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<HTML
><HEAD
><TITLE
>How do I use Bugzilla?</TITLE
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>The Bugzilla Guide</TH
></TR
><TR
><TD
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ALIGN="left"
VALIGN="bottom"
><A
HREF="why.html"
>Prev</A
></TD
><TD
WIDTH="80%"
ALIGN="center"
VALIGN="bottom"
>Chapter 2. Using Bugzilla</TD
><TD
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><A
HREF="init4me.html"
>Next</A
></TD
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></TABLE
><HR
ALIGN="LEFT"
WIDTH="100%"></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="SECTION"
><H1
CLASS="SECTION"
><A
NAME="HOW"
>2.3. How do I use Bugzilla?</A
></H1
><TABLE
BORDER="0"
WIDTH="100%"
CELLSPACING="0"
CELLPADDING="0"
CLASS="EPIGRAPH"
><TR
><TD
WIDTH="45%"
>&nbsp;</TD
><TD
WIDTH="45%"
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
><I
><P
><I
>Hey!  I'm Woody!  Howdy, Howdy, Howdy!</I
></P
></I
></TD
></TR
></TABLE
><P
>      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
      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,
      <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
HREF="news://news.mozilla.org/netscape.public.mozilla.webtools"
TARGET="_top"
> news://news.mozilla.org/netscape.public.mozilla.webtools</A
>
	</P
></TD
></TR
></TABLE
></DIV
> Although Landfill serves as a great introduction to
      Bugzilla, it does not offer all the options you would have as a
      user on your own installation of Bugzilla, nor can it do more
      than serve as a general introduction to Bugzilla.  Additionally,
      Landfill often runs cutting-edge versions of Bugzilla for
      testing, so some things may work slightly differently than
      mentioned here.
    </P
><DIV
CLASS="SECTION"
><H2
CLASS="SECTION"
><A
NAME="MYACCOUNT"
>2.3.1. Create a Bugzilla Account</A
></H2
><P
>	First things first!  If you want to use Bugzilla, first you
	need to create an account.  Consult with the administrator
	responsible for your installation of Bugzilla for the URL you
	should use to access it. If you're test-driving the end-user
	Bugzilla experience, use this URL: <A
HREF="http://landfill.tequilarista.org/bugzilla-tip/"
TARGET="_top"
> http://landfill.tequilarista.org/bugzilla-tip/</A
>
      </P
><P
></P
><OL
TYPE="1"
><LI
><P
>	    Click the "Open a new Bugzilla account" link.
	  </P
></LI
><LI
><P
>	    Enter your "E-mail address" and "Real Name" (or whatever
	    name you want to call yourself) in the spaces provided,
	    then select the "Create Account" button.
	  </P
></LI
><LI
><P
>	    Within moments, you should receive an email to the address
	    you provided above, which contains your login name
	    (generally the same as the email address), and a password
	    you can use to access your account.  This password is
	    randomly generated, and should be changed at your nearest
	    opportunity (we'll go into how to do it later).
	  </P
></LI
><LI
><P
>	    Click the <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Log In"</SPAN
> link in the yellow area at
	    the bottom of the page in your browser, then enter your
	    <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"E-mail address"</SPAN
> and <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Password"</SPAN
>
	    you just received into the spaces provided, and select
	    <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Login"</SPAN
>.
	    <DIV
CLASS="NOTE"
><P
></P
><TABLE
CLASS="NOTE"
WIDTH="90%"
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
>		If you ever forget your password, you can come back to
		this page, enter your <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"E-mail address"</SPAN
>,
		then select the <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"E-mail me a password"</SPAN
>
		button to have your password mailed to you again so
		that you can login.
	      </P
></TD
></TR
></TABLE
></DIV
>
	    <DIV
CLASS="CAUTION"
><P
></P
><TABLE
CLASS="CAUTION"
WIDTH="90%"
BORDER="0"
><TR
><TD
WIDTH="25"
ALIGN="CENTER"
VALIGN="TOP"
><IMG
SRC="../images/caution.gif"
HSPACE="5"
ALT="Caution"></TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
><P
>		Many modern browsers include an
		<SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Auto-Complete"</SPAN
> or <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Form
		  Fill"</SPAN
> feature to remember the user names and
		passwords you type in at many sites.  Unfortunately,
		sometimes they attempt to guess what you will put in
		as your password, and guess wrong.  If you notice a
		text box is already filled out, please overwrite the
		contents of the text box so you can be sure to input
		the correct information.
	      </P
></TD
></TR
></TABLE
></DIV
>
	  </P
></LI
></OL
><P
>	Congratulations!  If you followed these directions, you now
	are the proud owner of a user account on
	landfill.tequilarista.org (Landfill) or your local Bugzilla
	install.  You should now see in your browser a page called the
	<SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Bugzilla Query Page"</SPAN
>.  It may look daunting, but with this
	Guide to walk you through it, you will master it in no time.
      </P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="SECTION"
><H2
CLASS="SECTION"
><A
NAME="QUERY"
>2.3.2. The Bugzilla Query Page</A
></H2
><P
>	The Bugzilla Query Page is the heart and soul of the Bugzilla
	user experience.  It is the master interface where you can
	find any bug report, comment, or patch currently in the
	Bugzilla system.  We'll go into how to create your own bug
	report later on.
      </P
><P
>	There are efforts underway to simplify query usage.  If you
	have a local installation of Bugzilla 2.12 or higher, you
	should have <TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>quicksearch.html</TT
> available to
	use and simplify your searches.  There is also a helper for
	the query interface, called
	<TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>queryhelp.cgi</TT
>.  Landfill tends to run the
	latest code, so these two utilities should be available there
	for your perusal.
      </P
><P
>	At this point, please visit the main Bugzilla site,
	<A
HREF="http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/query.cgi"
TARGET="_top"
>	bugzilla.mozilla.org</A
>, to see a more fleshed-out query page.
      </P
><P
>	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 <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Status"</SPAN
> underlined.  Select it.
      </P
><P
>	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 <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Back"</SPAN
>
	button in your browser.
      </P
><P
>	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.
      </P
><P
></P
><OL
TYPE="1"
><LI
><P
>	    Ensure you are back on the <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Bugzilla Query
	      Page"</SPAN
>. 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.
	  </P
><P
>	    Basically, selecting <EM
>anything</EM
> on the
	    query page narrows your search down.  Leaving stuff
	    unselected, or text boxes unfilled, broadens your search.
	  </P
></LI
><LI
><P
>	    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.
	  </P
><P
>	    Type "barnboy@trilobyte.net" in the top Email text box.
	  </P
></LI
><LI
><P
>	    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
	    <EM
>scrollbox</EM
>.  Using the down arrow on
	    the scrollbox, scroll down until you can see an entry
	    called "Webtools".  Select this entry.
	  </P
></LI
><LI
><P
>	    Did you notice that some of the boxes to the right changed
	    when you selected "Webtools"? Every Program (or Product)
	    has different Versions, Components, and Target Milestones
	    associated with it.  A "Version" is the number of a
	    software program.
	    <DIV
CLASS="EXAMPLE"
><A
NAME="AEN307"
></A
><P
><B
>Example 2-1. Some Famous Software Versions</B
></P
><DIV
CLASS="INFORMALEXAMPLE"
><A
NAME="AEN309"
></A
><P
></P
><P
>		  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). 
		</P
><P
>		  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
		  <EM
>older</EM
> version of the software
		  than 1.11, but is a <EM
>newer</EM
>
		  version than 1.1.1.
		</P
><P
>		  In general, a "Version" in Bugzilla should refer to
		  <EM
>released</EM
> products, not products
		  that have not yet been released  to the public.
		  Forthcoming products are what the Target Milestone
		  field is for.
		</P
><P
></P
></DIV
></DIV
>
	  </P
><P
>	    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.
	    <DIV
CLASS="EXAMPLE"
><A
NAME="AEN317"
></A
><P
><B
>Example 2-2. Mozilla Webtools Components</B
></P
><DIV
CLASS="INFORMALEXAMPLE"
><A
NAME="AEN319"
></A
><P
></P
><P
>		  Mozilla's "Webtools" Product is composed of several pieces (Components):
		  <P
></P
><TABLE
BORDER="0"
><TBODY
><TR
><TD
><EM
>Bonsai</EM
>,
		      a tool to show recent changes to Mozilla</TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
><EM
>Bugzilla</EM
>,
		      a defect-tracking tool</TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
><EM
>Build</EM
>,
		      a tool to automatically compile source code
		      into machine-readable form</TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
><EM
>Despot</EM
>,
		      a program that controls access to the other Webtools</TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
><EM
>LXR</EM
>,
		      a utility that automatically marks up text files
		    to make them more readable</TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
><EM
>MozBot</EM
>,
		      a "robot" that announces changes to Mozilla in Chat</TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
><EM
>TestManager</EM
>,
		      a tool to help find bugs in Mozilla</TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
><EM
>Tinderbox</EM
>,
		      which displays reports from Build</TD
></TR
></TBODY
></TABLE
><P
></P
>
		</P
><P
>		  A different person is responsible for each of these Components.
		  Tara Hernandez keeps
		  the "Bugzilla" component up-to-date.
		</P
><P
></P
></DIV
></DIV
>
	  </P
><P
>	    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.
	  </P
><P
>	    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".
	  </P
></LI
><LI
><P
>	    OK, now let's select the "Bugzilla" component from its scrollbox.
	  </P
></LI
><LI
><P
>	    Skip down the page a bit -- do you see the "submit query" button?
	    Select it, and let's run
	    this query!
	  </P
></LI
><LI
><P
>	    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!
	  </P
></LI
></OL
><P
>	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.
      </P
><P
>	A couple more interesting things about the Bug List page:
	<P
></P
><TABLE
BORDER="0"
><TBODY
><TR
><TD
><EM
>Change Columns</EM
>: by selecting
	    this link, you can show all kinds of information in the
	    Bug List</TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
><EM
>Change several bugs at once</EM
>: 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.</TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
><EM
>Send mail to bug owners</EM
>: 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.</TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
><EM
>Edit this query</EM
>: 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.</TD
></TR
></TBODY
></TABLE
><P
></P
>
      </P
><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
>	  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 <A
HREF="http://www.mozilla.org/bugs/"
TARGET="_top"
>Bugzilla Home Page</A
> to learn about the Anatomy and Life Cycle of a Bug before continuing.
	</P
></TD
></TR
></TABLE
></DIV
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="SECTION"
><H2
CLASS="SECTION"
><A
NAME="BUGREPORTS"
>2.3.3. Creating and Managing Bug Reports</A
></H2
><TABLE
BORDER="0"
WIDTH="100%"
CELLSPACING="0"
CELLPADDING="0"
CLASS="EPIGRAPH"
><TR
><TD
WIDTH="45%"
>&nbsp;</TD
><TD
WIDTH="45%"
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
><I
><P
><I
>And all this time, I thought we were taking bugs <EM
>out</EM
>...</I
></P
></I
></TD
></TR
></TABLE
><DIV
CLASS="SECTION"
><H3
CLASS="SECTION"
><A
NAME="BUG_WRITING"
>2.3.3.1. Writing a Great Bug Report</A
></H3
><P
>	  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 <A
HREF="../../bugwritinghelp.html"
TARGET="_top"
>here</A
>.  If you are reading this online, check out the Mozilla.org bug-writing guidelines at <A
HREF="http://www.mozilla.org/quality/bug-writing-guidelines.html"
TARGET="_top"
>http://www.mozilla.org/quality/bug-writing-guidelines.html</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
	  on finding duplicate bugs, available at <A
HREF="http://www.mozilla.org/quality/help/beginning-duplicate-finding.html"
TARGET="_top"
> http://www.mozilla.org/quality/help/beginning-duplicate-finding.html</A
>.
	</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!
	</P
><P
></P
><OL
TYPE="1"
><LI
><P
>	      Go back to <A
HREF="http://landfill.tequilarista.org/bugzilla-tip/"
TARGET="_top"
> http://landfill.tequilarista.org/bugzilla-tip/</A
> in your browser.
	    </P
></LI
><LI
><P
>	      Select the  <A
HREF="http://landfill.tequilarista.org/bugzilla-tip/enter_bug.cgi"
TARGET="_top"
> Enter a new bug report</A
> link.
	    </P
></LI
><LI
><P
>	      Select a product.
	    </P
></LI
><LI
><P
>	      Now you should be at the "Enter Bug" form. The
	      "reporter" should have been automatically filled out for
	      you (or else Bugzilla prompted you to Log In again --
	      you did keep the email with your username and password,
	      didn't you?).
	    </P
></LI
><LI
><P
>	      Select a Component in the scrollbox.
	    </P
></LI
><LI
><P
>	      Bugzilla should have made reasonable guesses, based upon
	      your browser, for the "Platform" and "OS" drop-down
	      boxes.  If those are wrong, change them -- if you're on
	      an SGI box running IRIX, we want to know!
	    </P
></LI
><LI
><P
>	      Fill in the "Assigned To" box with the email address you
	      provided earlier.  This way you don't end up sending
	      copies of your bug to lots of other people, since it's
	      just a test bug.
	    </P
></LI
><LI
><P
>	      Leave the "CC" text box blank.  Fill in the "URL" box
	      with "http://www.mozilla.org".
	    </P
></LI
><LI
><P
>	      Enter "The Bugzilla Guide" in the Summary text box, and
	      place any comments you have on this tutorial, or the
	      Guide in general, into the Description box.
	    </P
></LI
></OL
><P
>	  Voila!  Select "Commit" and send in your bug report! Next
	  we'll look at resolving bugs.
	</P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="SECTION"
><H3
CLASS="SECTION"
><A
NAME="BUG_MANAGE"
>2.3.3.2. Managing your Bug Reports</A
></H3
><P
>	  OK, you should have a link to the bug you just created near
	  the top of your page. It should say "Bug XXXX posted", with
	  a link to the right saying "Back to BUG# XXXX". Select this
	  link.
	</P
><P
></P
><OL
TYPE="1"
><LI
><P
>	      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".
	    </P
></LI
><LI
><P
>	      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.
	    </P
></LI
></OL
><P
>	  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.
	</P
><P
>	  But I'll give a few last hints!
	</P
><P
>	  There is a <A
HREF="http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/help.html"
TARGET="_top"
>CLUE</A
> on the Query page that will teach you more how to use the form.
	</P
><P
>	  If you click the hyperlink on the <A
HREF="http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/describecomponents.cgi"
TARGET="_top"
>Component</A
> box of the Query page, you will be presented a form that will describe what all the components are.
	</P
><P
>	  Possibly the most powerful feature of the Query page is the
	  <A
HREF="http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/booleanchart.html"
TARGET="_top"
>Boolean Chart</A
> 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.
	</P
><P
>	  Finally, you can build some nifty  <A
HREF="http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/reports.cgi"
TARGET="_top"
>Reports</A
> 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.
	</P
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