME="AEN2108"><B
NAME="AEN2027"><B
>A.7.4. </B
>
I don't like/want to use Procmail to hand mail off to bug_email.pl.
...
...
@@ -2692,7 +2692,7 @@ CLASS="answer"
You can call bug_email.pl directly from your aliases file, with
> Bugzilla is a large, complex system. Describing how to use it
requires some time. If you are only interested in installing or
administering a Bugzilla installation, please consult the
> This section contains information for end-users of Bugzilla.
If you are administering a Bugzilla installation, please consult the
Installing and Administering Bugzilla portions of this Guide.
This section is principally aimed towards developing end-user
mastery of Bugzilla, so you may fully enjoy the benefits
afforded by using this reliable open-source bug-tracking
software.
</P
><P
> Throughout this portion of the Guide, we will refer to user
account options available at the Bugzilla test installation,
> There is a Bugzilla test installation, called
<A
HREF="http://landfill.tequilarista.org/"
TARGET="_top"
> landfill.tequilarista.org</A
>.
<DIV
CLASS="note"
><P
></P
><TABLE
CLASS="note"
WIDTH="100%"
BORDER="0"
><TR
><TD
WIDTH="25"
ALIGN="CENTER"
VALIGN="TOP"
><IMG
SRC="../images/note.gif"
HSPACE="5"
ALT="Note"></TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
><P
> Some people have run into difficulties completing this
tutorial. If you run into problems, please check the
updated online documentation available at <A
HREF="http://www.trilobyte.net/barnsons/"
TARGET="_top"
>http://www.trilobyte.net/barnsons</A
>. If you're still stumped, please subscribe to the newsgroup and provide details of exactly what's stumping you! If enough people complain, I'll have to fix it in the next version of this Guide. You can subscribe to the newsgroup at <A
>. While some of the advice is Mozilla-specific, the basic principles of reporting Reproducible, Specific bugs, isolating the Product you are using, the Version of the Product, the Component which failed, the Hardware Platform, and Operating System you were using at the time of the failure go a long way toward ensuring accurate, responsible fixes for the bug that bit you.
</P
><P
> While you are at it, why not learn how to find previously
reported bugs? Mozilla.org has published a great tutorial
While some of the advice is Mozilla-specific, the basic principles of reporting Reproducible, Specific bugs, isolating the Product you are using, the Version of the Product, the Component which failed, the Hardware Platform, and Operating System you were using at the time of the failure go a long way toward ensuring accurate, responsible fixes for the bug that bit you.
</P
><P
> I realize this was a lot to read. However, understanding
the mentality of writing great bug reports will help us on
the next part!
> The procedure for filing a test bug is as follows:
> section. It's a bit confusing to use the first time, but can provide unparalleled flexibility in your queries, allowing you to build extremely powerful requests.
@@ -1373,12 +1373,14 @@ Group3, since he isn't in Group4.
make certain files world readable and/or writable. <emphasis>THIS IS
INSECURE!</emphasis>. This means that anyone who can get access to
your system can do whatever they want to your Bugzilla installation.
</para>
<note>
<para>
This also means that if your webserver runs all cgi scripts as the
same user/group, anyone on the system who can run cgi scripts will
be able to take control of your Bugzilla installation.
</note>
</para>
</note>
<para>
On Apache, you can use .htaccess files to protect access
to these directories, as outlined in <ulink url="http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=57161">Bug 57161</ulink> for the localconfig file, and <ulink url="http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=65572"> Bug 65572</ulink> for adequate protection in your data/ and shadow/ directories.
The first thing you need to notice about the Bugzilla Query
Page is that nearly every box you see on your screen has a
hyperlink nearby, explaining what it is or what it does. Near
the upper-left-hand corner of your browser window you should
see the word <quote>Status</quote> underlined. Select it.
</para>
<section id="bug_page">
<title>Anatomy of a Bug</title>
<para>
Notice the page that popped up? Every underlined word you see
on your screen is a hyperlink that will take you to
context-sensitive help. Click around for a while, and learn
what everything here does. To return to the query interface
after pulling up a help page, use the <quote>Back</quote>
button in your browser.
The core of Bugzilla is the screen which displays a particular bug.
It's a good place to explain some Bugzilla concepts.
<ulink url="http://landfill.tequilarista.org/bugzilla-tip/show_bug.cgi?id=1">Bug 1 on Landfill</ulink> is a good example. Note that the names of most fields
are hyperlinks; clicking them will take you to context-sensitive
help on that particular field.
</para>
<para>
I'm sure that after checking out the online help, you are now
an expert on the Bugzilla Query Page. If, however, you feel
you haven't mastered it yet, let me walk you through making a
few successful queries to find out what there are in the
Bugzilla bug-tracking system itself.
</para>
<orderedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
Ensure you are back on the <quote>Bugzilla Query
Page</quote>. Do nothing in the boxes marked "Status",
"Resolution", "Platform", "OpSys", "Priority", or
"Severity". The default query for "Status" is to find all
bugs that are NEW, ASSIGNED, or REOPENED, which is what we
want. If you don't select anything in the other 5
scrollboxes there, then you are saying that "any of these
are OK"; we're not locking ourselves into only finding
bugs on the "DEC" Platform, or "Windows 95" OpSys
(Operating System). You're smart, I think you have it
figured out.
</para>
<para>
Basically, selecting <emphasis>anything</emphasis> on the
query page narrows your search down. Leaving stuff
unselected, or text boxes unfilled, broadens your search.
</para>
</listitem>
<orderedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
You see the box immediately below the top six boxes that
contains an "Email" text box, with the words "matching
as", a drop-down selection box, then some checkboxes with
"Assigned To" checked by default? This allows you to
filter your search down based upon email address. Let's
put my email address in there, and see what happens.
</para>
<para>
Type "barnboy@trilobyte.net" in the top Email text box.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Let's narrow the search some more. Scroll down until you
find the box with the word "Program" over the top of it.
This is where we can narrow our search down to only
specific products (software programs or product lines) in
our Bugzilla database. Please notice the box is a
<emphasis>scrollbox</emphasis>. Using the down arrow on
the scrollbox, scroll down until you can see an entry
called "Bugzilla". Select this entry.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Did you notice that some of the boxes to the right changed
when you selected "Bugzilla"? Every Program (or Product)
has different Versions, Components, and Target Milestones
associated with it. A "Version" is the number of a
software program.
<example>
<title>Some Famous Software Versions</title>
<informalexample>
<para>
Do you remember the hype in 1995 when Microsoft
Windows 95(r) was released? It may have been several
years ago, but Microsoft(tm) spent over $300 Million
advertising this new Version of their software.
Three years later, they released Microsoft Windows
98(r), another new version, to great fanfare, and
then in 2000 quietly released Microsoft Windows
ME(Millenium Edition)(r).
</para>
<para>
Software "Versions" help a manufacturer
differentiate their current product from their
previous products. Most do not identify their
products by the year they were released. Instead,
the "original" version of their software will often
be numbered "1.0", with small bug-fix releases on
subsequent tenths of a digit. In most cases, it's
not a decimal number; for instance, often 1.9 is an
<emphasis>older</emphasis> version of the software
than 1.11, but is a <emphasis>newer</emphasis>
version than 1.1.1.
</para>
<para>
In general, a "Version" in Bugzilla should refer to
<emphasis>released</emphasis> products, not products
that have not yet been released to the public.
Forthcoming products are what the Target Milestone
field is for.
</para>
</informalexample>
</example>
</para>
<para>
A "Component" is a piece of a Product.
It may be a standalone program, or some other logical
division of a Product or Program.
Normally, a Component has a single Owner, who is responsible
for overseeing efforts to improve that Component.
<example>
<title>Mozilla's Bugzilla Components</title>
<informalexample>
<para>
Mozilla's "Bugzilla" Product is composed of several pieces (Components):
<emphasis>Product and Component</emphasis>:
Bugs are divided up by Product and Component, with a Product having one
or more Components in it. For example, bugzilla.mozilla.org's
"Bugzilla" Product is composed of several Components:
<simplelist>
<member><emphasis>Administration</emphasis>,
Administration of a bugzilla installation, including
...
...
@@ -427,7 +243,7 @@ system against which all others are measured.
<member><emphasis>Documentation</emphasis>,
The bugzilla documentation, including anything in the
<filename>docs/</filename> directory and The Bugzilla Guide
(This document :)
</member>
<member><emphasis>Email</emphasis>,
Anything to do with email sent by Bugzilla.
...
...
@@ -458,253 +274,252 @@ system against which all others are measured.
</member>
</simplelist>
</para>
</informalexample>
</example>
</para>
<para>
A "Milestone", or "Target Milestone" is a often a planned
future "Version" of a product. In many cases, though,
Milestones simply represent significant dates for a
developer. Having certain features in your Product is
frequently tied to revenue (money) the developer will
receive if the features work by the time she reaches the
Target Milestone. Target Milestones are a great tool to
organize your time. If someone will pay you $100,000 for
incorporating certain features by a certain date, those
features by that Milestone date become a very high
priority. Milestones tend to be highly malleable
creatures, though, that appear to be in reach but are out
of reach by the time the important day arrives.
</para>
<para>
The Bugzilla Project has set up Milestones for future
Bugzilla versions 2.14, 2.16, 2.18, 3.0, etc. However, a
Target Milestone can just as easily be a specific date,
code name, or weird alphanumeric combination, like "M19".
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
OK, now let's select the "Bugzilla" component from its scrollbox.
<emphasis>Status and Resolution</emphasis>:
A bug passes through several Statuses in its lifetime, and ends up in the
RESOLVED status, with one of a set of Resolutions (e.g. FIXED, INVALID.)
The different possible
values for Status and Resolution on your installation will be documented
in the context-sensitive help for those items.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Skip down the page a bit -- do you see the "submit query" button?
Select it, and let's run
this query!
<emphasis>Assigned To</emphasis>:
The person responsible for fixing the bug.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Congratulations! You've completed your first Query, and
have before you the Bug List of the author of this Guide,
Matthew P. Barnson (barnboy@trilobyte.net). If I'm doing
well, you'll have a cryptic "Zarro Boogs Found" message on
your screen. It is just a happy hacker's way of saying
"Zero Bugs Found". However, I am fairly certain I will
always have some bugs assigned to me that aren't done yet,
so you won't often see that message!
<emphasis>URL</emphasis>:
A URL associated with the bug, if any.
</para>
</listitem>
</orderedlist>
<para>
I encourage you to click the bug numbers in the left-hand
column and examine my bugs. Also notice that if you click the
underlined links near the top of this page, they do not take
you to context-sensitive help here, but instead sort the
columns of bugs on the screen! When you need to sort your bugs
by priority, severity, or the people they are assigned to,
this is a tremendous timesaver.
</para>
<listitem>
<para>
A couple more interesting things about the Bug List page:
<simplelist>
<member><emphasis>Change Columns</emphasis>: by selecting
this link, you can show all kinds of information in the
Bug List</member>
<member><emphasis>Change several bugs at once</emphasis>: If
you have sufficient rights to change all the bugs shown in
the Bug List, you can mass-modify them. This is a big
time-saver.</member>
<member><emphasis>Send mail to bug owners</emphasis>: If you
have many related bugs, you can request an update from
every person who owns the bugs in the Bug List asking them
the status.</member>
<member><emphasis>Edit this query</emphasis>: If you didn't
get exactly the results you were looking for, you can
return to the Query page through this link and make small
revisions to the query you just made so you get more
accurate results.</member>
</simplelist>
<emphasis>Summary</emphasis>:
A one-sentence summary of the problem.
</para>
<note>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
There are many more options to the Bugzilla Query Page and
the Bug List than I have shown you. But this should be
enough for you to learn to get around. I encourage you to
check out the <ulink
url="http://www.mozilla.org/bugs/">Bugzilla Home Page</ulink> to learn about the Anatomy and Life Cycle of a Bug before continuing.
<emphasis>Status Whiteboard</emphasis>: (a.k.a. Whiteboard) A
free-form text area for adding short notes and tags to a bug.
</para>
</note>
</section>
<section id="bugreports">
<title>Creating and Managing Bug Reports</title>
<epigraph>
<para>And all this time, I thought we were taking bugs <emphasis>out</emphasis>...</para>
</epigraph>
</listitem>
<section id="bug-writing">
<title>Writing a Great Bug Report</title>
<listitem>
<para>
Before we plunge into writing your first bug report, I
encourage you to read some bug-writing guidelines. If you
are reading this document as part of a Bugzilla CVS checkout
or un-tarred Bugzilla distribution, you should be able to
read them by clicking <ulink
url="../../bugwritinghelp.html">here</ulink>. If you are reading this online, check out the Mozilla.org bug-writing guidelines at <ulink url="http://www.mozilla.org/quality/bug-writing-guidelines.html">http://www.mozilla.org/quality/bug-writing-guidelines.html</ulink>. While some of the advice is Mozilla-specific, the basic principles of reporting Reproducible, Specific bugs, isolating the Product you are using, the Version of the Product, the Component which failed, the Hardware Platform, and Operating System you were using at the time of the failure go a long way toward ensuring accurate, responsible fixes for the bug that bit you.
<emphasis>Keywords</emphasis>:
The administrator can define keywords which you can use to tag and
categorise bugs - e.g. The Mozilla Project has keywords like crash
and regression.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
While you are at it, why not learn how to find previously
reported bugs? Mozilla.org has published a great tutorial
Scroll down a bit on the subsequent page, until you see
the "Resolve bug, changing resolution to (dropdown box).
Normally, you would "Accept bug (change status to
ASSIGNED)", fix it, and then resolve. But in this case,
we're going to short-circuit the process because this
wasn't a real bug. Change the dropdown next to "Resolve
Bug" to "INVALID", make sure the radio button is marked
next to "Resolve Bug", then click "Commit".
The Search page has controls for selecting different possible values
for all of the fields in a bug, as described above. Once you've defined
a search, you can either run it, or save it as a Remembered Query, which
can optionally appear in the footer of your pages.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Hey! It said it couldn't take the change in a big red
box! That's right, you must specify a Comment in order
to make this change. Select the "Back" button in your
browser, add a Comment, then try Resolving the bug with
INVALID status again. This time it should work.
Highly advanced querying is done using Boolean Charts, which have their
own <ulink url="http://landfill.tequilarista.org/bugzilla-tip/booleanchart.html">context-sensitive help</ulink>.
</para>
</listitem>
</orderedlist>
</section>
<section id="list">
<title>Bug Lists</title>
<para>
You have now learned the basics of Bugzilla navigation,
entering a bug, and bug maintenance. I encourage you to
explore these features, and see what you can do with them!
We'll spend no more time on individual Bugs or Queries from
this point on, so you are on your own there.
If you run a search, a list of matching bugs will be returned.
The default search is to return all open bugs on the system -
don't try running this search on a Bugzilla installation with
a lot of bugs!
</para>
<para>
But I'll give a few last hints!
The format of the list is configurable. For example, it can be
sorted by clicking the column headings. Other useful features
can be accessed using the links at the bottom of the list:
<simplelist>
<member><emphasis>Long Format</emphasis>: this gives you a large page
with a non-editable summary of the fields of each bug.</member>
<member><emphasis>Change Columns</emphasis>: change the bug
attributes which appear in the list.</member>
<member><emphasis>Change several bugs at once</emphasis>: If
your account is sufficiently empowered, you can make the same
change to all the bugs in the list - for example, changing their
owner.</member>
<member><emphasis>Send mail to bug owners</emphasis>: Sends mail
to the owners of all bugs on the list.</member>
<member><emphasis>Edit this query</emphasis>: If you didn't
get exactly the results you were looking for, you can
return to the Query page through this link and make small
revisions to the query you just made so you get more
accurate results.</member>
</simplelist>
</para>
</section>
<section id="bugreports">
<title>Filing Bugs</title>
<epigraph>
<para>And all this time, I thought we were taking bugs <emphasis>out</emphasis>...</para>
</epigraph>
<para>
There is a <ulink
url="http://landfill.tequilarista.org/bugzilla-tip/help.html">CLUE</ulink> on the Query page that will teach you more how to use the form.
Years of bug writing experience has been distilled for your reading
pleasure into the <ulink url="http://landfill.tequilarista.org/bugzilla-tip/bugwritinghelp.html">
Bug Writing Guidelines</ulink>.
While some of the advice is Mozilla-specific, the basic principles of reporting Reproducible, Specific bugs, isolating the Product you are using, the Version of the Product, the Component which failed, the Hardware Platform, and Operating System you were using at the time of the failure go a long way toward ensuring accurate, responsible fixes for the bug that bit you.
</para>
<para>
If you click the hyperlink on the <ulink
url="http://landfill.tequilarista.org/bugzilla-tip/describecomponents.cgi">Component</ulink> box of the Query page, you will be presented a form that will describe what all the components are.
The procedure for filing a test bug is as follows:
</para>
<orderedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
Possibly the most powerful feature of the Query page is the
url="http://landfill.tequilarista.org/bugzilla-tip/booleanchart.html">Boolean Chart</ulink> section. It's a bit confusing to use the first time, but can provide unparalleled flexibility in your queries, allowing you to build extremely powerful requests.
url="http://landfill.tequilarista.org/bugzilla-tip/enter_bug.cgi"> Enter a new bug report</ulink>.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Finally, you can build some nifty <ulink
url="http://landfill.tequilarista.org/bugzilla-tip/reports.cgi">Reports</ulink> using the "Bug Reports" link near the bottom of the query page, and also available via the "Reports" link at the footer of each page.
Select a product - any one will do.
</para>
</section>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Fill in the fields.
Bugzilla should have made reasonable guesses, based upon
your browser, for the "Platform" and "OS" drop-down
@@ -1373,12 +1373,14 @@ Group3, since he isn't in Group4.
make certain files world readable and/or writable. <emphasis>THIS IS
INSECURE!</emphasis>. This means that anyone who can get access to
your system can do whatever they want to your Bugzilla installation.
</para>
<note>
<para>
This also means that if your webserver runs all cgi scripts as the
same user/group, anyone on the system who can run cgi scripts will
be able to take control of your Bugzilla installation.
</note>
</para>
</note>
<para>
On Apache, you can use .htaccess files to protect access
to these directories, as outlined in <ulinkurl="http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=57161">Bug 57161</ulink> for the localconfig file, and <ulinkurl="http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=65572"> Bug 65572</ulink> for adequate protection in your data/ and shadow/ directories.
The first thing you need to notice about the Bugzilla Query
Page is that nearly every box you see on your screen has a
hyperlink nearby, explaining what it is or what it does. Near
the upper-left-hand corner of your browser window you should
see the word <quote>Status</quote> underlined. Select it.
</para>
<sectionid="bug_page">
<title>Anatomy of a Bug</title>
<para>
Notice the page that popped up? Every underlined word you see
on your screen is a hyperlink that will take you to
context-sensitive help. Click around for a while, and learn
what everything here does. To return to the query interface
after pulling up a help page, use the <quote>Back</quote>
button in your browser.
The core of Bugzilla is the screen which displays a particular bug.
It's a good place to explain some Bugzilla concepts.
<ulinkurl="http://landfill.tequilarista.org/bugzilla-tip/show_bug.cgi?id=1">Bug 1 on Landfill</ulink> is a good example. Note that the names of most fields
are hyperlinks; clicking them will take you to context-sensitive
help on that particular field.
</para>
<para>
I'm sure that after checking out the online help, you are now
an expert on the Bugzilla Query Page. If, however, you feel
you haven't mastered it yet, let me walk you through making a
few successful queries to find out what there are in the
Bugzilla bug-tracking system itself.
</para>
<orderedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
Ensure you are back on the <quote>Bugzilla Query
Page</quote>. Do nothing in the boxes marked "Status",
"Resolution", "Platform", "OpSys", "Priority", or
"Severity". The default query for "Status" is to find all
bugs that are NEW, ASSIGNED, or REOPENED, which is what we
want. If you don't select anything in the other 5
scrollboxes there, then you are saying that "any of these
are OK"; we're not locking ourselves into only finding
bugs on the "DEC" Platform, or "Windows 95" OpSys
(Operating System). You're smart, I think you have it
figured out.
</para>
<para>
Basically, selecting <emphasis>anything</emphasis> on the
query page narrows your search down. Leaving stuff
unselected, or text boxes unfilled, broadens your search.
</para>
</listitem>
<orderedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
You see the box immediately below the top six boxes that
contains an "Email" text box, with the words "matching
as", a drop-down selection box, then some checkboxes with
"Assigned To" checked by default? This allows you to
filter your search down based upon email address. Let's
put my email address in there, and see what happens.
</para>
<para>
Type "barnboy@trilobyte.net" in the top Email text box.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Let's narrow the search some more. Scroll down until you
find the box with the word "Program" over the top of it.
This is where we can narrow our search down to only
specific products (software programs or product lines) in
our Bugzilla database. Please notice the box is a
<emphasis>scrollbox</emphasis>. Using the down arrow on
the scrollbox, scroll down until you can see an entry
called "Bugzilla". Select this entry.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Did you notice that some of the boxes to the right changed
when you selected "Bugzilla"? Every Program (or Product)
has different Versions, Components, and Target Milestones
associated with it. A "Version" is the number of a
software program.
<example>
<title>Some Famous Software Versions</title>
<informalexample>
<para>
Do you remember the hype in 1995 when Microsoft
Windows 95(r) was released? It may have been several
years ago, but Microsoft(tm) spent over $300 Million
advertising this new Version of their software.
Three years later, they released Microsoft Windows
98(r), another new version, to great fanfare, and
then in 2000 quietly released Microsoft Windows
ME(Millenium Edition)(r).
</para>
<para>
Software "Versions" help a manufacturer
differentiate their current product from their
previous products. Most do not identify their
products by the year they were released. Instead,
the "original" version of their software will often
be numbered "1.0", with small bug-fix releases on
subsequent tenths of a digit. In most cases, it's
not a decimal number; for instance, often 1.9 is an
<emphasis>older</emphasis> version of the software
than 1.11, but is a <emphasis>newer</emphasis>
version than 1.1.1.
</para>
<para>
In general, a "Version" in Bugzilla should refer to
<emphasis>released</emphasis> products, not products
that have not yet been released to the public.
Forthcoming products are what the Target Milestone
field is for.
</para>
</informalexample>
</example>
</para>
<para>
A "Component" is a piece of a Product.
It may be a standalone program, or some other logical
division of a Product or Program.
Normally, a Component has a single Owner, who is responsible
for overseeing efforts to improve that Component.
<example>
<title>Mozilla's Bugzilla Components</title>
<informalexample>
<para>
Mozilla's "Bugzilla" Product is composed of several pieces (Components):
<emphasis>Product and Component</emphasis>:
Bugs are divided up by Product and Component, with a Product having one
or more Components in it. For example, bugzilla.mozilla.org's
"Bugzilla" Product is composed of several Components:
<simplelist>
<member><emphasis>Administration</emphasis>,
Administration of a bugzilla installation, including
...
...
@@ -427,7 +243,7 @@ system against which all others are measured.
<member><emphasis>Documentation</emphasis>,
The bugzilla documentation, including anything in the
<filename>docs/</filename> directory and The Bugzilla Guide
(This document :)
</member>
<member><emphasis>Email</emphasis>,
Anything to do with email sent by Bugzilla.
...
...
@@ -458,253 +274,252 @@ system against which all others are measured.
</member>
</simplelist>
</para>
</informalexample>
</example>
</para>
<para>
A "Milestone", or "Target Milestone" is a often a planned
future "Version" of a product. In many cases, though,
Milestones simply represent significant dates for a
developer. Having certain features in your Product is
frequently tied to revenue (money) the developer will
receive if the features work by the time she reaches the
Target Milestone. Target Milestones are a great tool to
organize your time. If someone will pay you $100,000 for
incorporating certain features by a certain date, those
features by that Milestone date become a very high
priority. Milestones tend to be highly malleable
creatures, though, that appear to be in reach but are out
of reach by the time the important day arrives.
</para>
<para>
The Bugzilla Project has set up Milestones for future
Bugzilla versions 2.14, 2.16, 2.18, 3.0, etc. However, a
Target Milestone can just as easily be a specific date,
code name, or weird alphanumeric combination, like "M19".
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
OK, now let's select the "Bugzilla" component from its scrollbox.
<emphasis>Status and Resolution</emphasis>:
A bug passes through several Statuses in its lifetime, and ends up in the
RESOLVED status, with one of a set of Resolutions (e.g. FIXED, INVALID.)
The different possible
values for Status and Resolution on your installation will be documented
in the context-sensitive help for those items.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Skip down the page a bit -- do you see the "submit query" button?
Select it, and let's run
this query!
<emphasis>Assigned To</emphasis>:
The person responsible for fixing the bug.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Congratulations! You've completed your first Query, and
have before you the Bug List of the author of this Guide,
Matthew P. Barnson (barnboy@trilobyte.net). If I'm doing
well, you'll have a cryptic "Zarro Boogs Found" message on
your screen. It is just a happy hacker's way of saying
"Zero Bugs Found". However, I am fairly certain I will
always have some bugs assigned to me that aren't done yet,
so you won't often see that message!
<emphasis>URL</emphasis>:
A URL associated with the bug, if any.
</para>
</listitem>
</orderedlist>
<para>
I encourage you to click the bug numbers in the left-hand
column and examine my bugs. Also notice that if you click the
underlined links near the top of this page, they do not take
you to context-sensitive help here, but instead sort the
columns of bugs on the screen! When you need to sort your bugs
by priority, severity, or the people they are assigned to,
this is a tremendous timesaver.
</para>
<listitem>
<para>
A couple more interesting things about the Bug List page:
<simplelist>
<member><emphasis>Change Columns</emphasis>: by selecting
this link, you can show all kinds of information in the
Bug List</member>
<member><emphasis>Change several bugs at once</emphasis>: If
you have sufficient rights to change all the bugs shown in
the Bug List, you can mass-modify them. This is a big
time-saver.</member>
<member><emphasis>Send mail to bug owners</emphasis>: If you
have many related bugs, you can request an update from
every person who owns the bugs in the Bug List asking them
the status.</member>
<member><emphasis>Edit this query</emphasis>: If you didn't
get exactly the results you were looking for, you can
return to the Query page through this link and make small
revisions to the query you just made so you get more
accurate results.</member>
</simplelist>
<emphasis>Summary</emphasis>:
A one-sentence summary of the problem.
</para>
<note>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
There are many more options to the Bugzilla Query Page and
the Bug List than I have shown you. But this should be
enough for you to learn to get around. I encourage you to
check out the <ulink
url="http://www.mozilla.org/bugs/">Bugzilla Home Page</ulink> to learn about the Anatomy and Life Cycle of a Bug before continuing.
<emphasis>Status Whiteboard</emphasis>: (a.k.a. Whiteboard) A
free-form text area for adding short notes and tags to a bug.
</para>
</note>
</section>
<sectionid="bugreports">
<title>Creating and Managing Bug Reports</title>
<epigraph>
<para>And all this time, I thought we were taking bugs <emphasis>out</emphasis>...</para>
</epigraph>
</listitem>
<sectionid="bug-writing">
<title>Writing a Great Bug Report</title>
<listitem>
<para>
Before we plunge into writing your first bug report, I
encourage you to read some bug-writing guidelines. If you
are reading this document as part of a Bugzilla CVS checkout
or un-tarred Bugzilla distribution, you should be able to
read them by clicking <ulink
url="../../bugwritinghelp.html">here</ulink>. If you are reading this online, check out the Mozilla.org bug-writing guidelines at <ulinkurl="http://www.mozilla.org/quality/bug-writing-guidelines.html">http://www.mozilla.org/quality/bug-writing-guidelines.html</ulink>. While some of the advice is Mozilla-specific, the basic principles of reporting Reproducible, Specific bugs, isolating the Product you are using, the Version of the Product, the Component which failed, the Hardware Platform, and Operating System you were using at the time of the failure go a long way toward ensuring accurate, responsible fixes for the bug that bit you.
<emphasis>Keywords</emphasis>:
The administrator can define keywords which you can use to tag and
categorise bugs - e.g. The Mozilla Project has keywords like crash
and regression.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
While you are at it, why not learn how to find previously
reported bugs? Mozilla.org has published a great tutorial
Scroll down a bit on the subsequent page, until you see
the "Resolve bug, changing resolution to (dropdown box).
Normally, you would "Accept bug (change status to
ASSIGNED)", fix it, and then resolve. But in this case,
we're going to short-circuit the process because this
wasn't a real bug. Change the dropdown next to "Resolve
Bug" to "INVALID", make sure the radio button is marked
next to "Resolve Bug", then click "Commit".
The Search page has controls for selecting different possible values
for all of the fields in a bug, as described above. Once you've defined
a search, you can either run it, or save it as a Remembered Query, which
can optionally appear in the footer of your pages.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Hey! It said it couldn't take the change in a big red
box! That's right, you must specify a Comment in order
to make this change. Select the "Back" button in your
browser, add a Comment, then try Resolving the bug with
INVALID status again. This time it should work.
Highly advanced querying is done using Boolean Charts, which have their
own <ulinkurl="http://landfill.tequilarista.org/bugzilla-tip/booleanchart.html">context-sensitive help</ulink>.
</para>
</listitem>
</orderedlist>
</section>
<sectionid="list">
<title>Bug Lists</title>
<para>
You have now learned the basics of Bugzilla navigation,
entering a bug, and bug maintenance. I encourage you to
explore these features, and see what you can do with them!
We'll spend no more time on individual Bugs or Queries from
this point on, so you are on your own there.
If you run a search, a list of matching bugs will be returned.
The default search is to return all open bugs on the system -
don't try running this search on a Bugzilla installation with
a lot of bugs!
</para>
<para>
But I'll give a few last hints!
The format of the list is configurable. For example, it can be
sorted by clicking the column headings. Other useful features
can be accessed using the links at the bottom of the list:
<simplelist>
<member><emphasis>Long Format</emphasis>: this gives you a large page
with a non-editable summary of the fields of each bug.</member>
<member><emphasis>Change Columns</emphasis>: change the bug
attributes which appear in the list.</member>
<member><emphasis>Change several bugs at once</emphasis>: If
your account is sufficiently empowered, you can make the same
change to all the bugs in the list - for example, changing their
owner.</member>
<member><emphasis>Send mail to bug owners</emphasis>: Sends mail
to the owners of all bugs on the list.</member>
<member><emphasis>Edit this query</emphasis>: If you didn't
get exactly the results you were looking for, you can
return to the Query page through this link and make small
revisions to the query you just made so you get more
accurate results.</member>
</simplelist>
</para>
</section>
<sectionid="bugreports">
<title>Filing Bugs</title>
<epigraph>
<para>And all this time, I thought we were taking bugs <emphasis>out</emphasis>...</para>
</epigraph>
<para>
There is a <ulink
url="http://landfill.tequilarista.org/bugzilla-tip/help.html">CLUE</ulink> on the Query page that will teach you more how to use the form.
Years of bug writing experience has been distilled for your reading
pleasure into the <ulinkurl="http://landfill.tequilarista.org/bugzilla-tip/bugwritinghelp.html">
Bug Writing Guidelines</ulink>.
While some of the advice is Mozilla-specific, the basic principles of reporting Reproducible, Specific bugs, isolating the Product you are using, the Version of the Product, the Component which failed, the Hardware Platform, and Operating System you were using at the time of the failure go a long way toward ensuring accurate, responsible fixes for the bug that bit you.
</para>
<para>
If you click the hyperlink on the <ulink
url="http://landfill.tequilarista.org/bugzilla-tip/describecomponents.cgi">Component</ulink> box of the Query page, you will be presented a form that will describe what all the components are.
The procedure for filing a test bug is as follows:
</para>
<orderedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
Possibly the most powerful feature of the Query page is the
url="http://landfill.tequilarista.org/bugzilla-tip/booleanchart.html">Boolean Chart</ulink> section. It's a bit confusing to use the first time, but can provide unparalleled flexibility in your queries, allowing you to build extremely powerful requests.
url="http://landfill.tequilarista.org/bugzilla-tip/enter_bug.cgi"> Enter a new bug report</ulink>.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Finally, you can build some nifty <ulink
url="http://landfill.tequilarista.org/bugzilla-tip/reports.cgi">Reports</ulink> using the "Bug Reports" link near the bottom of the query page, and also available via the "Reports" link at the footer of each page.
Select a product - any one will do.
</para>
</section>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Fill in the fields.
Bugzilla should have made reasonable guesses, based upon
your browser, for the "Platform" and "OS" drop-down
