Start a Release From a Template

This topic describes how to create a release from a template using various methods and the steps required before starting the release.

Create a Release from a Template

You can create a release from a template using one of these methods:

• From the sidebar, under RELEASES, click Templates > Select a template > and click New release.
• From the sidebar, under OVERVIEW, click Folders, browse and select a folder > click Templates > select a template > and click New release.
• Click New Release on the template when it is open in the Release Flow Editor.

When you create a release from a template, it starts in the planned state. As the release owner, complete these requirements before starting the release:

1. Enter a name for the release.

2. Specify the folder where you want to create the release.

3. Assign a risk profile to the release.

4. Set or modify the description.

5. Assign values to variables. For more information, see Variables in Release.

6. Populate the release teams or revise the members of the teams. For more information, see Configure teams for a release.

7. Optionally set scheduled start and due dates on tasks.

8. Revise dependencies on other releases.

   note

   Dependencies can only be set on active releases, they cannot be specified in the template.

9. Click Create.

Pre-fill Variables from Past Releases

You can now speed up the process of starting a release by pre-filling variable values from one of the last 10 completed or aborted releases in the same folder when creating a new release from a template.

This is especially helpful when iteratively testing release templates that contain many variables on the Create Release page.

1. Select the Pre-fill variables from previous releases checkbox.
2. Choose a Completed or Aborted release from the drop-down list.

note

• Pre-filling variable values are currently not supported for archived releases or those in a Failed status. Only releases that are Completed or Aborted (i.e., in a final state) can be used for pre-filling values.
• Values will be automatically applied to variables that match by both name and type.

3. Click Reset to Defaults to discard the pre-filled values and apply the template’s default values—either for all variables or for individual ones.

Variables will not be pre-filled in the following cases:

• Password-type variables must always be entered manually.
• Variables with the same name but different types in the selected release must be reviewed and entered manually.
• Variables not present in the selected release (such as newly added in the current release) must be entered manually.