Assets and asset layouts

An asset is a structured record of something a client runs that is worth documenting, such as a firewall, a wireless controller, or a line-of-business application. Every asset is built from an asset layout, which says what fields that kind of record has. This page shows how to design a layout and how to record an asset with it.

Before you begin

• Designing a layout needs docs:manage. Creating and changing assets needs docs:write.
• Where layouts live depends on your plan. On Home Lab, Essentials, and Enterprise, they belong to your organization. On MSP, they are designed at practice level and used by every client, so agree with your team what each kind of record carries before you build it.

Design an asset layout

Permission

docs:manage

1. Go to Documentation > Asset layouts and select New layout. On MSP, do this at practice level.
2. In Name, enter the name of the kind of record, such as Firewall.
3. In Key, enter the name the layout is filed under, in lowercase with no spaces. The key cannot change once the layout is saved.
4. Optionally, enter a Description and an Icon. The icon is a Feather icon name, such as shield or server.
5. Select Save. Fields belong to a layout that exists, so you save the layout before you add fields.
6. Under Fields, select Add a field and fill in the field:
   • Label: what people see.
   • Key: the name the value is stored under.
   • Kind: one of the kinds in the table below.
   • Hint: one line shown under the control.
   • For a Choice or Several choices field, enter Choices separated by commas, or pick a Shared list.
   • For a Link to a record field, choose what it Can point at.
   • Select Required, Show it in the asset list, or, for a date, Track this date in Expirations, as needed.
   • Use Show this field when to show the field only when another field has a particular value. A hidden field keeps its value.
7. Select Save field. Repeat for each field. Use Move up and Move down to set the order, and watch the Preview.
8. In Use for the title, choose which field names an asset in every list and link, or leave The asset’s own title.
9. Select Save.

A field’s key and kind cannot change once assets use the layout. To change one, add a new field and retire the old one.

Field kinds

Kind	Holds
Text	One line of text
Long text	Several lines of text
Formatted text	Formatted text
Section heading	A heading that groups the fields under it, with no value
Number	A number
Date	A date, which can be tracked in Expirations
Checkbox	Yes or no
Choice	One value from a list
Several choices	Any number of values from a list
Web address	A URL
Email address	An email address
Phone number	A phone number
Hidden value	A value stored encrypted and shown only when someone selects Reveal. The reveal is recorded in the audit log.
Password	A password, stored as a credential in the vault so it follows the vault’s access and audit rules
File	An attached file
Link to a record	Links to one or more endpoints, people, sites, or other records
Read from the endpoint	A value Outpost fills in from a linked endpoint’s inventory, such as its serial number. Values refresh every 15 minutes.

Retire a layout

To stop new assets being made from a layout, open it, select Retire this layout. Existing assets keep working; no new ones can be made., and select Save. Retired layouts show Retired in the list.

Record an asset

1. In a client’s Documentation, go to Assets and select New asset.
2. In Layout, choose the kind of record.
3. In Title, enter a name for the asset, and in Labels, enter labels separated by commas.
4. Fill in the fields under Details.
5. Select Save.

The asset page has two tabs. Details shows the fields and About this asset, including where it was imported from. Relations lists the endpoints, people, and records it points at and the records that point at it.

To find assets of one kind, open Assets and filter by Layout. The search matches the title, the labels, and the typed field values. Hidden values are never searched.

Verify

Open the client’s Documentation > Assets. The asset is listed with its layout. Open it, and the Details tab shows the values you entered, with Hidden value fields showing Reveal instead of their value.

If something goes wrong

Symptom	Cause	Fix
No asset layouts exist yet. on Assets	No layout has been designed.	Design one under Documentation > Asset layouts, at practice level on MSP.
A layout is missing from Layout when you create an asset.	The layout is retired.	Open the layout and clear the retire option.
Reveal is unavailable on a hidden value.	Your account lacks the access the record needs.	Ask an administrator for access to the asset.

Next steps

• Credentials vault
• Track expirations
• Import and export documentation