CreateIssueDetails.jspa should account for NULL issuetype when creating issues via direct HTML links

Summary

When using a direct HTML link to create issues in a Jira Software project, users will encounter an NPE when the issuetype parameter is omitted. In addition, the issue type field will be blank and non-selectable. See attached PDF illustrating the issue.

The issue appears to be due to validator that ensures that issues aren't being created as child Epics of existing Epics.

Steps to Reproduce

In a Jira Software project, use the following URL to create an issue:

BASE_URL/secure/CreateIssueDetails!init.jspa?pid=10001

(substituting a suitable project ID as needed)

Expected Results

Users should be able to select the issue type during creation.

Actual Results

Issue type is non-selectable and NPE is thrown, as illustrated in the attached PDF and abbreviated here:

org.apache.velocity.exception.MethodInvocationException: Invocation of method 'isIssueOfTypeEpic' in class com.atlassian.greenhopper.customfield.epiclink.EpicLinkCFType threw exception java.lang.NullPointerException at com.pyxis.greenhopper.jir link/templates/greenhopper/jira/customfield/epiclink/edit­epiclink.vm[line 5, column 36]

Workaround

Direct HTML links must be modified to include the issuetype parameter, e.g.:

BASE_URL/secure/CreateIssueDetails!init.jspa?pid=10001&issuetype=10004